Reach Gen Z Via Parents, Birchbox Interview, Atari Founder Launches Alexa Game, Hidden Network Effects, Global eCom Sales, Discovery for Mens' Grooming, AMZN Hurts SFIX, Walmart's Middle Mile, Trips D
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Reality Bites Back: To Really Get Gen Z, Look at the Parents - Bloomberg
The latchkey kids of the 80s are now moms and dads to another cohort of practical, penny-pinching pessimists—with $143 billion in spending power.
Nobody cares about Generation X. Squeezed between baby boomers and millennials, those born between 1965 and 1980 are an “unsung generation,” Time magazine once sneered, “hardly recognized as a social force or even noticed much at all.”
That’s changing, though, as those skeptical slackers have created something that today’s companies now see as key to their success: Generation Z.
30 minutes with the CEO of Birchbox - Retail Dive
Co-founder Katia Beauchamp breaks down the beauty brand's model, marketing changes and why she chose Walgreens as a partner.
The effects of its model are still being seen today, with department stores like Macy's and Saks rethinking the way that they sell beauty , including through brand-agnostic advisers and engaging technology.
Birchbox closed its SoHo store when the lease was up in part to focus more on the brick-and-mortar relationship it was building out with Walgreens, though it's unclear if the performance of the standalone location factored into that decision as well.
Nolan Bushnell reveals Alexa-powered murder mystery board game St. Noire - Venture Beat
Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell and Hollywood creative director Zai Ortiz have created St. Noire, an Alexa-powered murder mystery board game.
Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell and Hollywood creative director Zai Ortiz have created an interesting first in entertainment: St. Noire, an Alexa-powered murder mystery board game.
Playing either with your friends as a team, or going solo, you will need to question a cast of colorful suspects, search for clues around town, and use all your deductive reasoning to suss out which character is lying to you.
Hidden Networks: Network Effects That Don’t Look Like Network Effects - a16z
Many of the most consequential projects of the internet era -- from Wikipedia to Facebook and bitcoin -- have all been predicated on network effects, where the network becomes more valuable to user…
Whether it’s decreasing customer acquisition costs, increasing liquidity, or improving retention, the metrics for identifying strong and durable network effects appear to be fairly well developed.
Lending and education often have slow networks, but it can just as easily apply to other categories like hiring, healthcare, or real estate, where feedback loops are long and the user cadence is infrequent.
Global Ecommerce 2019 - eMarketer
The global ecommerce market will rise more than 20% in 2019, despite mounting economic uncertainty and declining consumer spending growth around the world.
Matteo Ceurvels Research Analyst Man-Chung Cheung Research Analyst Monica Peart Senior Director, Forecasting Amy Rotondo Senior Researcher Peter Vahle Researcher Karin von Abrams Principal Analyst
The next wave of DTC grooming brands wants to offer men 'opportunity for discovery' – Glossy
Both Hawthorne and Huron are not just trying to steal market share from older digital upstarts like Unilever-owned Dollar Shave Club or Harry's, which was acquired by Edgewell Personal Care Company in May. They are also laser-focused on heritage men's players, namely Old Spice or Head & Shoulders.
Huron, for one, is after second-tier markets like Austin, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit and Kansas City, upon comparing men’s personal care spend-by-zip code, by approximate customer acquisition costs via regression analysis.
“A lot of other brands are not focusing their time and efforts in those places, but in 2019, the consumer in those cities is savvier than other companies give them credit for, and the shopping experience is even more bifurcated there.” To indicate this push, Huron is featuring a diverse array of real men versus models in its digital and social campaigns.
SFIX -2.6% as Amazon launches Personal Shopper - Seeking Alpha
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fashion's stylist team will do the shopping for Prime members based on input from a survey.Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe will include personal recommendations across thousand
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN ) Fashion's stylist team will do the shopping for Prime members based on input from a survey.
The service will be available through the Amazon App and will soft launch with women's clothing before expanding into menswear.
