Apple Watch is the Best Fitness Tracker

Well, specifically best at a couple things.  Namely heart rate and calorie burn measurements.

I can state I rely on mine for the calorie burn feature and have seen a few studies supporting this conclusion.

What you should know is some of these devices do a really poor job at this.

Read more here:

https://watchaware.com/post/20292/study-apple-watch-best-measures-heart-rate-calorie-burn

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0251 The New eCommerce

Best Reading of the Day

This great little article talks about the mid-tier eTailers and how they are filling up niches around Amazon.

Really worth taking a look at.

https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2017/05/23/meet-the-fearless-upstarts-boldly-crashing-amazons-party/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

These Mid-Market 500 companies include 43 e-retailers making their first appearances in the Top 1000 rankings. Many of the newcomers appear in the rankings after having been in business just a few years. Of the 43 newcomers, 26 are digital natives that sell exclusively online. And they’re also the fastest growers: Those 26 e-retailers increased their web sales better than 45% in 2016, versus less than 34% for the other 17 newcomers.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

When Should You Buy ... Anything?

This is really cool.

Business Insider has mapped out the time of year to buy a huge variety of products.  Basically, when are "things" at their best price?

So cool!

Check out the first month:

New furniture models come out in February, so bargains arrive in January. Keep an eye on office furniture, as retailers target entrepreneurs launching new ventures in the new tax year. With the holidays over and winter setting in, department stores lure shoppers with "white sales," making this the best time to buy linens.

Here is the full article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-time-to-buy-almost-anything-in-2017-2016-12/#january-1

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Too Good, Too Efficient?

Is this possible?

Have you ever used a physical typewriter before?  If so you may know a bit more than the current generations know about this question.  The old long-handed key typewriters had one problem when the first "keyboard" was laid out: it was too fast for the physical hands to keep up.  The reason the letters were jumbled up a bit in to the current version of a keyboard is because the typists were too fast on a more straight-forward set of keys and the old typewriters couldn't keep up.

Fast forward to today with modern UI work for websites, mobile apps, etc.  Can these interfaces be too fast and efficient? Is there ever a benefit to slowing down?  That is the question posed in this excellent article:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/69101-why-increasingly-efficient-ux-might-not-always-be-a-good-thing/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

A recent leader in The Economist raised my interest in the little discussed area of ‘facile externality’.

The Economist summed up the concept as follows:

"Efficiency is at the heart of progress. Yet just as too much of a good thing (travel, say) can yield a bad (congestion), so excessive ease in transactions can generate costs, known in the jargon as a “facile externality”, such that less efficiency would actually be more efficient. In academic circles…. the notion is well established that innovations which eliminate too much hassle could do society harm."

The article continues, stating that "a few companies have recognised the benefits of restoring friction. Research into “the Ikea effect”, named in honour of those happy hours spent with an Allen key, a Billy bookcase and a rising hatred of Sweden, shows that people put extra value on things when they devote their own labour to them."

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

eCommerce Surging

All Amazon all the time right?  Sure but everyone else is getting better at the game too and the numbers tell it.  I'll share one story but a couple other highlights stand out.

Wayfair.com the home furnishings company is the fastest growing retailer in the U.S.

The top 500 retailers got there by seeing their eCommerce grow 15%.

Here is Walmart really getting in the game with a 63% increase in eCommerce.  Read more here:

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/301466/walmarts-e-commerce-surges-63-as-new-strategies.html?edition=103172

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Txt Message Fiction

Yes that is a thing and is there really anything wrong with that?

Hey, so long as folks are reading it is okay with me.

What is especially cool is the way this little startup used A/B or "split" testing to develop this form of fiction.  Cool read,

https://medium.com/@prernagupta/how-we-got-10-million-teens-to-read-fiction-on-their-phones-19a2a475084c

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Three years ago, I was living in a small surf town in Costa Rica and writing my first novel, when I had a panic attack.

The novel was a sci-fi fantasy trilogy for young adults, set in Silicon Valley a hundred years in the future. I’m a tech entrepreneur, so it’s not surprising I chose this theme.

But there was something unusual about this sci-fi story — my protagonist was a dark-skinned Indian girl, like me. And that was what caused me to panic.

Would anyone read a sci-fi story with a dark-skinned, female protagonist? How was I going to convince an agent to take a book like this seriously? Would a publisher be able to find an audience for my strange story? And, do teenagers even read?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Direct to Customer With Adidas

As I've written about previously the manufacturers of today have a shot at a new golden age by crafting direct relationships with customers.

Here is how Adidas is using mobile to do exactly that:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/69086-how-adidas-uses-digital-to-enable-powerful-experiences/

Here is a snippet from the story:

According to John Mellor, the VP of Strategy and Marketing at Adobe, emotion is the currency of experience. Ultimately, this means it helps to create a stronger and more loyal connection with consumers – even inspire personal achievements and goals.

This might sound like a rather lofty notion, but when it comes to a brand like Adidas – whose core belief is to inspire individuals to harness the power of sport – it’s slightly more believable.

At Summit I also heard Adidas’s VP of digital strategy & delivery, Joseph Godsey, speak about how the brand uses digital to enable powerful experiences. Here are a few key points from what he said.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Boston Mobile Payments Company LevelUp Gets $ From Chase

Looks like Chase is very, very serious about mobile payments for physical retailers.  After first acquiring the tech from retailer owned mobile payments company MCX they then took the next step and acquired the entire company and are now pouring a few bucks in to LevelUp.

A few?  $50M few in total from multiple sources.

LevelUp specializes in quick service restaurant rewards-based mobile payments.

Here is the story:

http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2017/05/16/levelup-bags-50m-from-jpmorgan-chase-others-for-mobile-payments/#

Here is a snippet from the piece:

LevelUp’s story is one of twists and turns and ups and downs. Right now, it looks like the company is on an upswing.

Today the Boston-based mobile payments firm announced a $50 million funding round, which includes $37 million in equity funding and $13 million in debt financing, according to an e-mailed statement attributed to Alex Shuck, LevelUp’s director of marketing and analytics. Investors in this round include earlier backers JPMorgan Chase and U.S. Boston, as well as new investors such as CentroCredit Bank, according to a news release.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Strikes at eTailers

We are seeing a new wave of eCommerce as the niche players gain strength.  How mobile impacts this is an interesting and developing question.  One fellow thinks he has the answer and it is worth reading.

https://www.retail-week.com/analysis/opinion/opinion-why-mobile-will-kill-the-multi-brand-etailer/7020827.article

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The number one reason mobile threatens to disrupt multi-brand ecommerce retailers is linked to discovery, as it changes the rules and the power dynamic shifts back to direct to consumer brands considerably.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Is B&M Retail Collapsing?

Why not ask the banners that are opening countless new locations.

Yeap.

All of the doom and gloom we keep seeing in the news around brick & mortar retailers misses some important news.  Some retailers are doing exceptionally well (plus the U.S. is way, way over saturated with retail locations so much of this is just folks coming back to planet earth).

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The retail consulting firm IHL Consulting Group compiled a list of 22 retailers bucking the retail apocalypse by growing their store counts.

The list, which includes plans for nearly 3,000 new stores this year, is dominated by discount stores and grocery chains...

Here is the full article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/retailers-opening-new-stores-this-year-2017-5

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  Shoot, I just noticed I wrote a portion of my blog post almost identically to the original, before reading the entire article.  Oh well.  Brilliant minds ....

Grocery Delivery 2.0

Interesting approach:

http://www.retailleader.com/top-story-tech___logistics-coming_soon__grocery_delivery_2.0-6207.html

Here is a snippet of the news:

According to the Sacramento Bee, Instacart has teamed up with personalized nutrition service provider PlateJoy to offer same-day delivery of groceries tailored to individual nutrition requests.

That fits.  The hyper-personalization approach opens doors to anything imaginable.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Wayfair Crushes Short Sellers

As an old hand in the investment game I love a lede that says short sellers got crushed.

Love it!

The little eCommerce company that could keeps on doing.  Not so little any more.  These companies are the future of eCommerce.  Amazon is huge and getting bigger.  A few big retailers will be able to play the game too (Walmart).  The rest requires strong understanding of a particular niche.

Here is a snippet from the news:

Wayfair shares spiked Tuesday after the online furniture retailer reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.

The stock was up 23 percent as of midday Tuesday. Wayfair is one of the market's best performers this year with its shares up 79 percent year to date versus the S&P 500's 7 percent return.

Here is the full story:

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/09/short-sellers-annihilated-after-wayfair-surges-more-than-20-percent.html

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Where Global Ad Spending is Going

Facebook and Google.

Done.

Well, there may be a bit more to the story.  Those two account for 20%.  Huge.

Read on:

https://www.recode.net/2017/5/2/15516674/global-ad-spending-charts

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Global ad revenue is growing and the top earners are taking an increasingly bigger cut.

Google is the largest recipient of global ad revenue, taking in $79 billion in 2016, according to new data from media agency Zenith. That’s three times as much as the No. 2 biggest ad revenue recipient, Facebook, which raked in nearly $27 billion in ad revenue last year.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0250 Mobile App Marketing

Best Reading of the Day

Great article, yet again, from the folks at Google.

Never forget however they are looking to sell you something.  Don't let that stop you from reading this if you are in to mobile apps.

https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/app-marketing-new-download-growth-engaged-users.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

App marketers may be flush with new downloads, but not everyone is equipped to make loyal users out of them. Ken Rudin, director of growth and analysis at Google, shares tips on how data can provide the insights needed to keep new users engaged and loyal.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant