True Omni-commerce is Arriving

You've likely heard of omni-channel.  Previously this kind of concept was called multi-channel where a classic store-based merchant might enable online sales.  With mobile people are always connected to the internet, always living their lives connected, which means they might look to buy at any time from any channel.

Omnicommerce is always on sales from any direction.

With social media adding 'buy' buttons and incorporating a payments vehicle this is becoming a reality very quickly.

Here is a story on the concept:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/as-social-media-buy-buttons-increase-retailers-must-dive-in-now

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“Payments are becoming embedded across the mobile commerce spectrum, and the rapid growth of in-app payments will accelerate the trend,” he said. “Prepare for the ability to pay for anything, any time, anywhere and on any device be it physical or virtual.

“True omni-commerce, incorporating payments, is happening.”

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0220 Small Businesses Using Social Media for Customer Engagement

Best Reading of the Day

This is a really great little story, good enough to qualify for best reading of the day even though it has been out there for a week already.  It focuses on 4 small business and their use of social media to connect with customers across the globe.  Impressive.  I often say the real action is at the SMB level where real test-tube creations are popping up.

https://nrf.com/news/4-small-businesses-using-social-media-connect-customers

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Seattle illustrator and designer Moorea Seal developed a large following on Pinterest before she opened her own store. “I love talking with the handmade community and getting to know people in it. I thought, ‘Well, let's meld all these things and start an online store,’” Seal says. That was in 2013. Two short years later, Seal’s eponymous brand has more than 900,000 followers on Pinterest and another 19,000 on Instagram.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Beacons & Social Media with Facebook and Pinterest

Beacons, beacons, beacons, oh and news from Pinterest too.  Busy busy.

Two stories on beacons.  First up is continuing news from Facebook.  Now they are giving away BLE beacons for free to retailers.  Brilliant Trojan horse in my opinion though the service that will follow could become so valuable retailers won't be able to pass it up.  Time will tell.

http://recode.net/2015/06/08/facebook-is-handing-out-free-beacons-to-retailers/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Facebook is offering up free beacons to retailers and businesses using its service as part of an update to the company’s Place Tips feature originally rolled out in January.

Place Tips, which works by showing Facebook users posts and photos about a specific retailer or business when they open the app within the actual store, was originally tested with a small group of businesses in New York City. On Monday, Facebook announced it was expanding the feature to all businesses in the United States, and included an application for these businesses to request a free beacon for each of their physical stores. (Facebook also provided free beacons to its test partners.)

Next is the consolidations we are seeing in the BLE beacon market that shows growing maturation:

http://adage.com/article/datadriven-marketing/verve-mobile-buys-beacon-startup-fosbury/298966/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Verve Mobile, a firm focused on location-based advertising, acquired beacon-centric campaign management technology Fosbury for an undisclosed sum. It's a small deal, but Verve Mobile's move portends an inevitable consolidation within the sprawling beacon space.

Finally is news from Pinterest on their "Buy It" functionality:

http://www.cio.com/article/2933381/pinterest/why-pinterests-buy-it-button-is-big-for-online-retailers.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Later this month, Pinterest users will be able to purchase some of the products they "pin" without leaving Pinterest's app or website. The new "Buy It" button will show up next to the "Pin It" button that appears when you're about to pin an image of a pair of shoes you like or a coffee table you've had your eye on.

According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 Pinterest users, from Pinterest and Millward Brown Digital, 87 percent of them looked to the service when researching a buy, but 25 percent say they didn't make a purchase or visit a manufacturer's website after viewing an item. The "Buyable Pins" should be a boon for businesses, particularly retailers that see engagement from the site but few sales.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Expanding upon the Facebook entry is this piece that focuses more on the new national presence of 'Place Tips:
http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/facebook-expands-place-tips-adds-free-beacons

Potato Chip Cookbook on Pinterest

Lay's is taking social media quite seriously.  How about an entire cookbook on Pinterest, the first of its kind, to gain some followers?

Here is the story:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/245905/lays-wavy-creating-first-pinterest-based-cookbook.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Lay’s Wavy, the ridged-cut potato chip brand from PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, has partnered with the DIY/e-commerce site Brit + Co to create what is being billed as the first Pinterest cookbook.

The cookbook, which will ultimately contain 40 recipes, is being put together in two phases, with the first 20 available for download in mid-May, and the others in the fall.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0151 Pinterest Personalization Issues

Personalization in brand interactions with consumers is the use of data related to an individual to provide meaningful and relevant information, offers, deals, etc. to the consumer.

Pinterest just blew it in a big way.

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/pinterest-accidentally-sent-emails-to-single-women-96643879969.html?src=rss

Apparently it is pretty common for some women to use Pinterest to 'pin' together a collection of ideas that form a vision for their perfect wedding.  This behavior, apparently, does not necessarily indicate whether or not the woman in question is actually getting married or even dating.  That didn't stop Pinterest from sending notifications to these women congratulating them on their upcoming wedding.

Oops.

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Some female Pinterest users got emails from Pinterest with subject lines like “Hundreds of wedding invitations (P.S. You might find the one).” The erroneous emails read: “You’re getting married! And because we love wedding planning — especially all the lovely stationery — we invite you to browse our best boards curated by graphic designers, photographers and fellow brides-to-be, all Pinners with a keen eye and marriage on the mind.”

I've been exploring the border within personalization that defines useful & friendly vs. creepy and unhelpful.  This one accidentally walked right across that border.  Clearly companies with very good ideas and very smart people working there are making this mistake regularly right now and I expect more of these kinds of stories to surface in the coming months and years.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0131 YouTube Recipes

First Pinterest, now YouTube for recipes.

Yes.  Recipes.

Google is out with a self-serving piece about engagement with Generation Y, "Millenials", and their eating habits.

http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/millennials-eat-up-youtube-food-videos.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Whether consumers are looking for a flatbread recipe or watching their favorite foodie celebrity, food is thriving on YouTube. New research from Millward Brown Digital, Firefly and Google delves into how YouTube is fueling the foodie fan culture, with insights into the audiences who devour food videos. They’re tuning in to watch videos that inspire, educate or entertain. They’re loyal, passionate and highly engaged, powering a 280% growth in food channel subscriptions over the past year.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant