Bank of America’s virtual assistant, Erica, has reached 7 million users since its nationwide rollout last June. Read more…
Category: Industry
Burger King is giving debt-laded customers a chance to pay down their student loans by placing food orders through its mobile app or mailing in an entry card by June 6. Read more….
The growing gulf between rich and poor households in the United States has worried some observers. They fret that the unrelenting decline of the middle class will lead to social instability or political upheaval.
Unfortunately, an analogous divide between the haves and have-nots of news media is also growing — a depressing trend that could have profound effects on the press’s role as a community watchdog. Read more…
Comcast’s NBCUniversal today unveiled ShoppableTV, which lets viewers purchase products while watching TV shows by pointing their smartphone camera at a screen during “on-air shoppable moments.” Read more…
Coca-Cola this summer will give people a chance to win more than 150,000 prizes by using their smartphone cameras to scan a “Sip & Scan” icon on cans and bottles of Coke, Coke Zero Sugar or Coke Flavors. Read more….
Starbucks boosted its loyalty program membership by 13% to 16.8 million people during its latest quarter. Read more….
Nearly 80% of viewers said they want more episodes that show how influencers create videos. Read more….
Facebook is developing a voice-powered virtual assistant similar to Apple’s Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Read more…
Further Reading
Tech companies also are experimenting with monetization strategies that extend beyond the initial purchase of a smart speaker. Amazon likely sells its smart speakers at a loss, according to product teardowns by ABI Research, which estimated the second-generation Echo Dot that sells for $29 has about $31 in parts. But those devices give the e-commerce giant a foothold in the connected-home market and help to support Amazon Prime, the subscription service that costs $119 a year for streaming video, a limited package of streaming music and no-fee two-day shipping on most products. People who have an Echo in their home spend about $1,700 a year on Amazon, or 66% more than the average Amazon customer, per Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.
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…