$3B Jet.com eCommerce Play by Walmart

For as long as there has been retail there have been many ways to approach the proposition.  I see no reason this won't continue as online sales/retail ascends.  Why only Amazon when the last 100 year has had Macy's and Sears and Walmart, etc.??  No way we won't see more players, even if some of those get bought up by others.

Walmart is picking up Jet.com for a mere $3B dollars. Announcement is happening today.

Not bad for a few years work.  I saw one short story that a lucky customer of Jet won some shares in the startup, and those shares are now worth a few pennies.  Laughing all the way to the bank.

Here is a snippet from the news:

Walmart missed out on a Marc Lore company once, when Amazon swooped in to beat it to the purchase of Diapers.com’s parent company several years back.

The giant retailer may not let it happen again.

Walmart is in talks to acquire Jet.com, Lore’s new startup that has raised more than $800 million in financing in an attempt to build a new online megastore, according to a person familiar with the talks. It is not clear how far along they are. News of the talks was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said the tie-up could value Jet at as much as $3 billion.

Here is the full story:

http://www.recode.net/2016/8/3/12368608/why-walmart-acquire-jet-com

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch Saves Another Life

We laugh at these things now, but this is deadly serious.

What if simply wearing a watch could tell you if you are about to die and give you enough notification to do something about it?  Science fiction?  Nope.  On my wrist right now.

The Apple Watch.

Here is a snippet:

“Along with the shortness of breath, I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Stopping to talk to a colleague on the way to my office, the mere act of speaking left me practically gasping for air. I cut the conversation short and continued to my office. Sitting still made me feel better, but not great.

It was then I thought about the heart rate sensor on my Apple Watch. I opened the Heart Rate app, curious to see if my heart rate was actually elevated or if it was just my imagination. It read 118 beats per minute. Definitely not my imagination—my normal resting heart rate is in the low 70s.”

Read on:

http://watchaware.com/post/17679/the-apple-watch-saves-another-life

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Pokemon Go ... in Russia

This title cracked me up, but the phenomenon that is Pokemon Go is something that must be analyzed.

More than a million people in Moscow are playing Pokémon Go, the mobile game that's dominating download charts in three dozen countries. The number is especially impressive because the game isn't supposed to be available in Russia.

Despite attempts by app developer Niantic to manage global demand, fans in Russia and elsewhere have taken special steps to track down and install Pokémon Go before it's released officially, a process that sometimes involves tricking their phones into thinking they live in another country.

Here is the full story:

http://adage.com/article/digital/pok-mon-fever-hits-russia-making-kremlin-nervous/305273/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Instore Mobile Usage Grows

Yeap.

New research from Hitwise reveals how important mobile devices have become to in-store shopping and indicates why retailers must adjust their campaigns to meet changing customer behaviours.

The Hitwise research, based on the online per cent activity of 3m UK shoppers, found that 77 per cent of online searches that focus on price match, and 84 per cent of online searches that focus on reviews, begin on a mobile device. This compares to an average 62 per cent of all retail searches that are initiated on a mobile device.

Here is the full story:

http://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/hitwise_mobiles_instore/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Uber Quits China

I really like the stories over on Bloomberg.com.  Great news, great analysis, and a broad set of topics.

Here is a snippet from this latest:

Not so long ago, American tech giants viewed China as theirs for the taking: 1.4 billion people, a growing middle class, an affinity for American pop culture from Titanic andFriends to Michael Jackson. And, apparently, a tendency to see U.S. goods and services as attractive or superior.

That triumphal script was again rewritten as Uber conceded defeat in its no-holds-barred dust-up with Didi Chuxing. After a costly battle in which both sides shelled out billions subsidizing rides, Chief Executive Travis Kalanick decided to call off the war, agreeing to a deal in which the local champion acquires Uber’s China operations in return for a seat on Didi’s board and a slice of the Chinese company. The move came only a year after the famously brash Uber impresario declared China, the world’s largest ride-hailing market, his most important target.

In other words, Kalanick came, he saw, he most certainly didn’t conquer.

Read on:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-02/the-humbling-of-american-tech-giants-in-china

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Wallets to Consolidate

Right now, with the failed launch of CurrentC by MCX, retailers are rushing to roll out their own mobile wallet within their store brand app.  Baskin Robbins just launched, as a part of Dunkin Brands.  Walmart has Walmart Pay in its app, etc.

Eventually a more consolidated approach will take hold.  I have no doubt of this, though I believe some retailers such as Starbucks will be able to hold on to their direct relationship with their customers.

Other experts see the same thing coming.  Here is a snippet :

Mobile wallets are slowly gaining adoption, but retailers’ offerings are currently the winners because they can be easily integrated with loyalty programs, providing an incentive to use them.

Many experts believe that mobile wallets will continue to grow, and by the end of the decade, be universally adopted. Retailers such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are leading the charge in terms of brand-led mobile wallets and are seeing significant adoption rates while platform-led services such as Apple Pay and Android Pay mobile wallets are lacking in comparison, but will likely see more users in the coming years.

Read the whole story here:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobile-wallets-to-see-universal-adoption-by-end-of-decade

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Microsoft Rocking the Cloud

Earning are coming out and while Yahoo! looks to be taking its final lap Microsoft is doing quite well with its focus on the cloud.

Microsoft on Tuesday reported earnings that easily topped expectations as the company continues to shift from a traditional software seller to a provider of cloud-based services.

Excluding certain items, the Redmond, Wash.-based company said it earned $5.5 billion, or 69 cents per share, on adjusted revenue of $22.6 billion. On that basis, the company had been expected to report per-share earnings of around 58 cents, according to Zacks, with analysts expecting revenue of around $22.1 billion, roughly flat from the prior year.

Including all items, per-share earnings would have come in at 39 cents per share, on revenue of $20.6 billion.

Read the whole story here:

http://www.recode.net/2016/7/19/12226280/microsoft-july-2016-earnings-report

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant