Weekly Industry Round Up: 10.27.2014

October 27, 2014October 27, 2014Leave a comment

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

September 8, 2014September 8, 2014Leave a comment

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 9^th. 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

September 3, 2014Leave a comment

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:

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:

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

September 2, 2014September 2, 2014Leave a comment

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 9^th.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

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 8.4.2014

August 4, 2014Leave a comment

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

Retailer News:

Zappos tests personal shopping assistant image recognition app. Link
PayPal’s “Bill Me Later” service becomes “PayPal Credit” as company expands credit products globally. Link
Lord & Taylor to test beacons in store. Link
Spanx stretches into new territory with jeans. Link
Online retailer Blue Nile to experiment with brick and mortar retail presence. Link
Diane Von Furstenburg to launch fashion jewelry line. Link
A guide to 11 Fashion Tech Labs, from Nordstrom, to Target, to Macy’s. Link
Gilt partners with HP on fashionable smartwatch. Link
Hollister’s first celebrity collaboration with Lucy Hale of Pretty Little Liars. Link
Patagonia releases new eco-friendly wetsuits. Link
Rue La La attracts Gilt Groupe for potential sale. Link
Converse x Missoni Chuck Taylor launching at Nordstrom. Link
Target names new CEO from outside the organization. Link
How Sephora plans to survive retail in a digital age. Link
Adidas virtual storefront concept uses interactive digital signage controlled with smartphones. Link
Uniqlo expands to MidWest. Link
Calvin Klein designs collection for Net-a-Porter. Link
WalMart continues small format expansion. Link
Ikea creates omnichannel shopping experience from favorite items in app. Link
Etsy set to launch wholesale business this week. Link
eBay to venture into online services. Link
Apple closes acquisition of Beats music. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

Coca Cola launches Tweet a Coke campaign. Link
Under Armour makes headlines with Misty Copeland ballerina ad. Link
Twitter buys image-search startup Madbits. Link
Instagram launches one-touch photo and video messaging app Bolt outside the US. Link
Google Shopping now features product ratings in ads. Link
Big brands are driving Twitter and Facebook’s mobile ad expansion. Link
Marc Jacobs’ fragrance installation asks shoppers to upload their dreams. Link
Facebook gives up on gifts. Link
Meet the first viral SnapChat stars. Link
Twitter testing easier-to-use hashtags. Link

Start-ups:

WalMart Labs acquires Luvocracy, a Pinterest-like marketplace for product recommendations. Link
BaubleBar raises $10M in new funding lead by Chris Burch’s Burch Creative Capital. Link
HelloWorld, an easier way to share your location with friends. Link
Hukkster online shopping tool shuts down. Link
Saffron Fix delivers Indian food ingredients and recipes. Link
Goodshop, the website that donates to your chosen nonprofit when you shop online launches iOS app. Link
Square said to be in talks to buy food delivery start up Caviar. Link
Groupon founder working on walking tour app. Link
AirBnB expands to business travel. Link

International:

Canada and Australia are top choice for cross-border ecommerce, followed by Japan and New Zealand. Link

[APAC]

Amazon to invest $2B in India. Link
Why China is “10 Years Ahead” of the world with social commerce. Link
Alibaba mulls investment in SnapChat. Link
US Retailers target Chinese shoppers with stores, products. Link
China’s malls add parks, playgrounds to attract big-spending parents. Link
Rakuten believes chat app Viber can completely cange its ecommerce business. Link

[AU/NZ]

Surfstitch in IPO talks. Link
The Iconic’s heavy mobile investment paying off. Link
New Zealand online shoppers spent $1.3B offshore. Link

[EU]

3D printer company MakerBot opens EU office in Germany. Link
Zalando’s deal with TopShop. Link

[A/ME]

Rocket Internet’s Jumia goes deeper into Africa. Link
Facebook launches mobile app in Zambia with free Internet access. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

Android market share hits new record. Link
Hilton hotel rooms will soon unlock via iPhones. Link
Swatch to add personal fitness data to touch watch. Link
Starwood’s app-driven vision for the hotel of the future. Link
Buzzfeed to launch mobile app to be dedicated to serious news. Link
Best Buy CEO says tablets are crashing, has hope for PCs. Link
Square plans new chip-friendly credit card reader. Link
Mobile internet revenue to hit $700B in 4 years. Link
Polyvore launches new, simpler version of iPhone app. Link

Other:

New York Times runs a full-page medical marijuana ad for the first time ever. Link
Hotel gives guests virtual seeds to plant trees in fire-ravaged Chilean Patagonia. Link
At lunch with Michael Kors and Danny Meyer. Link

@WalMartLabs Acquires Luvocracy

July 29, 2014July 30, 2014Leave a comment

…or acqui-hires Luvocracy. According to TechCrunch, @WalmartLabs acquired a solid roster of talented peeps with pedigrees including Yahoo, Blurb, and eBay. They reportedly plan to use this talent to improve their own site’s product discovery, building off of Luvocracy’s past as a sort of cross between social recommendations, wish lists, and Pinterest. Sort of like Wanelo or Svpply.

Walmart has been on the prowl lately, with this acquisition marking the R&D arm’s14th startup purchase. Recently, they’ve been clearly focused on ecommerce and mobile innovation. Still fresh is the June acquisition of fashion commerce and discovery app Stylr.

I don’t hate it as a strategy. In fact, there was just a Mobile Marketer article published on this topic exactly. Big brands are putting their financial resources to good use by acquiring top talent who have innovative ideas and technical skills. It has become increasingly apparent that the expertise needed is in mobile and social, two areas where perhaps traditional retailers are struggling to keep up. The traditional retailers may not have the culture, perks, location, or thought leadership to attract top talent in these areas but are able to adapt in the shorter term via acquisitions.

It will be interesting to see how smaller brands or brands with fewer resources work around and compete with the likes of WalmartLabs and Nordstrom, which I wrote about recently.

One thing is for sure: mobile and social aren’t going anywhere. I think this was a solid acquisition.

Here is some coverage so far:

WalmartLabs Acquires Kleiner Perkins-backed Luvocracy, a Pinterest-like Marketplace for Product Recommendations (TechCrunch)

Walmart Buys Shopping App Luvocracy (InvestorPlace)

Wal-Mart buys another tech start-up, Luvocracy – only to shut it down (WSJ MarketWatch)

Wal-Mart on the Prowl to Boost Web Expertise (Women’s Wear Daily)

WEEKLY INDUSTRY ROUND UP: 7.21.2014

July 21, 2014Leave a comment

Industry brief for the week of July 13th – July 19th 2014. All sources can be found in the hyperlink after the headline:

Retailer News:

Nordstrom integrates Instagram to create shopping experience. Link
Tory Burch launches FitBit jewelry collection. Link
eBay partners with Sotheby’s for online auctions. Link
Nordstrom in talks to buy Trunk Club. Link
H&M’s NYC flagship will sell all product categories. Link
Zara’s parent company to implement RFID technology in all stores. Link
Puma teams up with We Go Hard for autumn/winter 2014. Link
Warby Parker teams with Into the Gloss for new aviators. Link
West Elm’s collaboration with Etsy could be the start of a new wave of partnerships. Link
Under Armour to join forces with Samsung for wearables. Link
Amazon reveals subscription ebook service. Link
Rent the Runway goes ‘Unlimited’ with monthly subscription service. Link
Ulta takes a chance on new brands. Link
Design Within Reach is bought by Herman Miller. Link
Dell now accepts Bitcoin for all online U.S. purchases. Link
Online version of Ikea catalog adds shopping lists, favorites. Link
This package could help Amazon use 200 times fewer boxes. Link
Fendi opens Soho pop-up shop. Link
Kate Spade launches first swimwear collection. Link
Modcloth cuts almost 15% of its staff. Link
Macy’s rethinking Brooklyn unit’s future. Link
Neiman Marcus enables Visa checkout to boost ecommerce conversion. Link
Uniqlo designed MoMa security staff’s new uniforms. Link
How Ikea wins business through co-creation and collaboration. Link

Social Media + Marketing:

