Tag: ecommerce

Weekly Industry Brief: 12.8.2014

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Holiday:

  • Cyber Monday online sales rose 17% to $2B. Link
  • Targeting customers on mobile during holiday shopping season. Link
  • Walmart reports 70% of Thanksgiving traffic from mobile. Link
  • Walmart has record Cyber Monday as shoppers seek deals. Link
  • Target turns its stores into one big mobile game this holiday season. Link
  • Black Friday: Whose advertising made you spend? Link
  • Cyber Monday shoppers may want to check out these YouTube channels. Link
  • Cyber Monday, Green Monday and the impact worldwide. Link
  • Brands get creative with holiday pop-up stores. Link

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Amazon gets $5M from New York to being 500 jobs to Manhattan. Link
  • Starbucks, facing saturated market, looks to the high end. Link
  • Aeropostale to close 75 stores. Link
  • Amazon unveils its own line of diapers. Link
  • Khol’s online profitability less than half of that in stores. Link
  • Simon Malls and eBay partner for “connected” mall experience. Link
  • Smal retailers jump on the subscription bandwagon. Link
  • Bebe confirms payment card data breach. Link
  • Poshmark hits $100M in annual revenue for its fashion resell business, begins luxury goods authentication. Link
  • Amazon goes after Honest.com with Elements, a prime-only lineup of ethical home essentials. Link
  • eBay debuts “Innovators Collective,” a tech-focused section featuring new lifestyle products, electronics and more. Link
  • Intel teams with Luxottica to build the future of smart eyewear. Link
  • Gap’s sales go into a 3-month slide following ‘dress normal’ ad campaign failure. Link
  • Deb stores files for bankruptcy. Link
  • Retailers adjust as lines between in store and digital shopping blurs. Link
  • Unraveling Anthropologie’s intoxicating store experience. Link
  • American Eagle profits fell 63% this quarter. Link
  • You can now rent ugly holiday sweaters on Rent the Runway. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Say Media buys out investors as it exits the media business and focuses on its publishing platform. Link
  • Facebook relaunches Slingshot as a Snapchat stories-style lifecasting app. Link
  • Connexity (formerly Shopzille) buys Become.com to grow its price comparison business. Link
  • Saavn partners with Twitter to bring tweet-powered radio to its streaming service. Link
  • Gangnam style has been viewed so many times it broke YouTube’s code. Link
  • Twitter improves tools for users to report harassment. Link
  • Google’s new target audience: kids. Link
  • Tumblr now has ‘buy,’ ‘pledge,’ and ‘get involved’ buttons. Link
  • Twitter copies Instagram with new adjustable photo filters. Link
  • Liberty London turns Instagram likes into loyalty perks. Link
  • REI’s great customer service hits the big screen. Link

Start-ups:

  • Uber confirms new $1.2B funding round at $40B valuation. Link
  • Shoes of Prey raises $5.5M for custom footwear. Link
  • Fit.me buys Clothes horse, consolidating the clothing-fit technology sector. Link
  • Stripe raises $70M. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • L’Occitane launches online shop on Alibaba’s Tmall site. Link
  • Tujia.com aims to be more than online vacation rental portal. Link

[AU]

  • Sephora launches in Sydney. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • How Starbucks will build on mobile order to launch delivery service in 2015. Link
  • Yahoo will pass Twitter in mobile ad revenue next year. Link
  • Six drivers of the $7B mobile internet. Link
  • App Annie now tracks user demographics, sentiment and more. Link
  • Line Pay, the new messaging app’s mobile payment service will make its global debut soon. Link
  • Square launches iOS app for food delivery service Caviar. Link
  • Uber hires a mobile team in Amsterdam to staff a new mobile dev shop in the city. Link
  • Starbucks brews iBeacon strategy to support premium coffee play. Link
  • Skype founder launches new messaging app, Wire. Link
  • The softer and more wearable future of wearables. Link

Other:

  • Comcast makes it more and more difficult to opt out of internet sharing. Link
  • Amazon has launched a GrubHub rival for food takeout and delivery. Link
  • Eye scanner may replace password logins. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 12.1.2014

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Happy Cyber Monday! Below is a recap of news in fashion, retail, and technology over the last week. All sources can be found in the hyper-linked text after each headline:

Holiday:

  • Black Friday ecommerce spending up 26%. Link
  • On Twitter, twice as many people talking about Black Friday this year. Link
  • Best Buy’s website down for about 90 minutes on Black Friday. Link
  • WalMart, Target report strong Thanksgiving Day traffic. Link
  • Kohl’s, Walmart, Apple see Black Friday social buzz. Link
  • Black Friday online sales up 8.5% over last year, 20% of sales from iOS. Link
  • Online sales set Black Friday record. Link
  • Yoox group posts record sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Link
  • Macy’s previews Cyber Monday on Sunday. Link
  • Mobile role in holiday shopping expected to grow. Link
  • Net-a-porter sale crashes part of site. Link

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Ebay Now pulled from App Store as company rethinks same-day delivery plans. Link
  • Gap sets deal with Germany’s Zalando. Link
  • NY Subway riders can now shop on Amazon while underground. Link
  • How Target identifies the hottest retail tech 18 months before it’s cool. Link
  • Nordstrom partners with eBay for smarter fitting rooms. Link
  • Zady to open three airport pop-up shops for the holidays. Link
  • These robots are processing Amazon orders. Link
  • Milennials to fuel growth of sporty brands. Link
  • Urban Outfitters, Nicole Miller in Wanelo “buy” button launch. Link
  • Nasty Gal’s first brick-and-mortar store encourages selfies. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Twitter now lets brands tweet deals to users with a new offer button. Link
  • American Girl pledges to give up to 1,000 dolls a day. Link
  • Facebook is intensifying its efforts to filter out status updates posted by businesses. Link
  • Twitter is tracking users’ installed apps for ad targeting. Link
  • Buzzfeed crosses $100M in revenue. Link
  • Twitter adds coupons to its commerce plans. Link
  • Vloggers paid for promotions urged to include clear labeling. Link
  • Twitter experiments with engagement stats directly in tweets. Link

Start-ups:

  • Anonymous messaging app Yik Yak said to raise $62M. Link
  • Parcel aims to end missed packages after hours. Link
  • Pop-up shop startup, Appear Here, raises $7.5M. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Fitbit gears up for Asia expansion. Link
  • Lazada, Rocket Internet’s Amazon clone in Southeast Asia, raises $250M. Link

[EU]

  • Macy’s Black Friday arrives in the UK as American retailer unveils online shopping deals. Link
  • Wired and Buzzfeed give Germany a try. Link
  • Black Friday takes hold in UK. Link

[AU]

  • Amazon tipped to open Aussie warehouse. Link
  • H&M sister brand COS opens first Australian store. Link

[A/ME]

  • Jumia raises $150M for its African ecommerce business. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Smartphones spur growth of Thanksgiving couch commerce. Link
  • Top 10 best Android fashion apps. Link
  • Xiaomi’s cheap smartphones make a splash in Indonesia. Link
  • Ralph Lauren introduces leather bag with internal LED and built-in USB charger. Link
  • Luxury watchmakers crack down on copycat Android Wear watch faces. Link
  • Neiman Marcus now in Apple Passbook. Link
  • Hammacher Schlemmer tests augmented reality catalog for holiday. Link

Other:

  • Girl Scouts to sell cookies online. Link

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.24.2014

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Happy week of Black Friday! Below is a round up of industry news from the last week. All sources can be found in the hyper-linked text after each headline.

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Nordstrom unveils customization studio. Link
  • Century 21 ups ante with C21 edition. Link
  • H&M to launch eight new online markets in 2015. Link
  • Neiman Marcus links with St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. Link
  • Gap names new presidents for Banana Republic and Gap brands. Link
  • WalMart tightens online price-match policy. Link
  • Fashion boutiques team up with Farfetch.com for click-and-collect service. Link
  • Zappos tests brick-and-mortar pop up shop this holiday season. Link
  • Net-a-porter said to consider 2015 IPO. Link
  • What FEED can teach companies about making meaningful connections. Link
  • Ikea to reissue original midcentury furniture. Link
  • Amazon to launch travel booking website. Link
  • Cavernous stores wear on Forever 21. Link
  • Apple’s plans for Beats Music start to take shape. Link
  • AT&T and Starbucks to bring wireless phone chargers to some coffee shops. Link
  • Amazon leases Manhattan building, hinting at ambitions. Link
  • Wonder to close most of its stores. Link Burch Creative refutes these reports. Link
  • Amazon plans fashion photography studio in London. Link
  • Coach rolls out new retail concept. Link
  • Black Friday: Top US shopping day fades to gray. Link
  • Nordstrom reshuffles its traditional half-yearly sales. Link
  • Fab is close to a fire sale but CEO gets another chance. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Wanelo launches buy now technology. Link
  • How Michael Kors forces Instagram to do retail. Link
  • Google to help publishers make money by blocking ads. Link
  • Facebook testing collaboration tools for businesses. Link
  • Why fashion marketers should be paying attention to Ello. Link
  • TV looks to offer web-like ad targeting. Link
  • Forrester says brands are wasting money on Facebook and Twitter. Link
  • New York Magazine creates ‘pop-up blogs.’ Link
  • Ikea recreates iconic mealtime master paintings. Link
  • Google adds detailed info to shopping search results on mobile devices. Link
  • Amazon announcing Black Friday specials on Snapchat. Link

Start-ups:

  • Glossier raises over $10M to reinvent the beauty industry. Link
  • How crowdfunding is changing the fashion business. Link
  • Memoir raises $5.5M to stitch together your digital photos. Link
  • Kik raises $38M to battle Snapchat for teens. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Lazada battles global ecommerce players and Indonesian rivals. Link
  • Macy’s, Saks, Bloomingdale’s and more accept Alipay to woo rich Chinese shoppers. Link

