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