Stock photo and audio company Shutterstock added an augmented reality (AR) feature to its iOS app to let customers view computer-generated images from its library against the wall of a room. Read more…
Month: April 2019
The number of fraudulent apps surged by 159% in 2018 from the prior year, according to marketing measurement firm DoubleVerify. Read more…
Given new CEO Roger Lynch’s background as a banker, expect him to seek more job cuts and operational efficiencies before preparing the company for a sale. Read more…
Health insurance company Cigna released results from a national survey exploring the effect of loneliness in the United States. The survey, conducted in partnership with market research firm, Ipsos, revealed that most American adults are considered lonely.
- Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone (46 percent) or left out (47 percent).
- One in four Americans (27 percent) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them.
- Two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful (43 percent) and that they are isolated from others (43 percent).
- One in five people report they rarely or never feel close to people (20 percent) or feel like there are people they can talk to (18 percent).
- Americans who live with others are less likely to be lonely (average loneliness score of 43.5) compared to those who live alone (46.4). However, this does not apply to single parents/guardians (average loneliness score of 48.2) – even though they live with children, they are more likely to be lonely.
- Only around half of Americans (53 percent) have meaningful in-person social interactions, such as having an extended conversation with a friend or spending quality time with family, on a daily basis.
- Generation Z (adults ages 18-22) is the loneliest generation and claims to be in worse health than older generations.
- Social media use alone is not a predictor of loneliness; respondents defined as very heavy users of social media have a loneliness score (43.5) that is not markedly different from the score of those who never use social media (41.7).
A former employee of Flaunt magazine sued Editor-in-Chief Matthew Bedard and CEO Luis Barajas for sexual harassment, sexual battery and other workplace violations.
Read or download the complaint at this link: 1766575881(1-30)
Waze is shifting focus to what it calls “destination-based marketing” from location-based ads to highlight how its social navigation app helps mobile marketers reach on-the-go consumers. Read more…
Further Reading
Retailers and restaurants can use all the marketing help that Waze and Google Maps can offer, considering the prevailing trends toward e-commerce — especially the massive growth in mobile shopping. U.S. retail m-commerce sales are forecast to surge 30% to $269 billion this year (and by another 26% to $338 billion in 2020) from $207 billion in 2018, researcher eMarketer estimated this week. Amazon will benefit the most from that growth, given the popularity of its shopping app and mobile website. The skyrocketing growth in m-commerce will be about seven times bigger than the predicted 4.4% gain in total U.S. retail sales to $3.8 trillion this year, per the National Retail Federation. But at least a healthy economy and rising wages are giving consumers more confidence to shop.
The shift to e-commerce will continue to disrupt the retail industry, although it’s too early to tell how those trends will affect Waze and Google Maps. As online sales including m-commerce grow to 25% of total U.S. retail sales by 2026 from 16% today, 75,000 store locations need to close, UBS retail analysts Jay Sole and Michael Lasser estimated this week. That figure doesn’t include restaurants, although the diminished number of retail locations and growth of time-saving food delivery services will lead to fewer occasions to eat out. The number of meals bought from restaurants has fallen 14% from the most recent peak in 1998 — when the average American ate out 286 times a year — to 245 times last year, per researcher NPD. Fortunately for the industry, meals delivered from restaurants and eaten at home rose 6% last year, NPD found.
The growth in e-commerce revenue from 16% of total U.S. retail sales currently to 25% by 2026 will lead to the closure of 83,020 stores, including 7,310 grocery stores, Michael Lasser and Jay Sole, analysts at UBS, estimated in an April 9 report to investors. The report was an update from a report last year that predicted 30,000 to 80,000 stores would have to close by 2025.
Additional Reading
UBS Report Sees Potential for More Waves of Store Closings (EMarketer)
75,000 more stores need to close across the US, UBS estimates, as online sales and Amazon grow (CNBC)
JFK Jr.’s public persona as the heir to Camelot embodied George‘s mix of Hollywood celebrity, politics and journalism. Read more…
Shipments of mobile devices will rise 1.2% to 1.82 billion units next year before declining again as consumers hold off on upgrading to the latest smartphone models, consulting firm Gartner predicted.
Worldwide Device Shipments by Device Type, 2018-2021 (Millions of Units)
| Device Type | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Traditional PCs (Desk-Based and Notebook) | 195,317 | 189,472 | 182,823 | 175,058 |
| Ultramobiles (Premium) | 64,471 | 68,869 | 74,432 | 79,871 |
| Total PC Market | 259,787 | 258,341 | 257,255 | 254,929 |
| Ultramobiles (Basic and Utility) | 149,561 | 147,963 | 145,811 | 143,707 |
| Computing Device Market | 409,348 | 406,304 | 403,066 | 398,636 |
| Mobile Phones | 1,811,922 | 1,802,394 | 1,824,628 | 1,798,356 |
| Total Device Market | 2,221,270 | 2,208,697 | 2,227,694 | 2,196,992 |