[EU]

  • Zara to open new Irish stores as retail recovers. Link
  • Royal Mail warns competition from Amazon will hamper growth. Link
  • UK looks to keep records on internet users. Link
  • UK shoppers plan holiday spending spree, Deloitte says. Link

[AU]

  • Sephora store opens in Sydney on December 5th. Link

[A/ME]

  • Dubai’s Souq.com plans “Black Friday” equivalent to help boost sales growth. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Sephora rolls out Apple Pay in all Bay Area and Manhattan locations. Link
  • Target’s new app steers you to the right aisle for Black Friday. Link
  • Victoria’s Secret adds messaging to app. Link
  • For Opening Ceremony x Intel MICA smart bracelet, beauty beats brains. Link
  • Google Play store opens to Chinese developers. Link
  • US mobile payments market to boom by 2019. Link
  • This clever app scans wine and beer bottles to help you find drinks you’ll love. Link
  • Moleskine Smart Notebooks turns your sketches into adobe-friendly vector files. Link
  • Square reveals plans to support Apple Pay in 2015. Link
  • App, magazine and IRL community for collaborating creators. Link
  • Adobe shaping the future of creative mobile apps. Link

Other:

  • The $100 custom shirt is here. Does it have room for profit? Link
  • Experts predict retailers will face holiday hacking surge. Link
  • The post-PC CEO: no desk, no desktop. Link
  • A look at seven game-changing tech advances for retailers. Link

Weekly Industry Round-Up: 11.17.2014

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My recap of top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Alibaba goes global, Singles Day sales top $9 Billion. Link
  • Quirky and GE unveil their vision for the connected home. Link
  • Why New Balance makes shoes for Kate Spade and JCrew. Link
  • Macy’s launches same-day delivery in eight cities. Link
  • Radio Shack backtracks on Thanksgiving hours after worker outcry. Link
  • Amazon is hiring drone test pilots. Link
  • Old Navy criticized for higher cost of plus-size jeans. Link
  • Kendall Jenner signs on as the new face of Estee Lauder. Link
  • BCBG boosts Wi-Fi to drive store visits. Link
  • Target buys Pittsburgh technology firm promising ‘Amazon-like’ shopping experiences in stores. Link
  • Levi Strauss to eliminate 500 jobs. Link
  • Alibaba’s boutique shop 11 Main opens doors on mobile. Link
  • WalMart spreads Black Friday over five days. Link
  • Rebecca Minkoff’s new stores have touch-screens for online shopping. Link
  • Alibaba is now bigger than P&G, GE and Wells Fargo. Link
  • Farfetch rolls out click-and-collect. Link
  • J.Crew’s beauty guru launches line of his own. Link
  • H&M will begin Black Friday deals in stores and online on 11/20. Link
  • Early holiday promotions eat away Black Friday sales. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Google seeks to help fight Ebola with donation-matching campaign. Link
  • Inside Refinery29’s video strategy. Link
  • Six new features to expect from Twitter. Link
  • Google’s DoubleClick goes dark, makes internet ad-free for an hour. Link
  • Uber partners with Spotify. Link
  • Twitter speaks up with growth strategy intended to soothe Wall Street. Link
  • Conde Nast hires YouTube stars for original video series. Link
  • Publishers sell sponsored content made for Instagram, Snapchat. Link
  • LuLuLemon slammed for Dalai Lama partnership. Link
  • Macy’s and Marriott approach SnapChat very differently as platform’s influence grows. Link
  • Michael Kors adds “buy” to Instagram. Link
  • Interactive YouTube film from Asos lets uses change color scheme. Link
  • Target sponsors NBC web video series. Link
  • Who’s going to drive advertising spending this holiday season? Link

Start-ups:

  • One Piece is a social pop-up that offers discounts for social media influence. Link
  • Craftsy, an e-learning site for makers raises $50M. Link
  • DSTLD is Everlane for jeans. Link
  • VIDA raises $1.3M for socially responsible ecommerce. Link
  • Rocket Internet plots ten start-ups. Link
  • Glossier raises $8.4M to take on beauty and cosmetics with verticalized approach. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Japan slips into recession. Link
  • Ikea debuts in Korea. Link
  • After Singles Day, Alibaba delivered 40 Million packages in three days. Link
  • com doubles its shoppers in the past year, shifts towards Alibaba-style marketplace model. Link
  • Rakuten acquires Japanese beauty portal to expand its own salon booking service. Link

[EU]

  • American Eagle expands in Europe; will open three stores in London over next week. Link

[CA]

  • Can Aritzia become as well-known in the U.S. as Canada? Link

[AU]

