Category Archives: retail

Fortune Tech: Twitter’s new plan: Commerce?

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"During a keynote interview at Fortune BrainstormTech in Aspen, [Twitter CEO Dick Costolo] was pressed about his company's business model. After discussing its various advertising options -- including its plans to eventually offer self-serve ads -- he mentioned how conference organizers and sports teams had used Twitter to find buyers for unsold inventory. For example, the San Diego Chargers were able to quickly sell around 1,000 tickets to a game that otherwise would have been blacked out on local television. Twitter itself didn't make any money on those transactions, but may look to do so in the future."

WWD.com: E-commerce Luring Top Editorial Talent

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More on trend of retailers becoming publishers: "A new kind of magazine has indeed arrived online and its bringing editors into the sales business. For the last year, fast-growing online retail companies like Gilt and Net-a-porter in the U.K. have been scooping up orphans from the magazine world with the idea that editorial content can help them drive sales. To date, Gilt has hired fewer than 20 employees from publishing companies, according to Jen Miller, a spokeswoman for the company who herself came from Condé Nast. She said “about five” of those employees are in editorial roles. "

Retail Week: Retail Bytes: Asos to make Amazon-style personal recommendation

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"Asos.com has become the latest retailer to make personalised recommendations for customers. Instead of showing the same suggested products to every person, the fashion etailer will use a customer’s previous buying history, and the similar purchases of others, to generate more targeted suggestions for new purchases."

New Media Age: Publishers need to think more like brands

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Gina Lovett: "In some verticals, like fashion and beauty, the content being produced by brands is proving a real competitive threat to online women’s magazines. ... Pursuit of the seamless integration of content with ecommerce is expediting the evolution of online magazines into etailers: think News of the World’s Fabulous magazine and IPC Media’s Look. Meanwhile, online stores like ASOS are ramping up their content, with editorial appointments from traditional magazine titles like Melissa Dick, former Elle UK editor."

FT.com: Digital downloads fail to counter CD decline

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"Sales of music albums in the UK continued to fall in 2010, as a surge in digital album sales failed to offset the decline in CD sales. The data from the Official Charts Company highlights the continuing transformation of the music market, as consumers migrate from CDs to digital downloads and free music streaming services."

Media Money: Retailers & national newspapers: Too big to fail?

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"The supermarkets have behaved like no other sector during the recession. Unlike everyone else, they continued to spend more and more on press advertising ... Among the nationals, the supermarkets’ behaviour put a floor under the worst effects of recession, blunting its impact. In the end, the really important question for publishers is how much longer the big retail chains will be able to increase their expenditure at this rate."

SteveOuting.com: My grocer knows me better than my news provider

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"While King Soopers has been sending my household product-discount coupons ... for many years, this latest envelope got my attention. Of the dozen coupons in my envelope, every single one was for a grocery item and brand that I routinely buy. The company at last seems to have evolved its system to the point where I could use all those coupons. ... [N]one of the news brands that I use regularly know me anywhere near as well."

Mediaweek: Web in ‘Fashion’ for Fall

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"InStyle is planning to launch an online pop-up store to complement its product-packed September issue. The InStyle Boutique is powered by StyleFeeder, an online product recommendation service. ... W ... is planning to run snappable ads throughout its October issue that will let readers shop right from the page when they take a picture of a tag with a camera phone. ... Marie Claire will let readers 'shop' from the advertising and edit pages alike by taking photos of items with a mobile phone."