Future Commerce

Main Takeaways: Retail consolidation is happening, and it really is survival of the best fit. Phillip really wants Alexa to stop trying to figure him out. Amazon raises its minimum wage to $15, but are workers really benefiting? Shopify launches a glorified Apple Genius Bar in Downtown LA. Adobe has an uphill battle in integrating its acquisitions into a seamless ecosystem. Traditional Retail is Making Moves in Pretty Much Every Direction: DSW, (everyone's favorite place to buy trendy ankle boots), has along with Authentic Brand Group has made a deal to acquire Camuto Group for 375MM. DSW will contribute 200MM to this deal. it seems Toys 'R Us has been revived. On October 1st the retailer filed papers in bankruptcy court to halt the auction of their intellectual property. In news that will shock almost no one: Sears (a company that has somehow survived for 132 years)  has filed for bankruptcy, and is simultaneously trying to tread water. Sears has already shuttered thousands of Sears and Kmart stores, and its future remains uncertain, to say the least. Levi Strauss has posted massive gains (10% for Q3), This news must be very exciting to lovers of high-quality jean jackets everywhere. Should Everyone Just Feel Sorry For Billionaire Bezos? Amazon raises its minimum wage to $15, and yet some are suspicious of the retail giant's sudden goodwill. Amazon has faced prior criticism for its treatment of warehouse workers, including insane production quotas, too short break times, and a "big brother environment at work. Some of these stories sound like they are from a different century. And some of the criticism may be warranted: NBC News is reporting that Amazon is cutting bonuses and stock options to those same warehouse employees. This allows Amazon to enjoy the political benefit, and public adoration, while still being able to undercut employees. While Amazon has received praise for the minimum wage hike from former critics including Senator Bernie Sanders, it is still being hit with criticism for the cutting of benefits. Phillip and Brian lament that poor Jeff Bezos cannot seem to catch a break . Shopify LA: Just Another Apple Genius Bar?. Shopify has set up shop in a brick and mortar space in downtown LA, the location choice being a mystery to most.                  According to Philip and Brian, this store is more proof of concept than anything else. Shopify putting its footprint down in a physical space seems to come at a time where digital and native brands are realizing they need to move beyond digital. Shopify LA seems to operate similarly to the  Apple Genius Bar. Merchants can come to the store for IT support and ask questions about Shopify's offerings.   Shopify seems also to be using this store to reposition themselves: many users would describe Shopify as an e-commerce platform or use terms that include "digital commerce". Instead, TechCrunch (and perhaps Shopify themselves) describe Shopify as "provider of payment and logistics management software". Does this sound like rebranding to anyone else? Will Shopify Ever Set Up a "Shopify 4-Star"? Since Shopify has set their new brick and mortar space to be more "Apple Genius Bar" than anything else, will Shopify ever set up a retail space similar to Amazon 4-Star? Moving from digital to a physical retail space would allow for Shopify to showcase the best of their merchant's products. Brian makes the case for Shopify not wanting to have to compete with Amazon. Philip argues that Shopify's competition wouldn't even be Amazon it would be Etsy. What would really set Shopify apart if they would enter into a physical retail storefront, would be an  element of product discovery mixed up with a really creative in-store experience. A lot of e-commerce merchants are realizing that reinventing brick and mortar and giving customers a really innovative in-store experience may be the way to really up their commerce game. Can Adobe Create a Seamless Ecosystem Through Its Acquisitions? Adobe is working hard to compete with heavy hitters SAP, Oracle and, Salesforce. One way Adobe is trying to accomplish this feat is through all of its acquisitions.   Adobe is an enterprise applications company because of Omniture and Magento and its experience manager. Through various strategic acquisitions, Adobe is trying to create a seamlessly integrated ecosystem with all of its working parts and acquisitions working together. Some of Adobe most recent acquisitions Magento, an e-commerce platform, and  Marketo, a marketing automation tool are signaling Adobe's attempt to best be adaptive for marketers. Adobe most significant mindshare is through their creative cloud. CEO Shantanu Narayen spoke at Magento EU all about Adobe's transformation from a deployed software model to a cloud-based company that is able to iterate faster and deliver software on a perpetual basis. Go over to Futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners! Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Main Takeaways: Amazon takes a third (actually more like fifth) leap into physical retail. Phillip takes a trip down memory lane, was Service Merchandise the original Amazon? This episode would make it into Amazon's 4-star store. Retailers may want to jump on the Amazon copycat train for better in-store curation. Amazon Opens Yet Another Retail Space: Is Brick and Mortar Back? Amazon adds another retail store to its collection, Amazon 4-Star will join Amazon Books and Amazon Go. This is the first of Amazon's stores that replicates Amazon in an in-store experience. Whole Foods also counts as an Amazon retail experience (Amazon acquired Whole Foods in 2017). Amazon 4-Star will exclusively feature products from it's website that have a four-star rating or better. This will allow for more consumer confidence in quality. Still, with millions of products, Amazon will still have to curate the best products and create an engaging in-store experience.   Amazon 4-Star is the latest slap to the face of the so-called "retail apocalypse", and Amazon proves that innovation really can change the game. We learn that Phillip is really into the Hamilton musical. What Can Other Retailers Learn From the Amazon In-store Model? Retailers should follow the curation metric that Amazon has laid out in Amazon 4-Star and only source products that rank over "four stars." Amazon has replaced paper tags with digital "real time" electronic shelf labels, which will display not only the price of the product, but also Amazon Prime savings, and the number of reviews a product has received. This points to an understanding between Amazon and their customer base that new innovation is needed in retail, and that this type of in-store experience is the future of retail. Online vs. In-Store Shopping: Customer Experience Edition: The question remains, why would a customer patronize one of Amazon's brick and mortar stores, be it Amazon 4-star, Amazon Go, or Amazon Books when there's convenience in ordering online? Or if you live in certain parts of the country there's Amazon Prime Now with extra convenient two-hour shipping. Well, it's all about the experience that the customer is looking for, with Amazon in-store and online offering different modalities. An online, Amazon prime experience seems to be all about convenience. And really, who would ever want to have to leave their house to shop? Brian makes the case that this kind of retail experience is all about discovery, and finding the best of Amazon. Phillip time-travels to the 1980's, to a store called Service Merchandise, a catalog store with an Amazon vibe. I.e,. real-world analog Amazon. Will Amazon 4-Star be the Best of Amazon or All About Alexa? Scott Galloway in speaking at L'2s Amazon Clinic says that Amazon will spend billions to kill brands. It's pretty terrifying when the conspiracy theories about companies come to life. Alexa's in on all of this too, and it's all in the recommendations. Amazon is pushing their private label products through everyone's favorite voice assistant. So with Amazon expanding further into retail with Amazon 4-Star, will Amazon be honest in their in-store retail offerings? Phillip proposes the idea of an entire Alexa store. Brian and Phillip actually have faith in Amazon's ability to promote the best of Amazon's online products, and not use this store as their own personal brand marketing tool. Only time and sales receipts will tell. Brian and Phillip are planning a field trip to the first Amazon 4-Star store. Retail Tech is moving fast and Future Commerce is moving faster. Have you had an Amazon 4-Star experience? Let us know all your thoughts at futurecommerce.fm Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Main Takeaways: California bans bots from pretending to be human. Finally, brands are getting on board will real-size fashion. Brian and Phillip banter over "chose your own ending" episodes. California Passes Law to Stop Bots From Behaving Badly: Bots have earned themselves quite a nasty reputation lately. Sneaker bots specifically have people (especially Phillip) aggravated with how they buy up sneakers, forcing sneakerheads to purchase sneakers after the fact at ridiculous prices. Retailer KITH got themselves in a not great situation after they tricked sneaker bots into purchasing the wrong sneakers (they were looking for the Nike OFF-WHITE Air Prestos) and customers who spent a lot of money are all kind of angry. California passes a law that bots must present themselves as such, sending brands a signal that they can't automate everything. Phillip makes a point that this will add another complication to users. The good news about this law is that it will prevent more reputable business from using bots poorly. Possible bot opening line after new law: "This is not a real person...... yet. Will Walmart's Latest Acquisitions Breathe New Life Into Their Brand? Walmart has always been seen as this lower quality brand, not being able to compete against other low-cost retailers like Target. Target markets itself as an affordable retailer for people who are both fashion, and wallet-conscious. However, it looks like Walmart is stepping up its style game. Walmart has also been picking up a lot of popular brands lately, outdoor retailer Moosejaw, vintage woman's retailer ModCloth, menswear retailer Bonobos, and now plus size brand ELOQUII. Will these popular brands find their way into a Walmart near you? Brian suggests that perhaps instead Walmart may merge some of these brands into a better "in-store" try on experience. Also noteworthy: The acquisition of ELOQUII as well as Bonobos expanding into "big and tall sizes" (ModCloth also offers sizes up to 4x) is pointing to a changing market. People come in all shapes and sizes, and retailers are beginning to honor that. Everyone should have access to clothing that looks good, and fits well. In fact a CoreSight report points to this. Choose Your Own Adventure Episodes: Flashback to the 80's: Phillip and Brian get into a heated Twitter debate about interactive content. Brian is definitely not a fan of "choose your own adventure" books from the 80's. Phillip contrasts them to video games, where you have to take the road less traveled repeatedly until you win. Why this is relevant: Netflix announced recently that an upcoming episode of sci-fi series "Black Mirror" (Netflix purchased the rights to Black Mirror in 2015) will contain an interactive element that will allow users to choose their own ending. According to Bloomberg, "Netflix is planning a slate of specials that will let viewers choose the next storyline in a TV episode or movie". And it totally makes sense that Netflix would be the first streaming service to venture into this kind of content because they have control over both the delivery and production. Regardless of whether Netflix's foray into this kind of content is successful, this move undoubtedly displays innovation on Netflix's part. If this is successful, who will be next to capitalize on this market? Possible contenders: Amazon, Disney, HBO. Apparently, this has all already been done. This World Does Not Belong To You: You May Not Even Own Your Face. A viral tweet from iTunes user Anders G da Silva revealed that Apple is removing supposedly permanently purchased content from user libraries. This may be the beginning of all of us needing to acknowledge that we don't really own anything, and permission for this is probably buried deep into Apple's terms of service agreement that no one ever reads. Also, is permanence overrated? With companies like Rent the Runway and Turo making headway, maybe so. According to Philip (who is being super foreboding this entire episode): With the future in digital, one day your HOA may be able to keep you from your garage if you haven't paid your fees. JetBlue has decided to launch the first ever biometrics terminal in Atlanta. Is anyone concerned with what they do with the images afterward? The FBI force a suspect's to open his phone with the Face ID feature, thereby allowing the agent to search through messages, and whatever else was on the phone. Are private companies becoming more "Big Brother" than the U.S Government? Letting Private Companies Make Our Financial Decisions: Yay or Nay? Petal, a financial tech company, has introduced a no-credit-needed credit card, where they use your financial history to determine terms. Cool features alert: this credit card has no fees(annual, overdraft or late fees), no deposit requirement, and a mid-range APR among other things. According to Nerdwallet, The company uses your income and liabilities taken through access your bank statements and financial history to determine creditworthiness This definitely opens up a conversation about financial accountability, and whether the private sector is a good place to help consumers make better choices about how they spend their money. Brian breaks Phillip's brain: Imagine a world where people don't have to make any decisions about their daily lives. Where everything can be taken care of through a subscription service. Clothing will be refreshed every season, and on budget, interesting meals will be both healthy and affordable, and no one will ever have to worry about anything. (Does this sound like a dystopian novel to anyone else)? Also sounds like something Amazon would love to deliver to customers. Go over to futurecommerce.fm and give us your feedback! We love to hear from our listeners! Retail tech is moving fast, and Future Commerce is moving faster. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Main Takeaways: Salesforce CEO Benioff goes on a multi-million dollar shopping spree. Amazon is setting up a new headquarters; Will it be in DC? Why doesn't anyone want to work for Target? Apple is creating lifestyle products that you can't (or won't) live without. Highlights from Shop.org 2018: The innovation lab outpaced last year's conference by far. Body related technology was a major focus. Amazon's acquisition of Body Labs earlier this year seems to have paved the way for a lot of new technology. There was a lot of interesting shelf-technology. Specifically, some cashierless stores using tech to update in-store displays on the fly. Tusk Ventures put together all the businesses for the conference. Brian congratulates them on a job well done. 2018 is a True "Content is King" Market: Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce is putting money into content-conscious companies, personally investing in StockX, Benioff also recently purchased Time Magazine for $190MM StockX is utilizing content well: they have a Youtube channel and compelling written material on their site. Shoes are all the rage right now thanks to content creator extraordinaire/artist Kanye West (Adidas)  broad release of Yeezys Media is creating hype through content properties like Highsnobiety and Hypebeast. Companies seem unafraid of wading into formerly taboo politically charged spaces. Two examples of this: Patagonia's "The President Stole Your Land" and Nike's Colin Kaepernick "Just Do It" ad. The risk these companies are taking seems to be paying off: Nike's stock has actually reached an all-time high, despite calls for a boycott. Also, Phillip channels Donald Trump from The Apprentice, and it's pretty terrifying. Head to Toe Tech Enabled Clothing: The Future of Fashion and Health? Apple is totally invested in the entire body, and is creating products that can report total body data. Phillip says it's time to take a drink to the future. The new Apple Watch, Series 4 includes an FDA approved EKG feature that will allow for the first over the counter electrocardiogram that can be saved in the health app for a doctor to view later. The new Apple Watch's fall detection feature can potentially save lives, when turned on it can check in after it detects a fall, and even call emergency services. Another brand doing some crazy things with body data: ZoZo a company based in Japan, is using body data from a "polka dot suit" and selfies to give Stitch Fix measurements to customers so they can have near perfect fit clothing. Phillip and Brian predict that full-on technology enabled clothing could be a reality in five years. Partnerships Between Tech Companies and Fashion: "Textile Tech" is now a thing, with companies working to make their customers lives easier. With the Nike Epic React sneaker release, the company changed the construction of the sole to be optimal for all sizes. Tech is being woven into everyday life, and it's changing the way consumers view both fashion and technology. Brian says that this head to toe tech phenomenon is allowing for users to build their own mini Iron Man suits. Apple: Is the Company Prepared for the Future? Apple, the world's first trillion dollar company, is uniquely skilled at creating products absolutely essential to everyday life. Apple needs to partner with the right brands. Phillip can't live without Alexa and really wishes Siri would step it up as a virtual assistant. Brian contemplates switching from Android to IPhone. Apple did just announce an A12 bionic chip that could decrease energy usage by 50%. This is a total technological breakthrough. While Apple may be able to create data centers in the palm of consumers hands within 3-5 years, there is still a question of what their competitors, namely Walmart, Amazon, and Google will come up within that time period. It really could be anyone's game. Amazon's Second HQ: Is Politicking Ahead? Business Insider speculates that Amazon will set up its second headquarters in Washington D.C. Clinical Professor of Marketing at NYU, Scott Galloway has a lot to say about Amazon on "Recode Decode." Phillip and Brian agree that all business get political eventually to protect their interests. Up until now, the President and Amazon haven't quite been on the same page about, well pretty much anything. In fact, President Trump has taken some real swipes at the retail giant. Could this change in 2020? If the President was granted a second term, perhaps. Amazon's probably been stealthily lobbying for years on regulations, will it's rumored location change bring their advocacy into the light? Why Can't Retail Companies Hire For The Holidays? Target had its best quarter ever, and yet like other retail companies is having trouble staffing up. A lot of retailers are having severe problems staffing up for the holiday season, possibly due to record-low unemployment. Retailers need 757,000 holiday employees this year, which is up 100,000 from the previous year, and they just cannot round out the numbers. Possibly due to this gap in the market, retailers have had to lower standards, which Brian's wife learned when she tried to shop at Macy's and found the staff there lacking in professional courtesy(to put it mildly). Since retailers are being forced to compete for workers, they are now beginning to offer unheard of incentives. Macy's is going to be offering "path to growth incentives", Kohl's will have discount days for associates, and JCPenney, whom none of us knew still existed, will be providing eligible part-time workers 401Ks, paid training and paid time off. This is a considerable departure from the way retail has operated for a long time. Also, the retail apocalypse? Still not a thing. This shortage will actually lead to more jobs in the retail tech economy, as retail continues to both innovate and automate. Retail Tech is moving fast, and Future Commerce is moving faster. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Main Takeaways: Fitzroy Toys manages to operate as B2B company with a B2C feel. The retail apocalypse is really just the end of boring retail. Big brands are having to get scrappy to keep up with start-ups. From 4th Grade to Fitzroy: CEO Stefanie Botelho's entrepreneurship journey actually began in toys: she started her first business venture in the 4th grade where she sold finger puppets to her classmates. The first ever version of Fitzroy Toys was created as a project in a coding class when Stefanie was in Harvard Buisness School. Fitzroy Toys (now rebranded as Fitzroy) actually began as a toy recommendation engine (a direct to consumer search engine) where consumers who were one step removed from a child could purchase toys based on recommendations. Fitzroy has a clear mission: to support different by connecting independent retailers to independent brands. Fitzroy is unique in that it operates as a B2B company and in a wholesale space. Unlike most wholesale companies, the UX and UI of the company experience allow consumers to feel like they are shopping on a B2C, retail-based space. Fitzroy is a tech company first, wholesale company second. How To Scale and Succeed in Business: Keeping customers as a north star is critical, and in Stefanie's (and Fitzroy's) case, by going to the brands after graduation she learned that there was a demand for wholesale in the toy space. Learn from others who have been in the space longer and have deference for their experience. Allow for organic growth: Fitzroy Toys rebranded to Fitzroy as the company moved beyond toys into other home/family-based verticals. Test before you fully implement any strategy: Before fully rebranding, Fitzroy held a soft-rebrand of the company and allowed for user feedback to guide the direction. Turning Wholesale Purchasing Into an Experience: By looking at all of the best B2C companies, and what they do right in regards to UX and UI, Fitzroy is able to create a B2C feel while remaining a B2B company. Super cool feature alert: Fitzroy has a universal cart so retailers can see what they are purchasing from multiple brands.   The entirety of Fitzroy's site is custom built, and all features are in line with creating a seamless uncomplicated experience for users. All brands on the site are vetted, and everything on the website is behind the login wall, with some items not available anywhere else. Retailers are able to sub-search for specific categories that may be important to their values/branding. They can search for things like organic, eco-friendly or even woman-owned business. This can allow those users to curate products that will be in line with what their customers values as well as their brand's. Also, because Fitzroy deals with both brands and retailers, they are able to provide their users with useful data regarding what their customers may want in terms of specialty purchasing. A lot of these retailers have customers who really care about the transparency behind what they are purchasing. The Real Retail Apocalypse: The End of Boring Retail: Retail is changing, and companies will have to begin operating on a more user-focused experience. One way Fitzroy is participating in this by working with brands and retailers to stock and purchase ADA-compliant products that are usable for children with learning or physical disabilities. Big brands are having to keep up with start-ups who are always innovating. Macy's (a quintessential "big brand") has acquired two companies Story and Bulletin both of whom are focused on creating unique in-store experiences for customers. Handy, a home services company similar to Uber in its model of on-demand service, is expanding their customer base. Startups like Glossier and Allbirds are dominating the market by focusing on things that consumers really value: comfort, individuality, naturally sourced materials and style. Stefanie Botelho's Recommendations for Merchants: Double-down on strengths: If you have a physical location, utilize the opportunity for in-store experience, and lean in to whatever your business is already really good at. Play your own game: "Think about that last mile problem and partner with additional tech to offer convenience to users." Think about what "experience" means to you: beyond pop-up shops or trunk shows. And cultivate that experience for your customers. Don't be afraid to have your own unique voice: Interpret your entire brand strategy and focus through that lens. Guest Stefaine Botelho - Fitzroy Toys Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Show Notes Main Takeaways: Brian gets to visit all the cool exhibits with all the cool toys in the Innovation Lab at Shop.org 2018. Personalization seems to be the name of the game in emerging technology. Avatars with a user's exact measurements may just be the preferred shopping experience of the future. Is it time to drop the E in e-commerce? Can Body Scanning with 3D Models Make Clothes Fit Better? While body scanning is always a hot topic, 3D Look invested 18 months of research and found that using 3D models can allow for more exact measurements. By using 3D models, 3D Look is able to get their margin of error down to 3 centimeters, and they hope to improve on that within the year. Unlike their competition 3D Look's body scanner can be used through one layer of clothing, which makes it much easier to use. 3D Look's technology will allow consumers to stop focusing on pesky numbers on letters, and instead on how clothes actually fit and feel. 3D Look's goal for 2020: To be utilized all across the e-commerce market. Finally, Everyone Can Wear Flattering Clothing: Allure Systems utilizes virtual fashion and virtual models, which can allow retailers to prepare a catalog without a massive price tag attached. The technology used is a massive Xerox machine to capture the garment in 360 degrees. Real diversity of size could actually be a reality in