  • Etsy partners with David Jones for Christmas. Link
  • Surfstich buys UK rival Surfdome.com. Link
  • Google grabs first carrier partner for Project Loon tests in Australia. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Macy’s set to unveil visual search app. Link
  • Urban Outfitters drives mobile engagement with app newsfeed strategy. Link
  • Lord & Taylor expands iBeacon program to all US stores. Link
  • ‘Build it and they will come’ no longer works for mobile apps. Link
  • Cyber Monday is now Mobile Monday. Get ready. Link
  • Peach is a flash sales app with an auction-based twist. Link
  • Early Apple Pay stats point to a modest but promising start. Link

Other:

  • Key takeaways from PSFK’s Future of Retail 2015. Link
  • Nordstrom is leading retailing the right way. Link

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 11.10.2014

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My recap of top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Target partners with Story for the holidays. Link
  • USPS adding Sunday deliveries in some areas for holidays. Link
  • H&M’s Alexander Wang collection selling out and crashing the website. Link and Link
  • Magazines turning to ecommerce. Link
  • ShopRunner beefs up retail partnerships. Link
  • Home Depot hackers also snagged 53 million customer email addresses. Link
  • Amazon introduces Echo, a voice controlled speaker. Link
  • Marc Jacobs x Urban Ears headphones can be thrown in the wash like a t-shirt. Link
  • The head of Google Same-Day delivery joins Uber. Link
  • Living Social lays off 20% of staff. Link
  • 8Tracks launches DJ analytics and better music recommendations. Link
  • Amazon is testing taxis for deliveries. Link
  • American Eagle wants to be outfitter for your dog this holiday season. Link
  • Amazon Prime’s new perk: unlimited cloud photo storage. Link
  • TopShop unveils 5th Ave flagship. Link
  • Two dozen retailers that will not open on Thanksgiving. Link
  • Ellen Degeneres launching ecommerce site and interior design book. Link
  • Bringing online retail products into a real life apartment. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Facebook hands over more control of the newsfeed to users. Link
  • Tumbler expands merchandise offering. Link
  • Verizon Wireless under fire for ad targeting program. Link
  • Marc Jacobs beauty makes Instagram shoppable. Link
  • New app attempts to better organize tweets around events. Link
  • How StyleHaul built a YouTube network on branded entertainment, not Google Ads. Link
  • What’s next for Instagram: Discovery, Accessibility, and “Time Spent.” Link
  • Facebook bans brands from trading “likes” for incentives. Link
  • Adidas leverages athletic star power in winter sports campaign. Link
  • Facebook launches a donate button for Ebola. Link
  • Kohl’s ups TV spend for holiday campaign. Link
  • Dollar Shave Club takes to TV in a big way with new campaign. Link
  • The next frontier in digital media will be physical products. Link
  • Lowe’s new vines offer up helpful DIY tips in six seconds. Link

Start-ups:

  • Powa raises $80M to launch its mobile, ecommerce payments in U.S. Link
  • Spark Capital’s new growth fund aims to catch the ones that got away. Link
  • Blurb launches Dream Team talent network to help authors improve and complete their books. Link
  • Ten exciting early stage startups to look out for. Link
  • Kidizen, mobile marketplace for secondhand kids’ stuff raises $500K. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Ecommerce is so huge in China, some brands skip opening an actual store. Link
  • Gap speeds up China expansion. Link
  • China gears up for world’s biggest shopping day. Link
  • Why Twitter is opening an office in Hong Kong despite being blocked in China. Link
  • Small boutique ecommerce startup is undaunted by fashion giants like Zalora. Link

[EU]

  • Crew expanding presence in Europe. Link
  • Online retail growth speeds up in Russia. Link

[CA]

  • Amazon’s same-day delivery comes to Canada. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Free People launches a redesigned mobile site. Link
  • Android Lollipop hit by battery life problem. Link
  • Marketers embracing beacons will have competitive advantage this holiday season. Link
  • Android Lollipop is grown-up and accessible. Link
  • Macy’s takes letters from Santa mobile. Link
  • WalMart beefs up mobile app features for the holidays. Link
  • Apple now lets you deregister phone numbers from iMessage. Link
  • The Economist launches Espresso, a daily news roundup for mobile readers. Link
  • Momofuku’s David Chang launching food delivery app in NYC. Link
  • Groupon launches new app, Getaways, for travel and hotel offers. Link

Other:

  • Trends that will revolutionize the retail industry. Link
  • Macs hit market share milestone in the US. Link
  • Square passes 1 Billion payments. Link
  • Tom’s influences another humanitarian brand. Link
  • Can teen retailers turn things around? Link

