Mobile

On today's episode, we discuss Twitter's "Super Follows" and "Communities" features, what annoys online shoppers, whether a foldable iPhone is coming, if Paramount+ can fit into people's media diets, Instagram's new Live Rooms offering, where to find a true wonder of the world, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Jillian Ryan and Yoram Wurmser, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

A direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy wasn’t top-of-mind when soda brand Olipop launched in 2017. In fact, during its first year of business, the brand didn’t even have a website—primarily relying on retail brick-and-mortar partnerships to drive sales. But last year, everything changed.

In yesterday's live podcast (broadcast on Clubhouse), we discussed the audio social network movement: the advantages, disadvantages, key players, and what marketers should consider. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts Debra Aho Williamson and Jeremy Goldman, and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Major changes are coming to how advertisers and others in the ecosystem can identify users across channels and devices. The loss of third-party cookies and changes to Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA)—rumored to roll out this month—will affect ad addressability, but also measurement and attribution. Advertisers are taking steps in response, including more emphasis on first-party data, data collaborations, and modeling-based approaches.

From late 2019 to early 2020, the hype surrounding a potential nationwide 5G rollout was difficult to ignore. Unfortunately, the pandemic, a recession, and the limited availability of 5G-enabled smartphones further delayed 5G from bursting into the mainstream. Although millions of Americans use 5G services already, hundreds of millions still do not. Heading into 2021, however, 5G is regaining its momentum.

The Facebook-owned messaging app continues its policy rollout to enable businesses access to communications with users. But the botched rollout, riddled with misunderstanding and misinformation, suggests consumers are quickly losing trust in Big Tech’s data practices.

Reviews have always been a key aspect of a consumer’s shopping journey. But nowadays—particularly as more consumers lean on ecommerce—additional information in the form of user-generated visuals is becoming just as critical.

The iPhone 12’s strong performance so far has led eMarketer to increase its projections for iPhone users in the US for 2021 and beyond. We now expect iPhone usage in the US will grow this year to 116.3 million, slightly ahead of our Q1 2020 projection of 113.4 million.

EA expands mobile footprint: The company acquired mobile game developer Glu Mobile last week for $2.1 billion as mobile game advertising continues seeing strong growth this year.

eMarketer senior analyst Jasmine Enberg and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Nazmul Islam discuss Twitter's stellar Q4 performance and how it managed to close out a terrible 2020 on a high note. They then talk about Snapchat redefining what friendship should mean, TikTok's fate in the Biden administration, and how much Shopify's "Shop Pay" could help boost Facebook and Instagram Shops.