RB Partners With HookLogic To Expand Mobile E-Commerce Operations

Reckitt Benckiser partnered with e-commerce technology firm HookLogic to help expand the consumer goods company's mobile e-commerce capabilities. HookLogic lets brands place search, display, and product listing ads directly on e-commerce websites and in apps using a network of retailers that includes Sears, Costco, Walmart, and Target. In June 2016, HookLogic launched a tool for identifying sets of user actions. This attribution tool allows clients to measure results of their marketing across the network. Also, the company launched an e-commerce ad exchange designed to expand its programmatic ad serving capabilities. HookLogic also said it can help clients determine whether a keyword search brought an internet user who clicked on a product and whether the user ends up buying the item.

"CPG Giant Reckitt Benckiser Gets Serious About M-Commerce", AdExchanger, June 24, 2016

Walmart Promises That All Suppliers Of U.S.-Made Goods Will Get A Shot On Its Website

Walmart execs recently met with 800 suppliers to hear pitches on potential Walmart.com products that are made exclusively in the U.S. The company said a third of the companies at the U.S. Manufacturing Summit were minority- or women-owned. A Walmart merchandising executive promised that all of the products – except those that can’t be shipped because they contain hazardous materials – would be automatically approved for sale on Walmart.com. The Summit is part of the company’s initiative, launched in 2013, to spend $250 billion on American-made goods for its stores, Sam’s Club, and website.

"At Latest Summit, Walmart Seeks More American-Made Goods", Arkansas Business, June 28, 2016

India’s Flipkart Experiments Again With In-House Brand Marketing

India’s online retail marketplace Flipkart will be licensing its house brands in jewelry, mobile, and fashion accessories to approved sellers, according to reports. Suppliers must be capable of fulfilling the company’s quality manufacturing benchmarks and product specifications. This is the company’s second try at boosting its high-margin private-label business. Three years ago it launched in-house brands Digiflip in consumer electronics, Citron in home appliances and Flippd in apparels. The brands failed to gain a toehold in their markets; the company has stopped selling Digiflip tablets.

"Flipkart looks to fill up cart with own brands", The Economic Times, June 28, 2016

Troubled U.K. Online Grocer Ocado May Benefit From Brexit Fallout

O woe is online grocer Ocado. British supermarket chain Morrison is complaining that its deal with Ocado has been profitable for Ocado only, and signals it may back out. The company faces competition on its own turf from Amazon Fresh, which has made a supply deal with Morrison. And Waitrose, whose products Ocado sells, may pull out of its arrangement. These and other problems – it has failed to attract any European or U.S. partners – have depressed Ocado’s stock values by 25 percent since April. However, Ocado may benefit in several ways from the fallout of the recent Brexit referendum. The British pound is taking a beating versus the dollar, so an overseas supermarket will pay less to have Ocado manage its online grocery business. It also means that a potential buyer would pay less to buy Ocado outright.

"Ocado's Found a Silver Lining in Brexit", Bloomberg Gadfly, June 28, 2016

Poll Finds Online Food Shopping Has Become Fairly Routine For Certain Americans

Though Americans still make frequent trips to grocery stores, they’re also increasingly likely to buy food online, according to a Harris Poll of nearly 2,000 U.S. adults 18 or over. Thirty-one percent – 45 percent of all online shoppers – said they buy food online for convenience, to save money, or to find items they can’t find anywhere else. Most likely to buy online are Millennials (36 percent vs. 31 percent generally), college grads (35 percent vs. 26 percent with high school or less), parents and city dwellers. Most popular items purchased are snacks (20 percent) and non-alcoholic beverages (17 percent), while baking products and frozen foods are least popular (12 percent each). The best foods for online purchasing are non-perishable or have a long shelf life (49 percent), or are difficult to find in stores (48 percent).

"Purchasing Food Online: The New Normal?", News release, The Harris Poll, June 29, 2016

Purchase Data Help CPG Marketers Find Their Quarry

An increasing number of consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers are relying on purchase-based advertising, as well as location tracking and other technologies, to more sharply target potential buyers. Purchase-based advertising is based on data derived from retail websites as well as from retail stores. As evidence of the pervasiveness of the technology, mobile ad firm 4Info reports that 99 percent of the campaigns it has managed for CPG clients use purchase information. 4Info gets the data – stripped of identifiable personal information – from Nielsen Catalina Solutions, which collects UPC-level information streams directly from participating grocery and drug stores every day. The data reflect purchase information from 90 million households. The information is sophisticated enough to allow advertisers to hone their message as well.

"Grocery Brands Flock to Ads Informed by Your Real-World Shopping", Advertising Age, July 05, 2016

Sephora Updates Mobile App With Virtual Lash Try-On Feature And Augmented Reality Tutorials

Beauty retailer Sephora said it has added new features to its Sephora Virtual Artist application. Available for download on the Sephora App, the features are a new false lash virtual try on, which is added to the lip function, and step-by-step cosmetics tutorials using augmented reality technology. According to the company, Sephora Virtual Artist uses a smartphone's camera to map the location and shape of a user's facial features. Sephora's partner, ModiFace, developed the facial visualization and skin analysis technology.

"Sephora Virtual Artist Expands With New Features For Virtual Lash Try On And Live Tutorials", MultiVu, July 06, 2016

Low Shipping Rates Drive Growth For China's Alibaba Group

Very affordable overnight shipping rates in China have been a biggest factor driving growth for online retailer Alibaba Group Holding. Some of the growth should be credited to the company's Taobao online marketplace and the low prices of goods offered by its 10 million merchants. Alibaba has no direct hand in arranging shipping for Taobao merchants; each seller has to deal with one of the country's largest private courier companies. China's four largest shipping service providers are Shunfeng, or SF Express, and YTO Express, STO Express, and ZTO Express. On Taobao, a 3kg box of Tide washing detergent costs $3.13, or 20.90 yuan, including shipping. In contrast, the same product would cost at least $53 in the US, with at least $35 going to shipping.

"Cheap shipping hidden key in Alibaba's success", Nikkei , July 06, 2016