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 11.4.2014

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My recap of top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Starbucks to start delivering in 2015. Link
  • Neiman Marcus launches MyNM to personalize ecommerce. Link
  • Aeropostale launches collection with social media stars. Link
  • Coach exceeds estimates as it grows overseas, curbs discounting. Link
  • Vente-Privee to shut U.S. venture. Link
  • Alibaba eyes payments tie-up with Apple. Link
  • Lululemon founder’s family bets on casual luxury with new retail venture. Link
  • Why online retailers continue to open brick-and-mortar stores. Link
  • Retailers and shippers retool for the holiday season. Link
  • Amazon opens pop-up store to push its Fire smartphones. Link
  • Burger King to accept PayPal. Link
  • Amazon launches crowdsourced publishing program. Link
  • Beyonce and Topshop team for Ath-Leisure brand. Link
  • Timberland’s newest partnership: Tires. Link
  • Target quietly testing mobile payment app to rival Apple Pay. Link
  • Sophia Coppola directs Gap’s holiday ads. Link
  • American Express and Etsy partner to support small businesses. Link
  • CNET launches a print magazine. Link
  • Ralph Lauren uses interactive windows to launch line at Harrods. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Gap’s interactive holiday campaign: Play your Stripes. Link
  • Youtube weighing new subscription service. Link
  • Bing now lets you search by emoji. Link
  • Publicis snaps up Sapient for $3.7B to build a digital media powerhouse. Link
  • Instagram video ads are finally live. Link
  • Luxury brands are still casting a leery eye toward social media. Link
  • Digital to overtake TV ad spending in two years, says Forrester. Link
  • Snapchat discussing new ad type that’s similar to live TV. Link
  • Nobody beats Amazon when it comes to subscription services. Link
  • Michelle Phan is building a beauty empire. Link
  • SheKnows acquires BlogHer. Link
  • Alex from Target rises to internet fame. Link
  • Heineken partners with brands to create exclusive luxury goods. Link
  • Reddit opens a crowdfunding site. Link

Start-ups:

  • Cloth is where Instagram and your closet collide. Link
  • Deliv widens same-day delivery, following Google. Link
  • Changing the rules of ecommerce. Link
  • Slack is now worth over $1B. Link
  • Crowdsourced design marketplace Minted raises $38M more, adds fabrics and home décor. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • China’s JD.com starts operations in $1B warehouse. Link
  • Investment in Tokopedia may be the boost Indonesian ecommerce needs. Link
  • China’s economic growth falls to lowest in 5 years. Link
  • Amazon’s strategy for India: stick to the concept of sister site. Link

[EU]

  • London pop-up mall blends digital and physical retail. Link
  • UK arm of Ikea to embark on price cutting program. Link

[CA]

  • Ikea Canada boss aims for a revamp as competition heats up. Link

[A/ME]

  • Macy’s to open in Abu Dhabi. Link

[LATAM]

  • Mexico enters the fashion limelight. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Neiman Marcus makes it easier for mobile shoppers to buy items they spot on the street. Link
  • Marriott woos millennials with mobile apps and wireless charging. Link
  • Microsoft unveils fitness smart band that understands voice commands. Link
  • PopSugar plays fave with data in new shopping app. Link
  • In 72 hours, ApplePay is already the wireless payment leader in the US. Link
  • Google launches Android 5.0 Lollipop. Link
  • Amazon voice search leads the way in mcommerce. Link
  • Neiman Marcus simplifies purchase process with mobile photo feature. Link  
  • How Aeropostale and Asos are getting mobile right with millennials. Link
  • Google’s redesigned calendar app combines brains and beauty. Link
  • Starbucks to offer delivery service via new app. Link
  • Hotels try smartphone apps as room keys. Link

Apple Pay Coverage:

  • Apple Pay isn’t ready to replace your wallet. Link
  • What are anti-Apple Pay merchants afraid of? Link
  • More US banks switch on Apple Pay support. Link
  • Apple Pay rival, Current C, says it’s misunderstood. Link
  • The worm in Apple Pay. Link

Other:

  • Four brands that built empires without traditional advertising. Link
  • Isabel Murant says build strong base and stay focused. Link
  • Sour Patch Kids opens Brooklyn house for touring bands. Link
  • Taylor Swift pulls all her albums from Spotify. Link
  • The Arrivals: A line of coats from a venture capitalist and an architect. Link

Weekly Industry Round Up: 10.27.2014

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My recap of top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer + Brand News:

  • Target eyes holiday turnaround on free shipping and faux fur. Link
  • Retail’s new battleground: The I want what I want when I want it generation. Link
  • Trunk Club to open first brick-and-mortar store on Madison Avenue. Link
  • Under Armour’s rising sneaker sales have yet to tread on Nike. Link
  • Gilt names former Starwood Hotels exec as chief marketing officer. Link
  • Etsy launches card reader for in-person payments. Link
  • Amazon posts largest quarterly loss in 14 years. Link
  • Macy’s links with Google to show mobile users what’s in stock nearby. Link
  • Rakuten, Japan’s Amazon, launches fashion site in the U.S. Link
  • Staples is the latest retailer to be hit by hackers. Link
  • Apple shutting down Beats Music app and rolling it into iTunes. Link
  • J.Crew says it will sit out athletic trend. Link
  • Sears said to be closing 77 stores. Link
  • Groupon’s site now has dedicated pages for 7 million businesses across the US. Link
  • Bloomingdale’s equips fitting rooms with iPads for smart shopping. Link
  • Anthropologie may open in AT&T’s former NYC headquarters. Link
  • Asos sees future payoff from 2014 investments. Link
  • FedEx, UPS make plans for better holiday season. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Ello bans advertising and raises $5.5M in new funding. Link
  • Facebook launches new Rooms app that harkens back to early days of Internet chatrooms. Link
  • Groupon channels Yelp with new listings service. Link
  • Behind Twitter’s move to become a mobile-services shop. Link
  • Tumblr to make over $100M in revenue next year. Link
  • How Facebook is changing the way its users consumer journalism. Link
  • New Target CEO makes mark on holiday efforts. Link
  • Pandora gives musicians a data dashboard to see where their fans are. Link
  • North America holds tight to world’s largest ad spending share. Link
  • Haul videos influence holiday shopping. Link
  • Snapchat rolls out first advertiser. Link

