Netflix wants to sell you more than streaming: The company launched a merch site with carefully curated collections of show-related clothing, jewelry, and even figurines as it turns toward a potentially Disney-like diversified future.
Affirm partnered with Shopify to give customers access to a BNPL solution, and Klarna got a $639 million cash injection to fund expansion.
The pandemic accelerated mobile trends by years, and these changes should stick even as the pandemic wanes. Many people were forced to use apps for food delivery, finance, fitness, and shopping, and they’ve become accustomed to these new behaviors. Even app categories that were hurt during the pandemic, such as travel or dating apps, have been resilient. People have acclimated to new forms of mobile shopping and activities, and they’ll be more willing to try mobile interfaces for other activities going forward.
We recently spoke with Joe Kudla, founder and CEO of Vuori, about the activewear brand’s upcoming brick-and-mortar expansion—including a pop-up in the Hamptons this summer—as well as its ongoing sustainability efforts.
Whether it’s the visitors’ app or in-park operations team, Universal Parks & Resorts is dedicated to delivering seamless guest experiences. To create relevant, immersive moments, the theme park relies on its core data and an integrated customer data platform (CDP). Watch Industry Voices: Spotlight on Travel with Universal Parks & Resorts’ Leah van Zelm, vice president of global marketing analytics.
The price is right: The cost of advertising on Amazon has grown substantially over the past five months, giving bigger brands a wider berth to spend on the platform.
As the world reopens, retail is booming: The National Retail Federation upwardly revised its industry growth estimates as we approach back-to-school season, which should also see a spike in spending.
Mastercard will bring FinGo’s vein-scanning payments solution to more markets, and Visa is working on a biometric authentication solution for online transactions with the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank.
Why some people aren’t sold on cryptos
On today's episode, we discuss some updates in the social audio landscape, whether convenience is outweighing price, if fashion rental can make a comeback, podcast ads versus other ad formats, changes in millennials' spending behaviors, how football players are similar to bears in more than just stature, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer analyst Nina Goetzen, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.
Empty stores on Turkey Day: Best Buy joins Target and Walmart in closing its doors on Thanksgiving Day as the lasting shift to online shopping alters the calculus of staying open.
Payments service providers are building an array of financial services to compete with financial institutions (FIs). Lending, bank account products, issuing, and other services that have been FIs’ bread and butter are being challenged in a bid to add more revenue opportunities and engender greater loyalty. These payment disruptors, such as Square, Stripe, and Shopify, are using their existing relationships with small businesses to attract clients away from FIs and persuading them to use their own financial offerings.