Sam Blumenthal

With inflation beginning to rise, retailers and consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) companies may need to raise prices to cover their costs. Simultaneously, they face increased competition from start-ups and from companies with relatively inexpensive offerings. But, if consumer reviews of a company’s products are less positive than those of competitors,... See more

The daily check-in is a simple yet brilliant feature that encourages users to engage with Pinduoduo on a daily basis. While each check-in does not generate revenue for Pinduoduo, the product experience eventually ties back to commerce if/when users redeem their vouchers. This theoretically should yield a higher customer lifetime value for... See more

Livestream shopping is an emerging trend that combines livestreaming, a feature that can be found on a majority of social media platforms, with the ability to purchase products directly from the livestream. In this way, it provides consumers with a more engaging experience than just clicking and filling a virtual shopping cart. Livestream shopping... See more

Because ecommerce is such a big market, there have been many attempts to do pieces of what Swaypay is going. There are platforms and agencies like Tribe that match influencers with brands, and there’s a growing number of alternative payments solutions that offer customers a different way to pay at checkout. No one currently does both, and that’s... See more

According to Alibaba, as many as 400 company executives and 300 celebrities are holding livestreams during this year’s Singles Day. Pop singer Taylor Swift joined Chinese livestreaming megastar Huang Wei for a livestream last weekend ahead of Singles Day.

Miquela Sousa, aka Lil Miquela, is the first AI social media influencer. She’s a multi-hyphenate 19-year-old, half-Brazilian, half-Spanish model, influencer and singer created by creative agency Brud in 2016. Since her debut, she has accumulated 2.9 million followers on Instagram, and in 2018 she was named Time’s ’Most Influential People on the... See more