Shopper Culture

Amazon Prime Day: Was It a Success?

There was quite the buzz around the office yesterday, July 15th and also Amazon.com's highly publicized and anticipated Prime Day. The excitement here was not just because we work in shopper marketing and pay attention to big retail events like these, but also because, well, many of us were hoping for deals of our own. 

Reviews around our office on the success of this big event were mixed. Some were underwhelmed, but amused, by the selection offered, while one colleague was delighted with her Vitamix score.  By late yesterday afternoon, #PrimeDayFail was trending on Twitter and Buzzfeed's "25 of the Best Responses to Amazon's Prime Day" had 650,000+ views. 

 

Do you think Prime Day was a success? If success is defined by attention and buzz garnered, I would say that it certainly was. 

 

(Image Source: Amazon.com)

Google's Mobilegeddon

What is Mobilegeddon? Google took a bold move and recently altered its mobile search algorithm. From this point on, if a site is not mobile-optimized, it will be de-prioritized in Google’s search rankings—meaning shoppers may never even see your site because it’s hidden at the bottom of the search pile.

Can Google justify this decision? Yes. Google strives to provide the best possible user experience for their users. According to Flurry Analytics, people now spend approximately three hours per day on their mobile devices and if a shoppers experience is seamless on their device, there’s a higher likelihood they’re going to make a purchase. 

Why does this matter?

New Double-Sized Issue of The Urbanist

The latest edition of the Urbanist has urban trends and news crammed into one double-sized issue with McInnovations, Uber promotions, and more! 

In this issue: McDonald's solutions for urban dining, Uber's role in brand sampling and the use of facial recognition software in retail.

Check out past issues here, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter for even more urban retail news updates. @_The_Urbanist

Search + Social, Now Seamless for Shoppers

In an effort to quench an ever-increasing thirst for trending news and content, Twitter and search engine powerhouse, Google, have teamed up to begin providing relevant and trending tweets within Google search results. Through their partnership, they hope to deliver "unique real-time content" to Googlers of the world. 

Bridging search with social itself isn’t a new concept. Services like Yelp, UrbanSpoon, Angie’s List, among many, many others all provide topic-specific search results and recommendations to shoppers based on user reviews. What is significant is that Google, the go-to search engine for about 68% of the US population, will begin to integrate tweets in it’s mobile search results from now on and thus will presumably drive traffic to many a Twitter page. This could be a serious game changer for brands and retailers, especially those less actively engaged on the Twittersphere.

The Value of Experience in New Product Launches

Whenever Apple launches a new product, there is a familiar scene—long lines and even a pack of enthusiasts that camp outside stores to get their hands on the newest gadget first. With the announcement of the new Apple Watch and a set release date for April 24, 2015, consumers expected the familiar ritual. However, a leaked internal memo from the company suggested otherwise. This time around, there will be no mega-event at stores for the watch’s release as it will only be available for online orders (until a later projected date in June).

 

Obviously not all brands have the same loyal following or hype surrounding each new product launch, but there may be something to learn from Apple here.

Cord Cutting Across Generations

In the business of communications, we hear a lot about new technology and early adopter behavior. But, I was surprised to hear this topic broached by my parents during a recent phone call. They asked me if they should cut their cable. Their cable bill had increased steadily and it felt like they only watch a few shows of the hundreds of channels they paid for.  My Dad wanted to know which of their favorites series they could watch, and on what device they’d watch them.

Amazon Dash: Push-Button Ordering From Your Laundry Room

Three years ago, Red Tomato Pizza made an ingenious little fridge magnet that let you order pizza with the click of a button, via a bluetooth connection to your smartphone.

Now Amazon is getting into the game. Their new Dash Buttons let you order common household products (this time through your home Wi-Fi) with a single click.

Our Group Director of Mobile, Ben Kennedy, weighs in on this service over at Digiday. "Will Dash transform the future of shopping?" Find out what he says in the article.

The Color of #thedress: Shopping Just Got Weirdly Public

When Tumblr user swiked posted the photo of #thedress, she caught an innocent snapshot of a classic shopping dilemma: did I buy the right thing? 

Cecilia Bleasdale was asking for advice on what to wear to her daughter's wedding. She had no idea that the poor quality of the photo would set off a global debate about what color the dress really is (here's a good quality product shot). The original Tumblr post got 73 million views. At its peak it got 140,000 views per minute.

Impulsive Shoppers Are Given Less Opportunity to Act on Impulse

The checkout area, while taking up little space compared to the rest of the store, currently has a big impact. A study conducted by EHI Retail Institute found that confectionary-heavy checkout zones produce more than 7% of total store sales (up 0.7% since 2010) though they make up only 1% of the store’s space. But as retailers move towards more convenient shopper solutions, like preordering, the power of the checkout comes into question.

Think of the upcoming addition to the Starbucks app. Soon coffee connoisseurs will be able to

How Bad is Survey Data? For Mobile Video, Really Bad

Wow. Nielsen recently compared their survey data with actual usage data to measure quarterly video viewing on phones & tablets. 