Start-ups:

  • Glamsquad raises $7M for on-demand styling and beauty services. Link
  • Tindr to take a swipe at monetization with new premium dating upgrade. Link
  • Digital lockers will take parcels and clean laundry. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Zalora opens first offline shop. Link
  • India’s Snapdeal forays into premium designer segment. Link
  • China’s Alipay offers ePass payment service for U.S. retail websites. Link
  • Apple set to open 25 new stores in China by end of 2016. Link
  • Zara stumbes in India. Link
  • Taobao Marketplace launches click-and-collect in Singapore. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • Sydney’s Big Commerce takes on Amazon with Alibaba deal. Link

[EU]

  • American Eagle lands in UK. Link
  • Amazon web services to open German center. Link
  • Primark prepares to make entrance in U.S. Link

[CA]

  • Target Canada to experiment with overstocking in turnaround effort. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Urban Outfitters tackles in-app product search challenge. Link
  • Google wants to organize your life with new email app. Link
  • TestFlight Beta testing goes live for all iOS developers. Link
  • Amazon takes retail approach to push flagging Fire phone. Link
  • Google wants Inbox to be your email system for the next decade. Link
  • Amazon quietly launches app store within its main Android app. Link
  • Square launches app marketplace to make third-party integration painless for businesses. Link
  • Twitter unveils Fabric, a welcome gift to mobile developers. Link
  • Fitbit announces new fitness trackers, including its first smartwatch. Link
  • Microsoft makes progress with phone and tablet sales. Link
  • Nike sees brighter wearables future with Apple. Link

[Apple Pay coverage]:

  • Square encircled as Apple, Paypal aim for mobile payments. Link
  • Apple Pay threatens a competing approach to simplifying payments. Link
  • CVS and RiteAid disable Apple Pay. Link
  • CurrentC is the big retailers’ clunky attempt to kill Apple Pay and credit card fees. Link
  • Bank of America customers double-charged in Apple Pay snafu. Link
  • Jumio launches card-scanning mobile checkout for retailers’ iOS and Android apps. Link

Other:

  • How to turn your company into a movement. Link
  • The psychology of web design. Link
  • Roku could file for IPO soon, raises as much as $150M. Link

 

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 9.8.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • eBay makes New York Fashion Week instantly shopable. Link
  • Nordstrom said to be first retailer to accept Apple mobile payments. Link
  • Neiman Marcus to open first NYC store. Link
  • Saks introduces user-generated content hub to propel purchases. Link
  • Opening Ceremony reveals Intel-powered smart bracelet. Link
  • Digital driving growth at Belk department stores. Link
  • eBay attracts top fashion brands to sell direct. Link
  • NastyGal lays off up to 10% of its workforce. Link
  • Saks Fifth Avenue takes steps ot build on its legacy. Link
  • Staples adds buy online, pick up in store. Link
  • Yahoo Style, a new digital magazine, arrives just in time for fashion week. Link
  • UPS plans to offer pickup points for online orders in New York City and Chicago. Link
  • Google pledges to fight the sale of fake Luis Vuitton bags online. Link
  • Starbucks to launch express stores. Link
  • Amazon taps USPS to deliver groceries in San Francisco. Link
  • Saks CMO explains sweeping changes. Link
  • DVF’s tech-savvy style. Link
  • Visa rolls out online payments campaign for NFL opening day. Link
  • Joe Zee is Old Navy’s fall style ambassador. Link
  • Crew’s sales picked up last quarter. Link
  • PayPal expands further into offline retail and mobile payments with new PayPal Here SDK. Link
  • It’s Uniqlo vs. Uniqlo at the US Open. Link
  • Path of stolen credit cards leads back to Home Depot stores. Link
  • ASOS seeks CIO. Link
  • Six ways competitors are trying to kill Amazon. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Social activism becomes a thing for brands, thanks to the Ice Bucket Challenge. Link
  • Ikea pitches its 2015 catalog as the coolest gadget ever. Link
  • American Apparel ad banned in UK for sexualizing schoolgirls. Link
  • In social advertising, YouTube converts more customers than anyone else. Link
  • Photo app Twitpic shuts down over trademark spat with Twitter. Link
  • Facebook rolls out privacy checkups to all 1.3B users. Link
  • Hyperlapse is doing well so far. Link
  • How Venmo is turning into a hilarious social network. Link

Start-ups:

  • This startup aims to give everyone the shipping power of Amazon. Link
  • Yahoo buys photo ad network Luminate, shuts it down. Link
  • Food start up adds tech talent as Silicon Valley shakes up the food business. Link
  • Diageo looks to pour new tech into liquor with venture unit. Link
  • Uber strikes deal to build new headquarters in large expansion. Link
  • ASOS founder funds London expansion of New York-style blow dry bars. Link

International:

[APAC]

  • Fans form lines in Tokyo for expected iPhone launch. Link
  • Rakuten to buy eBates. Link
  • Baidu Eye prototype unveiled to rival Google Glass. Link
  • Emerging Asian designers hit New York Fashion Week. Link
  • House of Fraser completes sale to Chinese department store. Link

[AU/NZ]

  • The Iconic joins other fashion pureplays in international fashion merger. Link
  • H&M confirms two Sydney stores. Link

[EU]

  • Online shopping on mobile devices overtakes desktop in UK. Link
  • How Yoox turned the lucury-goods industry onto digital. Link

[A/ME]

  • Africa now has 100M Facebook users, 9% of the total population. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Apple courts fashionistas as smartwatch expectations mount. Link
  • Motorola’s Moto 360 smartwatch arrives just days before Apple’s expected smartwatch announcement. Link
  • Apple’s big event on September 9th. Here’s what to expect. Link
  • Millennials are the largest group of smartphone owners and adoption is still growing. Link
  • Inside look at the Starbucks app, the most successful mobile payments system in the US. Link
  • Apple adds another high-profile hire with industrial designer Marc Newson. Link
  • The Galaxy Note Edge is Samsung’s new phablet with a new kind of curved display. Link
  • How beacons are changing the shopping experience. Link
  • Apple teaming up with Visa, MasterCard on iPhone wallet. Link
  • Rue La La anticipates bigger-than-ever mobile surge during upcoming holiday season. Link
  • Microsoft woos cost-conscious with new smartphones. Link
  • Why Apple’s iBeacon hasn’t taken off – yet. Link
  • Designers debut wearables at New York Fashion Week. Link

Other:

  • Following purge of tobacco products, CVS renames itself to CVS Health. Link
  • Starbucks announces two new store designs. Link
  • Millennials are saying no to credit cards. Link
  • Two Googlers take top White House tech jobs. Link

Making Instagram Shoppable

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On every retailer’s to-do list this year is to monetizeInstagram.  The concept is a no-brainer as the visual social network gains more interaction than Twitter and Facebook.  Executing a sale from the platform, however, isn’t as easy as a quick like, specifically because there is no outbound linking from a photo.  Retailers have been struggling to figure out ways to monetize this content.  We’ve see tactics like using the product SKU as the location of the photo, using the entire product name for easier online search later, shortened URLs used in copy for easy memory, and the ever-present shop-able Instagram galleries on websites.

None of these are perfect, of course, as Instagram is after all a social platform not an ecommerce platform. But some retailers have put new solutions in place just in time for this holiday season, partnering with start-ups in an attempt to figure it out. With the insights they’ll gain this season, if not the sales, these retailers will have a solid start on their social commerce strategy.  Here are some examples:

Nordstrom:

Nordstrom Like2Buy Instagram Shopping

Innovator Nordstrom partnered with  Curalate to launch their Like2Buy service. The service is basically a shoppable web gallery (outside of Instagram) that the users have to click through from the Nordstrom profile page. The stronger selling point is the curated gallery aspect, in which you can shop only the selection of  photos you’ve liked previously.  Target and Charlotte Russe have also signed on as early launch partners.

Fox & Fawn:

Beverly Hames, an owner of Fox & Fawn, a vintage boutique in Brooklyn, says that sales arising from pictures she posts free on the store’s Instagram feed, now account for 20 to 40 percent of daily revenue.

Even boutiques and small businesses are leveraging shop-able Instagram solutions.  Vintage Brooklyn outpost Fox & Fawn utilizes vendor Soldsie to let users leave comments with a hashtag to reserve goods from a photo. Users then have to call to pay but with a more established retailer’s ecommerce site, the users could checkout online.

RewardStyle:

 

The uber popular affiliate blogger network launched LikeToKnowIt, a service that utilizes email bounce backs as the mode of shopping from a blogger’s outfit post on Instagram. Vogue was the first magazine to make its feed shoppable using this service.  They also just announced a partnership with BCBG for fashion week that will enable a shoppable runway.