retail, with this technology finally making it possible to see a model of every size wearing any garment. This is excellent news for non-sample-size people who would like to know what clothing will look like on their specific body types. The future of this kind of technology may lie in personal avatars, which would further personalize a shopping experience, even allowing shoppers to see what the garment would look like if they gained or lose weight. From Data to Dresses (Or Dining Rooms): Shoptelligence uses basic product data to create ensembles. Either outfits or complete room decor. For shoppers, this can be a fully personalized experience where they design an entire room to their exact tastes. The system allows a user to enter details like budget, room size and even desired aesthetic, and the AI assistant can also make suggestions based on the data provided. Can we drop the e in e-commerce, and make way for new terms like home shopping experience, or on the go shopping experiences? According to CEO Laura Khoury what Shoptelligence delivers is "truly seamless personal assistance." In (and out of)Store Virtual Customization : Smart Pixels is 3D that you can actually touch. In-store virtual customization that allows for altering of colors, fabrics, and textures in store, and on the go. Smart Pixels currently uses tablets in store for customization but is hoping to be able to use actual samples of leather, suede, etc.. so that customers will be able to see customization not just as a picture on a screen but as something tangible. Can App-less Augmented Reality De-complicate the Buying Process? Seek sought to integrate AR directly without an app, because as they say consumers don't want to go through the hassle of downloading an app to view AR content. According to Seek when AR is integrated into the buying process "conversion goes up 30%" Seek is seeking to be the "Youtube" of AR in terms of hosting, hosting converted models themselves so they can be shown on any platform. AR improves the buying process because it allows consumers to actually see the product in their lives. Something for the Apple superfans out there: IOS 12 features app-less AR features. Innovation Lab Takeaways:       Brian and Ryan MacInnis (Director of Marketing at Voysis) agree that the success of technology can be based on timing. A great way for innovators to innovate is to understand and interact with their user base. Innovation lab is only going to get better regarding new tech and new depth. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Show Notes At the forefront of innovation: B-A-N-A-N-A-S. The One-A-Day Banana nearly broke the internet. One package, six bananas varying in ripeness so you can have the perfect ripeness each day. This could be a good solution for grocery delivery services because produce is a big challenge for them. It's tough to get the perfect avocado or banana when you order online. Rent the Runway has received a $200 million loan This will lead to even bigger growth for the growing clothing subscription service. Their business model aligns with studies that claim more young people are buying clothes just to share them on Instagram, then return them. Clicks Seeking Bricks In a recent interview Natalie Berg said "clicks are looking for bricks" There was a structural advantage for ecommerce at one time being online only, but now that ecommerce is more prevalent, brick and mortar can be an advantage again for fulfillment and custom experience. This is what makes Walmart a genuine threat to the big A. They have a huge structural advantage that can bolster their online sales. Can Target compete with Amazon and Walmart online? Target acquired Shipt to be more aggressive on their ecommerce front. There was a lot of hype about same-day delivery, but for many, the primary option is free two day shipping on orders of $35+. Their in-house brands for clothing and furniture offer unique value over Walmart and Amazon for certain demographics. Is Walmart still a bad guy? Amazon's competitive practices and working conditions make Walmart look like Trader Joe's. Walmart is slowly shedding the stigma it gained in the 90's and 2000's. Walmart has been a better contributor to the technology community, which has helped them get more web talent. Is Amazon basically Thanos? Jason Goldberg asked, "If Amazon were the only ecommerce provider in the US, could they implement a small but significant price increase?" or would offline retailers keep their prices low? This question is a helpful indicator for whether Amazon is crossing anti-trust lines. If Amazon and AWS were the go away, the internet would be devastated. Amazon continues to launch new in-house brands, spreading their reach. Though we may not be there yet, this conversation about Amazon is important. Ok, wait, maybe Google is Thanos Google has more data about us than any other company, by far. Why aren't we raising more flags about them? Targeting Discrimination Facebook hit with housing discrimination complaint by HUD because of filtering options that gave advertisers the option to filter by race, sex, religion, disability and other characteristics. This should add perspective for advertising in all fields and the common practices that may be deemed discriminatory. Enjoy the show? Leave us a review on iTunes. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

According to Allen Nance email has transcended from a communication platform to a global source of identity for consumers the world over. The CMO of Emarsys sits down with us to talk about how this communication medium has a globally accepted protocol which may unlock the key to identity in a social and mobile commerce future. Listen now! Show Notes About Allen Nance (an "Email OG") Allen Nance was person in his family to graduate high school. He then attended Georgia Institute of Technology. After graduating, Allen founded one of the first ESP's (Email Service Providers) WhatCounts. After selling that company in 2010, he moved on to investing in ecommerce and marketing technology. When Emarsys entered the US market a few years ago, he met the founders and really loved their team and their platform. He joined their team shortly after. Is email dead? Every few months, someone releases an article declaring, "EMAIL IS DEAD!" Nance says "Ignore those." It is one of only global ubiquitous communication platforms that has ever existed on earth. It will continue to be a dominant channel. Email is the social security number of the internet, our digital ID. Email is the start of an omnichannel experience Don't think about email as a single channel. Email the single most valuable first party data identifier we have. This is essential for tying together Facebook Advertising, Google Display Network, mobile, and web experience. Email will endure because it is our greatest identifier online. "Not so fast" said the Asian market In Asia, SMS is the standard identifier online. Despite this, email remains the dominant channel in commerce. Mobile commerce is not growing at the same rate as mobile traffic In general, mobile traffic is increasing while web traffic is decreasing. But in commerce, mobile is only seeing this same exponential growth when it is in native interactions, like Uber or Apple Pay. As retailers define mobile first experience for commerce, email can move from a traffic channel to a transaction platform. In the future, email is the destination, not the journey Most marketers use email to send traffic to a destination, but in the future, email can become a destination for transaction, where purchases are made in the email itself. This future is dependant on advances in content personalization and security. Unleashing the "The Creative Renaissance" On the technology side of marketing, providers must develop their tools so that marketers only to develop strategy, develop content, and develop a creative experience. If software can become more industry specific and intelligent, the extra time spent on CSV files, dragging and dropping, and building campaigns, can be used to fuel creative work of marketers. No more empty software Too much software is "empty," leaving marketers to configure many touchpoints that could be automated. Often you buy a power point presentation, but you receive a piece of empty software. Software companies need to utilize data to give retailers a head start. Emarsys updates over 100 million data points per day. Their goal is to use this vast amount of consumer data to create better solutions, not just empty software. Allen Nance's near-term recommendations for marketers and merchants Understand that data is the single most valuable asset you have. People talk a lot about AI, but AI is not like Febreze. You can't spray AI on crappy data to make it smell good. It's better to have good data than a lot of data. Evaluate how you are using email as the digital identifier of your omnichannel strategy. How do I use email across point of sale, mobile, Facebook advertising, and Google Display Network? What Allen is most excited about for the future The divergence of the gap between mobile growth and mobile commerce. This is a huge opportunity for companies that think about this challenge. First party data is going to become the most valuable thing that marketers have. The idea of a "data collective" will become more prevalent where a multitude of retailers will share their digital data with each other. Individualized pricing. Industries can use personalized data to custom cater pricing on a large scale. Bring your voice to the conversation Have you experience empty software? What are you doing with your first party data? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"Voice is dead", Hema launches experiential grocery, cast your votes with the blockchain! Also - which online mattress retailer is opening 200 stores in the USA? One guess, and it rhymes with "blasper". Listen now! Show notes Phillip's wife received a package from Care/Of Vitamins and it had someone else's pills in it (!!!!) When new companies enter the pharmaceutical and health space, how can we trust that they are being diligent in their quality assurance? RIP Voice Shopping? The Information have said only 2% of Echo users have ordered using their voices and 90% of that 2% (AKA .18%) didn't use it again. Are there future applications for voice in commerce, though? Brian theorizes there could there be in-context purchasing opportunities in audio/visual media. Voice is still growing in popularity 40% of adults use voice searches each day. In