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 …
Amazon’s Superpower
Unintended consequences of Covid-19 are that it’s easier to find a captive audience and we now regularly spend time waiting in lines. In the spirit of making lemonade out of Coronavirus lemons, I decided to conduct a quick, socially distanced, unscientific poll outside a Brooklyn Trader Joe’s where my husband was queued up. My question was, “What kind of a business is Amazon.com?” Of the 11 people who took out their earbuds and talked to me, nine of them said basically “online retail.” Another said, “A company that should be broken up because …
Rerouting Retail
In 2015 NIKE opened a Community Store in Brooklyn; It’s not in Williamsburg or Dumbo, it’s in Flatbush. Flatbush is hardly an international retail mecca. In fact, the store is near the last downtown stop, at the end of the number two subway line. The NIKE Community Store model has expanded to include downtown Detroit, Ivy City in D.C., mid-city New Orleans, South Chicago, Portland Oregon, East Los Angeles, and the newest location, which opened in August of 2020 in the Watts neighborhood of L.A. The game plan of breathing authenticity and local …