Lab Weekly - 10/28/2022
Super bundles as a loyalty play; Plus, the latest news from Google, Amazon, and self-driving cars, as well as must-know stats roundup
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Want Loyal Customers? Build a Super Bundle
The state of play for existing super bundles, and the key ways that brands are deploying super bundles to enhance customer loyalty
In case you missed it…
Why Meta Is Teaming Up With Microsoft To Build The Metaverse
Will working in metaverse be compelling enough to make people want to use it beyond office hours? Meta certainly seems to believe so.
Why Uber is Expanding Its Ad Business
Examining the digital economy and the push for revenue diversification through advertising
The Future of On-Demand Commerce
From mobile wallet integration to automated delivery bot, to the micro-fulfilment centers that are powering ultra-fast local grocery delivery services, the innovations in on-demand delivery is key to meeting consumer expectations and future-proofing the brand experience you offer.
Google Acquires Twitter-Backed AI Avatar Startup Alter [TechCrunch]
As the buzz around the metaverse continues to build, more tech platforms are starting to realize the importance of having a robust, highly customizable building system of 3D avatars for users to express their personalities. Snapchat has bitmojis, Apple has Memojis, and Facebook has its own Avatars — and now Google has bought its own 3D avatar builder as well, evening the playing field somewhat (although I’d love to see some data how which of these 3D avatar systems has the most users right now).
3D avatars are not only for users to authentically embody themselves in virtual worlds, it is also fundamental to the growth of digital goods, especially digital fashion items that are integrated into the avatar-making systems. For instance, in August, Carhartt partnered with Snap to launch a new range of Bitmoji items inspired by its lineup of heavy-duty apparel. Alter started its life as Facemoji, a platform that offered plug-and-play tech to help mobile game developers put avatar systems into their apps. One could easily see Google may simply rebrand Alter’s avatars and roll them into Android as its own version of Memojis.
Related: Gen Z wants digital fashion — How do different avatars stack up? [Vogue Business]; Facebook's bitmoji-style avatars now coming to WhatsApp [The Tribune]
Amazon Launches Home Insurance Comparison Tool In The UK [Reuters]
Amazon further expands into the financial world with the launch of a home insurance comparison platform in the UK. The ecommerce giant partnered with three major UK insurers (Ageas UK, Co-op, and LV=) to create a site where customers can easily compare home insurance prices among the three insurers, and Amazon would get a cut of the insurance sold through its site. This is the latest example of Amazon flexing its muscles as an aggregator and leveraging its existing customer relationships to expand its growing ad business In its Q3 earnings report, Amazon’s quarterly advertising services revenue grew 25% YoY to $9.55 billion.
Related: Amazon unveils suite of new video advertising products [Marketing Dive]; Amazon Prime Video will stream NFL Black Friday games starting in 2023 [Engadget]; Amazon's second Prime Day event is an attempt to capture holiday spending before Black Friday after two down quarters [Financial Times]
Argo AI, An Autonomous Vehicle Startup Backed By Ford & VW, Shuts Down [TechCrunch]
It has been a rather dispiriting month for the development of self-driving cars, as Argo AI, a perceived leader in the autonomous vehicle space with the backing of Ford and Volkswagen, has been shut down. This decision could be influenced by automakers shifting their priorities from chasing self-driving cars to EV production as the market demand for EVs continues to rise.
In an earnings call, Ford CEO Jim Farley reportedly acknowledged that the technology is still a long way away from maturity. “It’s estimated that more than $100 billion has been invested in the promise of Level 4 autonomy,” he claimed. “And yet no one has defined a profitable business model at scale.” This high-profile shut-down has led some skeptics to believe that we won’t see autonomous vehicles deployed at scale in our lifetimes.
It just so happened that both FedEx and Amazon have taken a step back from testing robotic last-mile delivery recently. However, it is important to separate self-driving vehicles for human passengers from the self-driving vehicles designed for last-mile deliveries. GIven the many ongoing testings of autonomous delivery robots, the autonomous driving technology will likely find a product-market fit in hyperlocal logistics where the stake of an AI error is just a late delivery instead of passenger safety.
Related: FedEx and Amazon have taken a step back testing from robotic last-mile delivery [Robotics247]; Ikea is trialing driverless truck deliveries in Texas [Engadget]
Up-and-coming social media app BeReal now has around 20 million daily active users (DAUs), per a TechCrunch source. The Information noted that the app had 7.9 million users as of July of this year, marking a remarkable growth for the app over the past four months.
Netflix commissioned 130 new international first-run shows and 62 features between April and September of this year. Over the same period, Amazon greenlit 92 new shows and 23 features; Disney+, 45 shows and four feature films, The Hollywood Reporter reports based on a recent report from London-based research firm Ampere Analysis.
48% of non-professional creators now earn money from their creative activities, a new study from Abobbe found, Variety reports.
Reddit's chief product officer shared at a recent TechCrunch event that over 3 million users created Reddit Vault wallets, including 2.5 million to buy NFT avatars that can be used as profile pictures on the site.
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