PwC’s Annual Global Total Retail Consumer Survey is in, and the results are quite interesting. Grocery topped the charts as the category with the highest sales on mobile (tablet and smartphone), beating out apparel and electronics by a large margin. These results coincide with the explosion in grocery e-commerce this year, with startups like Instacart grabbing…
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Grocery Delivery Then and Now
On Monday, the Wall Street Journal published a compelling comparison of two popular grocery delivery companies, one from the 90s, Webvan, and one from today, Instacart. In Webvan’s heyday, the company was making $239 million in revenue with almost $441 million of venture capital invested. Today, Instacart makes $100 million in revenue and just recently…
Another Delivery Start-Up: Favor
With Uber making all sorts of headlines, both good and bad, and all sorts of cash, more and more eyes are turning to the possibilities of the crowd-sourced delivery market. Favor is a promising startup currently operating in Boston, Austin, and Dallas. A customer can use the app to order food, in “three taps” on their…
Starbucks to Start Desk Delivery in 2015
On April 1, 2011, via blog, Starbucks announced a new service called Starbucks Mobile Pour. Read the post here. Baristas on scooters stationed every square mile in seven of the largest cities around the country would rapidly fulfill any mobile smartphone order. You could be walking down the street, and a barista on a scooter would…
Consumers Will Trade Personal Info for Deals
In a new study from Fierce Retail, 60% of shoppers said they are comfortable giving out personal information, anonymously, to their favorite stores, in order to receive benefits and rewards. The majority, or 56%, said they would give the same information to brands, while just under half of respondents, 46%, would also give the information…
Apple Announces a New Mobile Payment System, Whole Foods Signs Up
With the new announcement, Apple attempts to succeed where other mobile payment systems have quietly under performed, payment systems like Google Wallet and Softcard. Apple Pay will use near-field communication (NFC) to process the mobile payment. A customer can simply wave their mobile phone in front of a retail terminal and press their thumbprint on…
Uber Breaks Out Same-Day Delivery Service
Uber flexes its startup muscle and announces a new same-day delivery service called Uber Corner Store available only in certain parts of Washington D.C. The announcement comes just a few months after Uber launched UberRUSH, a courier delivery system in Manhattan where customers can have items be picked up and dropped off at a specific address by Uber…
Trying to Understand Millennials
The biggest buying group, Millennials, are proving to be less predictable than their Baby Boomer parents. They change habits and preferences as new opportunities present themselves. They have conflicting interests – sustainability and convenience. This is due, in part, because they are the most diverse generation we have seen. Millennials cannot easily be described, but…
eCommerce Heats up In India: Flipkart v. Amazon
Flipkart, hot off raising $1 Billion in its second funding round has gained the attention of retailing behemoth Amazon. Shortly after Flipkart’s achievement, Amazon announced it would invest $2 Billion to expand business in India, building five new warehouses. Jeff Bezos commented on the investment, saying Amazon sees “huge potential in the Indian economy and…
2. Digitally Empowered Shoppers: The Consumer is King
A Changing Landscape, Where Digital is King As the world’s consumers become increasingly digitized and connected, industries are racing to engage with the new digital era. Over 274 million Americans have access to the internet, with 117 million using smartphones. Of these 117 million smartphone wielding consumers, 80% are using their smartphones to find stores,…