It’s Friday, so what could be better than spending your lunch ‘al desko’ perusing these five quick link picks that are waiting for your clicks?
In this week's post, we'll take a look at some of the biggest things impacting the retail industry (namely the World Cup, iBeacons and Alibaba!) and how the travel industry are using email marketing.
As always, feel free to share your comments - especially if you've seen anything exciting that we haven't covered.
The World Cup
As well as keeping everyone on the edge of their seat during those nail-biting final minutes (or worse, penalties!) the World Cup is also expected to boost economies around the world. In the UK, every goal that Roy’s men manage to score will add over £165 million in sales for the country’s retailers, with supermarkets and home/garden businesses to benefit the most.
Online retailers will also get a £175 million sales boost if England get through to the second stage. If England beat the best and get through to the finals, online retailers will see a £367 million lift to their summer sales figures.
Find out more at TheRetailBulletin.com.
iBeacons on Regent Street
As part of a £100 million regeneration, the Crown Estate (owners of London’s Regent Street) have invested in a new app and iBeacon strategy designed to entice shoppers into more of the street’s luxury stores.
After downloading an app, users fill in a "Tinder for brands" survey that automatically gauges their shopping interests. Then, when walking past one of the 100 participating stores, consumers will receive personalized offers, discounts and promotions sent straight to their iPhone.
This is one of the first real-life uses of iBeacons that haven’t been trials or tests – it will certainly be interesting to see how customers react.
Find out more on TheDrum.com.
Alibaba launch 11Main, a new US marketplace
If commanding over 80% of China’s online retail industry wasn’t enough, Alibaba are starting to make waves in the US with new marketplace 11Main.com. A niche marketplace for interesting, handmade products from independent retailers around the USA’s 52 states, 11Main is still setting up shop but is expected to steal marketshare from startups like Etsy and established players like Ebay.
However, one of the big challenges that marketplace retailers face is whether or not they can create valuable customer relationships through a middleman. With growth stories like Nasty Gal (a fast-growing fashion retailer who started on Ebay), could 11Main become a breeding ground for future retail success stories?
Take a browse and, if you're in the US, request an invite at www.11main.com.
Stay savvy with Product Hunt
Now breaking tech news before industry incumbents like TechCrunch, Product Hunt is a leaderboard of the newest B2B and B2C products (like apps, SaaS tools and even digitally-connected physical products) which are then voted on by the highly-engaged community. I highly recommend signing up to their daily digest to keep on top of the latest tech innovations for your inspiration.
Check it out at www.producthunt.com.
The good, the bad and the ugly of travel industry email marketing
This great post on Econsultancy looks at nine prominent travel companies and analyses their email marketing strategy for frequency and content – including subject lines, editorial voice, personalization and relevance.
The results are probably unexpected. Personally, Easyjet easily win hands down with personalized subject lines and streamlined content based on the subscriber lifecycle. The worst, online travel goliath Expedia, start with a good premise (the use of urgency) but fail on the execution – the lack of clear customer value quickly misses the opportunity for engagement.
Read the post and find out more at Econsultancy.com.
Sharing is caring
Do you think iBeacons will be the savior of the high-street? Or maybe you’ve seen another news topic that deserves more attention? Share your thoughts in the comments.