Snapchat adds filters that unlock art based on your location. Link
Twitter inches closer to ecommerce with CardSpring deal. Link
Google Plus rescinded its real-name mandate. Link
Turning likes into a career: social media stars. Link
Brands go digital in extended sponsorships with music festivals. Link
Agencies increase focus on cause marketing. Link
Imgur roles out powerful new viral image search tool. Link
Pinterest launches new category pages you can follow on mobile & web. Link
Facebook tests new ‘buy’ button for online purchases in U.S. Link
YouTube’s new content push: investing in its own stars. Link
Beauty bloggers changing the face of the make-up industry. Link
Buzzfeed cracks the Pinterest code. Link
Facebook explains why it wants to be a retail store. Link

Start-ups:

Kate Bosworth to launch new fashion app called Style Thief. Link
An app that is like Tinder for shopping. Link
Higgle lets like-minded shoppers name their price when they buy together. Link
Threadflip raises $13M to grow workforce by 40%. Link
App tracks product price drops with a simple screenshot. Link
Why entrepreneurs are jumping on the drinkable meal bandwagon. Link
Meet the Uber of the retail world. Link

International:

[APAC]

Alibaba strikes deal with Nielsen to shed more light on Chinese shopping habits. Link
Line’s new ecommerce app for Thailand is the scruffy cousin to its shopping app in Japan. Link
Chinese ecommerce firm JD.com relaunches eBay-like Paipai to take on Alibaba. Link
Five takeaways from Japan’s report on internet usage. Link
WalMart increases Indian wholesale business. Link
The world’s largest duty-free mall set to open in September in China. Link
Amazon India introduces shopping via Twitter hashtag. Link

[AU/NZ]

Apple brings trade-in program to Australia. Link
TopShop close to Perth opening. Link

[CA]

Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters coming to Winnipeg. Link

[EU]

Primark plans US expansion. Link
In EU, Google to stop labeling apps with in-app purchases as “free.” Link
eBay doubling down on Click-and-Collect service in Britain. Link

[A/ME]

Neiman Marcus debuts duty-free deals in the Middle East. Link

[LATAM]

Alibaba teams up with Brazil postal service firm. Link
Baidu search engine enters Brazil. Link

Mobile, Tablet, + Wearables:

Starbucks testing mobile ordering system. Link
Music messaging app lets users chat with song snippets. Link
Visa tries to unseat Google Wallet and PayPal. Link
Google Wallet iOS app adds gift cards, invoicing and the ability to send money from debit cards for free. Link
Google inks deal to make smart contact lenses. Link
Kim Kardashian’s iOS game couple make $200M this year—here’s how. Link
Mobile marketing trends dominating the first half of 2014. Link

Other:

UPS announces expansion of early morning delivery service. Link
AirBnB gets a rebrand. Link
Pinterest’s unique approach to building new features users love. Link
Ex-Amazon manager gets funding to help retailers battle Amazon. Link
Fashion labs: how tech is changing the way we dress and shop. Link

Rent The Runway Launches Subscription Service

July 21, 2014July 21, 2014Leave a comment

Rent the Runway made big news last week with the beta launch of a new subscription service for accessories. With Rent the Runway Unlimited, customers pay $75 per month to rent everything from handbags, to sunglasses, to jewelry. The customer gets up to three accessories at a time and can keep them as long as they want, until they are ready to trade in for the other items on their list.

The new section of the website currently features a metallic silver Barbara Bui leather jacket that retails for over $2,300, a nearly $600 Elizabeth and James bag, and $675 Balenciaga sunglasses.

Co-founder and CEO of Rent the Runway, Jennifer Hyman, told WWD that they are aiming to “attack” Zara and H&M, which appeal to the mass market with what she calls fast fashion disposable “junk food.” With Unlimited, customers can enjoy the thrill and high of wearing of on-trend luxury products without breaking the bank. A nice proposition for those weary of spending big bucks on a trend that may not last through next season.

My take: Rent the Runway has been doing a great job of distorting their category. Temporary ownership of luxury goods is not a ground-breaking idea but they’ve been able to successfully increase share of wallet from millions of women. They’ve gone the same way as other successful tech start-ups such as Bonobos, BirchBox and Warby Parker by opening brick and mortar retail stores and now, they seek to capitalize on the subscription business model. Next up, they are planning a brand face-lift that will include more editorial content (Net-a-porter anyone?) and a further push to sell their products permanently via a Try to Buy program. Though they haven’t said so, I imagine international is on their road map as well as a more digitally innovative in-store experience.

Way to use your VC funding well, ladies.