Lab Weekly - 05/25/2023
Unpacking the latest retail trends; plus, the latest news about Microsoft’s AI initiatives, streaming landscape, and Venmo, along with some must-know stats on digital marketing and innovation
Editor’s note: This week’s newsletter is going out one day earlier than usual to accommodate the upcoming Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. We will revert back to Friday morning deliveries next week. Thank you for reading!
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Retail 2023 Trends: The Comeback of Suburban Retail & Pop-up Stores
No, retail is not “in distress”; it is in transition to figure out a new path forward
In case you missed it…
Social Media In Flux: Existential Threats and Generative AI’s Impact
Key questions about the future of social media that brand marketers should keep a close eye on
Lessons from an Unusual 2023 Upfronts Season
The WGA writers strike has had a major impact on this upfront season — here’s what it says about the future of the media industry
Google I/O 2023 Keynote Recap: Tunnel Vision on Generative AI
What marketers need to know from Google’s annual developer conference about its grand plan to integrate generative AI across its core products
Upcoming Episode
Floor 9 will make a triumphant return in June with a recap episode of Apple’s upcoming WWDC event, where the company is expected to unveil its long-anticipated AR headsets. Stay tuned!
Key Announcements From Microsoft Build 2023 [The Verge]
Microsoft expectedly doubled down on its AI integrations as it tries to strategically leverage Windows’ dominant share in PCs and enterprise devices to ensure its AI Copilot features can reach the widest audiences. Not only is Windows 11 getting an AI Copilot, Microsoft Edge will soon come with a 365 Copilot integration as well. The company’s investment in OpenAI continues to pay off, as Bing now powers ChatGPT’s default search experience, which should help Bing reach more users, and the previously announced Microsoft 365 Copilot feature now supports plug-ins by adopting the same open plugin standard that OpenAI introduced for ChatGPT, enabling interoperability across ChatGPT and the breadth of Microsoft’s copilot offerings.
The interesting thing to ponder here is whether this Windows-led approach can help the Seattle-based company beat Google, who is working on natively integrating generative AI features into Android devices and Google services. When combined, Google’s AI touchpoints likely have a larger audience reach than Windows. That said, Microsoft does enjoy the halo effect of ChatGPT’s first-mover advantage at the moment, and the company certainly seems determined to keep up the momentum. Whether they will be able to fend off Google and build a sustainable business out of the alleged AI platform shift is crucial to the outcome of this AI arms race among the tech giants.
Related: Spotify developing AI ad tools that mimic the voice of podcast hosts [Business Insider]; Adobe is adding AI image generator Firefly to Photoshop [The Verge]; Amazon’s answer to ChatGPT seen as incomplete as AWS customers looking to test AI features were told to wait [Bloomberg]
Comcast Reveals A Cable-Lite Streaming Package For $20 A Month [The Verge]
After years of unbundling the pay TV package, the pendulum has started to swing back to bundling in response to the increasing fragmentation of the content landscape. With this new “Now TV” offer from Comcast, which includes over 40 live channels, over 20 FAST services, and a subscription to Peacock Premium, we are now one step closer to the remaking of the cable bundle in the streaming era. In the first quarter of 2023, Comcast reportedly lost over 6,800 pay TV customers every day as cord-cutting speeds up. So this pivot to a new type of TV bundle that plays to the growing subscription fatigue is a sensible move.
Right now, this service is only available for Xfinity customers, and Comcast has indicated its hardware ambition with Xumo-branded TVs and set-top boxes. Last month, Comcast announced that Peacock added 2 million net paid subscribers in the past quarter to hit 22 million subscribers, putting it far behind competitors like Hulu (48.2 million) and Paramount+ (60 million). But Peacock does have a free ad-supported tier, which separates it from the other major streamers.
Related: Some users reported log-in errors, crashes as HBO Max converts to Max [Variety]; Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown is here, and it costs $7.99 per month [The Verge]
Venmo To Introduce Accounts And Debit Cards Designed For Teens [The Verge]
Venmo is targeting young consumers and parents with new teen accounts and debit cards. The account will enable parents to monitor transactions, manage privacy settings and send money to their children. Teens can track their own spending in the Venmo app and may be eligible to receive direct deposits. Similar to Apple’s family plan for its own credit card, the reason for Venmo’s chase for younger consumers with parental-controlled accounts is to hopefully lock in a future customer. The average age of first-time smartphone owners continues to drop — in the US, about 25% of children received phones by age 10.7, and 75% by age 12.6, per a 2022 study from Stanford. We expect more fintech companies to target younger consumers with teen-friendly, parent-approved digital offers to educate them on financial literacy through practice.
Related: Teens can now have their own Uber account [Axios]; Google revamps Assistant parental controls and adds a kids' dictionary [Engadget]; PayPal and Venmo will soon support Apple’s Tap to Pay contactless payments tech [The Verge]
The “middle-class” digital ad platforms keep growing. Sources say that Instacart generated about $740 million in 2022 ad revenue, up 30% YoY; nearly 30% of the company's 2022 revenue came from its ads unit, which launched in 2019, The Information reports.
The slow death of cookies continues. As part of its scaled testing in its Privacy Sandbox initiative, Google says it is looking to deprecate cookies for 1% of Chrome users in Q1 2024, in order to allow developers to test the readiness and effectiveness of their cookieless products in real-world environments.
The second iteration of the PlayStation VR sold way better than its predecessor in the weeks after it became available. During a business presentation, Sony has revealed that PSVR2 sold almost 600,000 PS VR2 units within its first six weeks of availability. That's around 8% more than the sales of first-gen PS VR for the same time window.
If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to our Group Director Josh Mallalieu!
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