 

Check out highlights from around the web:

Nordstrom Wants You to Shop on Instagram (Business Week)

Buy What You Like: You Can Now Shop Straight from Instagram (Forbes)

You Can Now Shop the Runway Just Minutes After a Show With These Chic New Apps (Glamour)

On Instagram, a Bazaar Where You Least Expect It (New York Times)

3 Startups Making Instagram Shoppable (Fashionista)

Weekly Industry Round Up: 9.2.2014

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Top industry news from last week.  All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

  • Nordstrom introduces seamless Instagram shopping experience. Link
  • Rumors that eBay is set to buy ASOS. Link
  • Abercrombie to strip logo from clothing. Link
  • Refinery29 teams up with Simon Malls. Link
  • Evernote launches office gear on market ecommerce portal. Link
  • More and more, fashion designers are selling direct to customers. Link
  • Intel poised to launch luxury smart bracelet at Barneys. Link
  • Report card on back to school: the season’s trends and what they mean for retailers. Link
  • Newegg unleashes its own fleet of delivery vehicles for same day delivery in LA. Link
  • How REI blazes a digital trail. Link
  • Google is working on drone deliveries too. Link
  • Zara withdraws t-shirts after accusations online of anti-Semitism. Link
  • JustFab Inc., which includes ShoeDazzle and FabKids, is valued at $1B following $85M investment. Link
  • Zalando blends data with fashion. Link
  • Claire’s reveals new plan to right sluggish sales. Link
  • Macy’s new Bronx store: localization in action. Link
  • Apple sends invites for September 9th.Link
  • Teens favor tech over clothes. Link
  • Stuart Vevers’ first Coach collection hits Net-a-Porter. Link
  • Are things looking up for Target? Link
  • Uniqlo to open two Boston area stores. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

  • Tweet this hashtag in NYC and Reebok could run a pair of sneakers over to you. Link
  • Facebook introduces bandwidth targeting to match mobile ads to your network quality. Link
  • Introducing Hyperlapse, Instagram’s new time-lapse video app. Link
  • 12 marketers already experimenting with Hyperlapse. Link
  • Gap runs first social campaign for kids’ accounts. Link
  • Pinterest tests news tab on mobile. Link
  • Facebook boosts event visibility with new ad format. Link
  • Nordstrom wants you to shop on Instagram. Link
  • Vice Media sells a stake to A&E Network at $2.5B valuation. Link
  • What’s next for Twitter marketing real world innovation? Link
  • Twitter redesigns signup process to entice new users. Link
  • SnapChat said to have more than 100 million monthly active users. Link
  • Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett to start in H&M holiday campaign. Link

Start-ups:

  • Amazon buys Twitch, bets on content in a hub for gamers. Link
  • Mallzee makes move to become the go-to mobile shopping destination for clothes. Link
  • Honest Co., Jessica Alba’s ecommerce startup, raises $70M. Link
  • How a clothing company successfully turned salvaged trash into fashion. Link
  • Menswear brand will deliver fresh white shirt in less than 90 minutes. Link
  • 3 startups vying to become the “Uber for Beauty.” Link

International:

[APAC]

  • LuLuLemon’s Asia push. Link
  • WalMart looks online for Chinese growth. Link
  • Chinese are traveling more but shopping less. Link
  • Wanda, Tencent and Baidu take on Alibaba with $814M ecommerce deal. Link
  • Hermes first-half profit rises on Asia sales. Link
  • Apple’s opportunity in India. Link
  • Google to open new startup center in Seoul. Link
  • Why social ecommerce is a game changer for niche brands in China. Link 

[AU/NZ]

  • Williams-Sonoma arrives in Sydney. Link
  • Australian retailers ramp up. Link
  • Inside Google’s secret drone-delivery program in Australia. Link
  • TopShop partners with Uber to offer free rides to its AU flagship. Link

[EU]

  • Marks & Spencer hopes for halo effect with unifying brand campaign. Link
  • Online beauty brand BirchBox pops up in London. Link

[CA]

  • LuLuLemon founder’s wife and son open luxury t-shirt store Kit and Ace. Link

[LATAM]

  • Columbia open and ready for business. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

  • Zalando testing mobile clothing recognition app. Link
  • Apple rumored partnership with American Express, Visa and MasterCard for mobile payments. Link
  • NFC and wallet likely in next iPhone. Link
  • Tablet growth expected to be flat in North America and Europe this year. Link
  • Kenzo enhances Printemps pop-up with interactive mobile app. Link
  • Quirky Miu Miu mobile app makes mark at Venice Film Festival. Link
  • Pandora’s Google Glass app puts music controls on user’s face. Link
  • Another season, another app. Link
  • Macy’s offers digital wallet. Link
  • Full-screen ads are coming to the iPhone. Link
  • Rebecca Minkoff introducing wearable tech. Link
  • Storytelling app Steller becomes more of a social network. Link
  • Burger King ups ante on promoting apps with smartphone offer. Link
  • Ritz Carlton strive to improve customer stays with app upgrade. Link

Other:

  • Forbes’ 25 most innovative companies, including Hermes, Amazon, and Chipotle. Link
  • Report finds ecommerce draws hedge funds. Link
  • 22% of millennials feel they are under extreme financial stress. Link
  • The world’s most creative people in business. Link
  • How does internationalization work for online retailers? Link