Walmart will pilot 'middle-mile' autonomous delivery in its hometown - Grocery Dive
The retailer will collaborate with startup Gatik to move goods along a two-mile stretch between a Neighborhood Market store and grocery pickup point.
It began a pilot project with autonomous vehicle company Udelv in January at its Surprise, Arizona store where the startup tested a custom-made cargo van designed to deliver fresh groceries.
Kroger’s autonomous delivery pilot proceeded to a new phase in March using Nuro’s self-driving Toyota Priuses, which are currently manned, to deliver groceries from two stores across four zip codes.
Flyfishing and kayaking trips help L.L. Bean, Orvis sell more gear and attract more customers - CNBC
Outdoor gear sellers see adventure trips as a way to build loyalty, retain customers and attract new ones. L.L. Bean said customers who participated in one of its paid outdoor discovery programs spend an average of 30% more at L.L. Bean in the next year.
Those looking to dip a toe into new activity can try a one-day wingshooting school in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania, learning the basics of shotgun safety and bird hunting for $575.
Atkins, who previously worked as a fly fishing instructor at Orvis, said he has seen the number of family units that attend the classes together increase in recent years.
Big Alcohol is pouring billions into weed drinks, but does anybody want it? - The Verge
No one is more nervous about the legalization of marijuana than the beer industry.
I tried to push past the sunny investor forecasts and check it all out for myself: the mega-companies in Canada burning up shareholder cash; the shrewd entrepreneurs in California who are still getting used to following laws; and the thriving illicit market that offers lower quality for cheap, undercutting the entire legalization endeavor from Toronto to Detroit to Los Angeles.
With the goal of doing some crucial investigative weed-beverage journalism, I tasted nasty concoctions, spent 12 hours pot party-hopping at Coachella, messed up a friend’s romantic rendezvous by getting her too stoned, ventured to an isolated factory town in Canada, and got myself super high on marijuana wine on a night that ended with a $62 snack shopping spree.
Retail Landlords Look to Esports to Lure Young Gamers - WSJ
More real estate owners are turning to esports arcades, lounges and even stadiums, hoping to breathe fresh life into their malls, hotels and other properties.
A growing number of real estate owners are turning to esports arcades, lounges and even stadiums, hoping to breathe fresh life into their malls, hotels and other properties.
Developers are remodeling convention centers by adding locker rooms, seating, broadcast studios, new fiber for high-speed connectivity and massive LED video walls similar to the ones at Times Square.
How a coffee shop business turned into Australia's fastest-growing $1 billion start-up - CNBC
In just three years, payments platform Airwallex has achieved much-coveted unicorn status, completing the company's transformation from a humble coffee shop.
The idea for the low-cost, cross-border fintech company — think Transferwise for businesses — hit the pair after seeing the exorbitant fees charged by traditional banks when they wanted to import coffee cups from overseas.
"-Lucy Liu, co-founder, Airwallex So, within months, the young friends quit their jobs and set to work combining their various expertise in software engineering, finance and architecture to build a "system for the companies of the future."
As if Claire’s needed any more problems, ‘disruption’ is coming for ear-piercing - Vox
Rowan, a startup that sends a nurse to your house to pierce your kids’ ears, has raised $4 million
When they came back in style — thanks to Mia Farrow, and super-edgy Beatles fans — girls mostly pierced their ears at home, with sterilized safety pins and ice cube anesthetics.
Although I can’t say sitting at home in pajamas necessarily sounds as fun as getting a celebratory mall food court milkshake after having a piece of metal stabbed through your ear.
Post Prime Day, Amazon rolls out its second-ever back-to-school campaign - Ad Age
Amazon is doubling-down on back-to-school as it tries to capture a larger piece of the $2.7 billion pie.lush from another blockbuster Prime Day, Amazon is turning its attention to younger consumers by rolling out its second-ever back-to-school campaign. The effort, debuting this week, includes a series of digital and TV spots created by its in-house creative department.
Few retailers carry the breadth of assortment—including both apparel and accessories as well as school supplies like pencils and notebooks—that Amazon offers, a fact that has not escaped the digital behemoth’s notice.