ecommerce

How AI Will Make Us Smarter

During a recent ARF Town Hall, Professor Russel Neuman explained why he thinks AI will have primarily positive effects. It will make us smarter and more productive. Furthermore, he does not think new regulations are needed to protect humanity from negative consequences of AI development. Read more »

Next Generation Artificial Intelligence

  • TOWN HALL

Professor Russ Newman of New York University does not believe that AI will cause humanity’s extinction. Instead, it should help enhance human intelligence and productivity and our quality of life. After putting the AI revolution into historical context, Prof. Newman discussed aligning AI with human values. At our current stage, he believes the regulatory mechanisms in place are sufficient. He explained how large language models work, what allowed them to come into existence and their future impact, describing the effect on marketing and advertising, as well as what the individual user experience will be like. A democratizing, hyper-personalized experience could take place where AI agents advocate on their owner’s behalf and negotiate each transaction with their owner’s preferences in mind. Over time, he sees a great diversification of models coming into being. Historically speaking, each groundbreaking technology that changed the world has been a net gain for humanity. What makes AI different is that if applied correctly, it could make us smarter. The question is, if AI gives us exceptional advice, will we take it?

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Gaming Growth

Strong growth is predicted for gaming – both for revenue from purchases and from advertising. Mobile (“Social/Casual”) is driving nearly all of the growth. Read more »

Opening Stores Can be a Part of a Successful Omnichannel Strategy

  • MSI

Although ecommerce has been touted by some as the way of the future, in fact this Marketing Science Institute (MSI) working paper finds that opening brick-and-mortar stores can in fact be a fruitful part of an overarching omnichannel strategy. If done right, such a move can attract new customers while retaining the engagement of existing ones. Opening locations can increase revenue and customer value by providing customers the in-person, hands-on experience they crave, but these benefits vary across product categories. This paper can help retailers improve their in-store assortments, thereby achieving greater prosperity and success.

The Media Universe

Evan Shapiro has updated his “Media Universe” chart. This is what it looks like at the end of 2023.   Read more »

Striking a Balance: Privacy, Personalization & Profit

Modern digital privacy laws, while well-intentioned, carry significant unintended consequences. On September 12, industry experts joined us for a virtual Town Hall and discussed the unintended consequences of privacy regulations on marketers, consumers, the industry and society—as well as shared actionable strategies that can be used to mitigate their impacts.

Striking a Balance: Privacy, Personalization & Profit

  • TOWN HALL

Modern digital privacy laws, while well-intentioned, carry significant unintended consequences. On September 12, industry experts joined us for a virtual Town Hall and discussed the unintended consequences of privacy regulations on marketers, consumers, the industry and society—as well as shared actionable strategies that can be used to mitigate their impacts.

Member Only Access

Leveraging A/B Testing to Understand Consumer Behavior

Vidyotham Reddi shared insights from Mars’ approach to A/B testing as their gold standard of learning. Framing it within the timely “virus” context, Vidyotham reinforced A/B testing’s dependability, versatility, and precision for marketing and understanding consumer behavior as part of Mars’ overall strategy.

MODERATED TRACK DISCUSSIONS: Post-Pandemic Trends

This discussion addressed three presentations that described insights from surveys on how the pandemic affected consumer behavior during the pandemic and to what extent observed changes will persist. The presentations addressed trends in behaviors and attitudes regarding media (such as linear TV vs. streaming), travel, and also shopping, cooking, and education.