I read great reviews of the film The Summer of Soul, a documentary directed by Questlove, known to many as the bandleader of The Roots, the in-house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. A treasure trove of well-preserved footage was discovered after the death of the cinematographer who documented the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. A talented team led by Questlove, who directed the documentary, pieced together spectacular performances featuring a 19-year-old Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, a new group called Gladys Knight and the Pips, …
Shoppable Livestreams Break Through
The success of Chinese livestream shopping has been well documented since it exploded early in the pandemic, and what looked like a stop-gap solution has developed into an established retail channel. Livestreaming was a straightforward evolution in the well-developed Chinese social-retail ecosystem dominated by well-compensated KOLs (key opinion leaders) who transitioned from posting on WeChat or Weibo to livestreaming on Douyin, broadcast from the empty stores and malls during the pandemic shutdowns. By contrast, the pandemic spurred a …
Advertisers Bid Farewell to Cookies
The free flow of consumer data that has fed the digital advertising ecosystem has slowed, and will soon be a trickle. As the iOS 14.5 update began downloading into iPhones in late April, Apple, by switching its tracking default from opt-out to opt-in made advertisers dreaded worst-case scenario a reality. Now iPhone users, who are generally considered to be the more affluent consumer cohort, must actively grant permission for any app to track their activity across other companies' apps and websites. Absent this authorization, the operating …
Shoppers Activate Tribalism
Tribalism runs deep. Affinity behavior has been with us throughout history but with an assist from social media, we have achieved a new level of us-versus-them-ism that extends to our consumption habits. A recent Axios/Harris poll shows that brands with a clear political identification are becoming more popular with aligned consumers. Both Patagonia and Chick-fil-A have benefited from their public positions with consumer groups. G Kofi Annan, V.P. of Consumer Experience and Brand Strategy at JUICE in San Francisco has proposed that as we …
Will Shopify Solve Amazon’s Antitrust Issue?
The easy answer to whether Shopify will solve Amazon’s antitrust issue is no, but the more nuanced answer is hmm. Amazon's FTC investigation does not challenge the giant's behavior in the ecommerce retail sector. While Amazon is clearly the market leader, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others are close competitors. The People Want to Know The Amazon antitrust challenge currently under consideration encompasses third-party merchants who sell on Amazon. The inquiry assumes that Amazon is an essential conduit between the merchant and the …
Virtual Fashion Is More Than Fun and Games
We have documented the evolution of the digital fashion movement here over the past year, and the early rumblings are becoming a roar. What may have been a fad is now an established a trend. Given the technological bent of the SXSW festival, it’s not surprising that virtual fashion is at the center of its fashion programming in 2021. If you consider SXSW the leading edge between the present and the near future, digital fashion is worth revisiting. Digital Fashion Is Now and Forever A series of SXSW talks presented by technologists, designers, …
What is It About Peloton?
The omnichannel fitness/lifestyle brand has exploded in the pandemic economy. Peloton was founded in 2012 by John Foley. The founder previously served a brief stint as the CEO of Barnes and Noble, preceded by a variety of dot com positions. Foley discussed his years-long battle with the venture capital community as he persistently pitched his concept. In a 2019 interview with NPR's Guy Raz Foley, he explained, "I would bet I pitched three times a day for four years…I probably pitched 3,000 people, and then the 400 institutions that all said …
Virtual Stores: Are They Here to Stay?
Full disclosure: I did not set foot in a store this season. In normal times, my in-store holiday shopping mood toggles between energized and irritated. Wandering through a crowded, slightly overheated store, dragging a coat with a bulky scarf-stuffed sleeve looking for inspiration is a trial, but there have been moments when retail kismet struck. During holiday 2019, I experienced such karma at Nordstrom’s New York flagship, achieving a satisfied shopper’s dopamine hit, and walking out with several gifts. A Nothing-Like-Normal Holiday 2020 In …