Facebook Data Harvesting: Connecting Users With The Products They Want

  Facebook data is paramount for marketing. You’re scrolling through your newsfeed, you see a sweatshirt that has your name or your profession in a catchphrase, and it’s only $30. It feels weird to see something so distinctly “you” pop up. So, how does Facebook do that? If you feel like Facebook has more ads than usual, you aren’t dreaming it up; Facebook has been hitting all of us with more ads that are more relevant to us. Although it may seem unnerving at first, Facebook’s data collection tools are fascinating and can often connect users with products they want. …

What’s in the Box?

Online shopping started in 1994 and spread like wildfire in 2017. As a result, nearly 79% of Americans shop exclusively online. People have ditched waiting in long lines, driving through traffic, and searching for the best bargain by simply scrolling through the World Wide Web. It doesn’t get much simpler than being able to type in anything that you are looking for and setting filters to narrow it down to your preferred product. Business owners discovered they needed to be innovative and develop a new way to sell their goods online. Thus came the birth of an entirely unique time …

Alexa, Purchase Whole Foods

In our last newsletter, we detailed the Retail Apocalypse. Perhaps we heralded this shopping doomsday too soon. With the latest news about store closures and business bankruptcy, it’s easy to give up on the classic brick-and-mortar retail place. As people seem to spend less on items and more on travel, according to Business Insider, retail could be on its way out eventually. However, if there’s one thing that is predictable about the market, it’s that it can sometimes be unpredictable. Amazon’s recent acquisition of Whole Foods alone proves that retail might not be facing an apocalypse so much as a …

The Future Is Now: Avatar-Inspired Online Shopping

With Cyber Monday surpassing Black Friday in gross sales this past holiday season, it is safe to say that online shopping will continue with exponential growth. While online shopping is very popular, it still has an intrinsic downside; an estimated 30 percent of all purchases are returned, which drives up the retailer’s overall costs. With this cost increase, it’s no wonder that retailers are developing better ways to decrease returns and increase customer satisfaction – Queue the Avatars.   Multiple international clothing companies, along with Hewlett-Packard Enterprises leading the charge, have created an Avatar-based experience; multiple cameras scan your body …