According to the survey data, people watched 5 hours 23 minutes of video in Q4 2013. According to the Electronic Mobile Measurement tool (which measures actual mobile usage), people watched 1 hour 23 minutes. That's right, survey data overstates this by something like 500%.

Two quick lessons emerge:

Stolen Data

Nowadays, it seems like every week I learn about another retailer having its credit card information hacked. The most recent victim was Supervalu, the owner of Cub Foods, Shop 'N Save, and three other supermarket chains. This growing crime spree has a significant impact on the retailer, the shopper and the financial institutions. As a result, shoppers are opting to use good old-fashion cash, financial institutions are starting to switch to chip-and-pin cards, and retailers are trying to regain shoppers’ trust. I am sure these events will have a significant impact on shoppers’ behaviors and emotions, and what that will be, we have yet to discover.

What a Tease!

With the increasing importance of viral and word-of-mouth marketing, marketers have upped their game with teaser campaigns. I have noticed more and more teasers every day. This year, more brands than ever used digital media to tease their upcoming Super Bowl spots. Everyone from VW to Newcastle got in on the teasing action.

Just last week, promoters of the film Fifty Shades of Grey released an Instagram video in partnership with Beyoncé as a way to tease the upcoming release of the full trailer. When you think about it, that’s a teaser to announce what is essentially another teaser for the full film!

Polaris recently spent a month releasing teaser videos for the new Polaris Slingshot. Revealing one new video each week, these videos quickly spread across social media, fueling speculation as to what the final product would look like. Hunting for clues, online viewers carefully dissected and freeze-framed each fast-paced shot of the vehicle. They worked all month to get a glimpse of it before the countdown clock hit zero, revealing the vehicle in full.

Why do you think we are seeing so many teasers? Does dragging out announcements help shoppers make more intelligent buying decisions? Does it help them to more deeply engage with the brand, or is it a gimmick?

Visa Helps Remove the Barrier to Wearing Sweatpants in the Office

I came across these "bedroom comfort, boardroom style" pants while recently surfing on my mobile phone. I was even thinking about purchasing them, but the reality of tediously typing all my credit card and billing information into my smartphone, caused me to abandon ship.

If only I'd known about Visa's new service. Visa Checkout is a brand new system that removes the payment process barrier on your smartphone. Visa Checkout stores customers' credit card numbers and billing addresses once without having to re-enter the information ever again. Retailers that sell in the digital space — from big-box retailers to mom and pop startups — have all struggled with converting filled online shopping carts into actual purchases. 

"All of the wonderful benefits that consumers get from using their mobile phone when you're out and about kind of fall apart when you get to the payment part of the process," said Jim McCarthy, Visa global head of product in a recent NPR interview. 

The concept of ordering is simple and similar to 1-Click™ from Amazon. Every Visa customer receives an account that stores his or her credit card number and billing address. These shoppers simply set up a username and password and all the information is provided securely to the retailers. Thusfar, Neiman Marcus and United Airlines have joined the merchant list and many more and ready to sign up.

Soon, I'll be wearing sweatpants to the office. The question is, will shoppers adopt the Visa Checkout system? What impact will it have on smartphone shopping? Will it convert online browsers to buyers? 

Photo Source: Betabrand    

Point-and-Shoot Shopping

Amazon continues to innovate at the convergence of consumer devices and shopping. The online megastore made big news this week when it threw its hat into the smartphone race. While Amazon is a late entry into the category, the new device plays into its biggest strength: shopping.

The phone’s special feature is an app called Firefly. Firefly is a simple way to scan anything around you in the world—physical objects, shows on your TV screen, music playing at the coffee shop, etc.—and Amazon will tell you what you just saw or heard. This will provide users with everything from IMDB.com data for TV shows to album titles for music. Of course, it will also offer users the ability to purchase whatever they scan from Amazon.com. Firefly is so integral to Amazon’s new phone that there is a special button located on the side dedicated to activating this feature. Has Amazon just armed shoppers with the ultimate showrooming tool? Does its new world-scanning device remove the only remaining barriers for shoppers to use their smartphones to buy virtually everything?

Image Source: CBS News

Untangling The Social Web at FMI Connect

FMI Connect takes place in Chicago next week. FMI Connect is the new FMI show "redesigned to connect the industry and inspire the future of food retail." With over 15,000 attendees, it is one of the most important shows for anyone interested in the culture of food shopping. 

Our own Craig Elston will be presenting at 9am on Thursday 12th some of the key findings from Untangling The Social Web, Part 8, on behalf of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council. Along with Michael Sansolo, Research Director of the Council, Jerry Golub (Price Chopper Supermarkets) and Lori Younquest (Knowlan's Super Markets, Inc), they will discuss some implications the research has for supermarket operators today and in the future. You can download the full report here, and we will publish a copy of the presentation next week. 

If you are in Chicago and attending FMI Connect do stop by and say hello to Craig and ask him about any of the findings from the new study.