most cases still, voice compliments screen. We are long way from seeing voice as its own "channel." It can compliment existing channels, though. The problem with the voice assistants today (other than the fact that they might just be FBI listening devices with PR) Amazon, company with the best position for commerce releases a voice assistant. No one uses it for commerce. It has great hardware and technology. Most people use it for music. It's awful for web search, though. Google, the company in the best position for web search releases a voice assistant, but it lacks the commerce capability. Apple, the company with the best position for music, releases the worst voice assistant, and even its speaker is lackluster. China brings innovation in the grocery business Hema Market is like Amazon Go, but on steroids. Hem Market is backed by Alibaba. At the cashless grocery store, every item has a barcode customers can scan to trace the product's origin, delivery, and nutritional information. On your way out the door, you can pay using your smartphone or visit a face scanner that links you to your Alipay account. Smell you later, basic pencils In the back to school market, there are new products popping up like guided creative journals and scented pencils. These new innovations are driving significant profit over traditional options. This aligns with a larger pattern of creating luxury upgrades on commodity-type products. Consumers are more willing to supplement the mundane with something unique and new. As the economy improves, luxury purchases are increasing on low end goods. This could be why aspirational luxury brands are struggling. Phillip sites the luxury brand, whose name he could not recall, that burned all their extra stock to increase demand. IT'S BURBERRY, PHIL! Tracking inflation with the... kale index? Wages have risen, but prices has not. Base prices will likely follow. Is there a cleaner-eating, non-GMO, certified organic, locally-owned version of the Big Mac index for our present time? Casper is going "clicks to bricks" Casper is opening 200 stores in the United States. Mattress stores across the country are closing, what makes Casper different? Casper has built a recognizable brand and has a competitive price point. This is the result of the VC rapid-growth mentality. Now that they've saturated web sales, brick and mortar follows. Care/of ships wrong products Voice? Ded. 2% of echo users ever bought, 90% never use it again ACTUAL SOURCE Unnamed sources = who cares? Hema grocery concept store Blockchain voting via VOATZ - West Va. Bad Idea? or WORST IDEA EVER? New product categories arise in back to school sales Casper to open 200 stores Clicks to Bricks Couple charged with Amazon fraud scheme Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sucharita Kodali of Forrester Research joins us to talk about the unfortunate demise of Toys 'R Us and her new book, "Toys 'R Bust: Reasons One of the Country’s Most Revered Retailers Collapsed". Show Notes About Sucharita Kodali Sucharita is a retail analyst at Forrester Research with a focus on online retail and technology. She once worked at Toys"R"Us and is writing a book called "Toys R Bust" chronicling the rise and fall of the retail giant. Half the pay and a third of the productivity The Container Store theorizes that one great employee is worth three good ones, so they choose to pay 50-100% higher wages for their salespeople. Because of seasonal hiring and low pay at Toys"R"Us, there were low quality employees that were poorly trained and unmotivated. In a grocery setting, this results in errors like zucchinis in the cucumber pile. Many employees at Toys"R"Us were trained singularly and were unable to fill gaps and needs as challenges arose. Rewriting the fall of Toys"R"Us Sucharita counters the notion that private equity ruined Toys"R"Us. They had been in a tailspin for years before private equity entered the equation. Toys"R"Us struggled to compete against a certain Seattle behemoth. After their deal with Amazon severed, Toys"R"Us moved to GSI's platform. Writing a more perfect Toys"R"Us Could they have adopted a more customer-centric experience like Bonobos or Warby Parker? Could a more boutique shopping experience integrated with ecommerce fulfillment have worked? Despite a large array of interesting products in the toy market, Toys"R"Us received 50% of its inventory from just 20 vendors. Amazon Prime Day It was shocking to see an outage on Amazon's site, let alone on Prime Day. There were more sign-ups on Prime than on any other day prior. Amazon seems to play by its own rules. Despite a bad first impression, they still had a huge day of sales and signups. This says a lot about their brand trust. Speaking of Trust... Is Amazon at risk of being affected by anti-trust laws? Europe is cracking down. Will this reach the US? Marketplaces are incredibly easy to sell and there is not a lot of recourse or quality control right now. Many third-party sellers make false claims or deliver counterfeit product. Legislation could affect this soon. Magento, an Adobe Company Adobe is a major force in the digital world, but they lacked ecommerce presence. Adobe's acquisition of Magento expands their reach much further. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.