Amazon Alexa in your car & in your life
4 years ago
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Foursquare supplies location technology to over 125,000 developers
"While the unbundling effort was a risky bet, it seems to have paid off for the company. Both apps have over 50 million monthly active users as of 2016, which has allowed Foursquare to put their foot on the gas with enterprise products.
For example, Pinpoint by Foursquare (an advertising product) now boasts more than half of the Ad Age 100 as advertisers. Attribution by Foursquare lets those brands measure how effective that advertising is. Attribution more than doubled revenue in 2017.
Developer tools are also an integral part of Foursquare’s business. The Pilgrim SDK and Places API “grew substantially,” according to a post by CEO Jeff Glueck, and now provides location tech to 125K+ developers.
Foursquare added 50+ new roles over 2017, including positions in engineering, sales, creative, business development, marketing, and ops. In 2018, the company is opening a new engineering office in Chicago, and plans to grow the team by 30 percent over the course of the year."
For example, Pinpoint by Foursquare (an advertising product) now boasts more than half of the Ad Age 100 as advertisers. Attribution by Foursquare lets those brands measure how effective that advertising is. Attribution more than doubled revenue in 2017.
Developer tools are also an integral part of Foursquare’s business. The Pilgrim SDK and Places API “grew substantially,” according to a post by CEO Jeff Glueck, and now provides location tech to 125K+ developers.
Foursquare added 50+ new roles over 2017, including positions in engineering, sales, creative, business development, marketing, and ops. In 2018, the company is opening a new engineering office in Chicago, and plans to grow the team by 30 percent over the course of the year."
Source: Techcrunch, 19th January 2018
Dockless bike sharing schemes in Shenzhen have led to a 13% fall in petrol consumption
"Before the advent of dockless bike-sharing in Chinese cities cycling accounted for 5.5 percent of transport miles. It has now more than doubled to 11.6 percent. This is according to White Book of Shared Bike and City Development 2017, a Chinese-language report from the Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Innovation Institute, an urban planning consultancy.
According to the Chinese State Information Center's Sharing Economy Research Center there are now 16 million dockless bicycles in the country, and each was used an average of three times a day.
The release-by-app GPS-trackable modem-equipped bikes are cheap and simple to use, attracting newbies to cycling. A report from Shenzhen's Transport Commission said that the city's 500,000 bike-share bikes had replaced nearly 10 percent of travel by private car, and 13 percent of petrol consumption."
According to the Chinese State Information Center's Sharing Economy Research Center there are now 16 million dockless bicycles in the country, and each was used an average of three times a day.
The release-by-app GPS-trackable modem-equipped bikes are cheap and simple to use, attracting newbies to cycling. A report from Shenzhen's Transport Commission said that the city's 500,000 bike-share bikes had replaced nearly 10 percent of travel by private car, and 13 percent of petrol consumption."
Source: Bike Biz, 26th January 2018
Nearly 20m Apple Watches were sold in 2017
"Why is Apple Watch sales momentum growing? My theory is that consumers are starting to see a place for Apple Watch in their lives. While Apple's revised Apple Watch marketing campaign around health and fitness has led to a clearer sales pitch, I think the health and fitness messaging ends up being Apple's way to get its wrist in the door. People aren't buying and using Apple Watch just for its health and fitness monitoring features. There is something more at play here.
Close to 20 million people bought an Apple Watch in 2017 because the device has become a bridge between the present and future. By including a screen, Apple Watch retains the familiarity found with smartphones, tablets, and laptops/desktops. At the same time, Apple Watch is giving wearers a glimpse of the future by introducing new ideas around how artificial intelligence, voice, digital assistants, and smart sensors can come together to produce a new kind of experience. "
Close to 20 million people bought an Apple Watch in 2017 because the device has become a bridge between the present and future. By including a screen, Apple Watch retains the familiarity found with smartphones, tablets, and laptops/desktops. At the same time, Apple Watch is giving wearers a glimpse of the future by introducing new ideas around how artificial intelligence, voice, digital assistants, and smart sensors can come together to produce a new kind of experience. "
Source: Above Avalon, 23rd January 2018
Note - I can't find an actual source for the '20m' number - but Above Avalon is a reputable source for all things Apple.
Tuesday, 23 January 2018
16% of Americans own a smart speaker
"One in six Americans now own a smart speaker, according to new research out this week from NPR and Edison Research – a figure that’s up 128 percent from January, 2017. Amazon’s Echo speakers are still in the lead, the report says, as 11 percent now own an Amazon Alexa device compared with 4 percent who own a Google Home product.
Today, 16 percent of Americans own a smart speaker, or around 39 million people.
The holiday shopping season also seemed to have played a role in the increased adoption of smart devices in the U.S., with 7 percent of Americans reporting they acquired at least one smart speaker between Black Friday and the end of December, and 4 percent saying they acquired their first smart speaker during the holidays."
Today, 16 percent of Americans own a smart speaker, or around 39 million people.
The holiday shopping season also seemed to have played a role in the increased adoption of smart devices in the U.S., with 7 percent of Americans reporting they acquired at least one smart speaker between Black Friday and the end of December, and 4 percent saying they acquired their first smart speaker during the holidays."
Source: Techcrunch, 12th January 2018
Netflix took over $11bn in streaming revenue in 2017
"New subscribers drawn in by shows including Stranger Things, Bright and The Crown helped push the valuation of Netflix past $100bn on Monday for the first time.
Releasing its latest quarterly figures the video streaming service announced it had added 8.33 million subscribers in the three months to the end of December.
The company signed up 6.36 million subscribers internationally, well above the average analyst estimate of 5.1 million, according to data and analytics firm FactSet.
Netflix’s shares reached a record at $227.79 during regular trading on Monday, valuing the company at $98.4bn, and rose 7.8% after hours, comfortably pushing its value past $100bn.
The rising star to look out for at the Oscars? That’ll be Netflix…
“We had a beautiful Q4 [fourth quarter], completing a great year as internet TV expands globally. In 2017, we grew streaming revenue 36% to over $11bn, added 24m new memberships (compared to 19m in 2016), achieved for the first time a full-year positive international contribution profit, and more than doubled global operating income,” the company wrote in a letter to shareholders."
Source: The Guardian, 22nd January 2018
Releasing its latest quarterly figures the video streaming service announced it had added 8.33 million subscribers in the three months to the end of December.
The company signed up 6.36 million subscribers internationally, well above the average analyst estimate of 5.1 million, according to data and analytics firm FactSet.
Netflix’s shares reached a record at $227.79 during regular trading on Monday, valuing the company at $98.4bn, and rose 7.8% after hours, comfortably pushing its value past $100bn.
The rising star to look out for at the Oscars? That’ll be Netflix…
“We had a beautiful Q4 [fourth quarter], completing a great year as internet TV expands globally. In 2017, we grew streaming revenue 36% to over $11bn, added 24m new memberships (compared to 19m in 2016), achieved for the first time a full-year positive international contribution profit, and more than doubled global operating income,” the company wrote in a letter to shareholders."
Source: The Guardian, 22nd January 2018
Chinese consumers account for 1/3 of global luxury spending
"Sales of luxury goods in China are skyrocketing — up around 20 percent from 2016 — in its sharpest growth since 2011, as Chinese millennials seek products like handbags and cosmetics, Reuters reported.
Within China, sales of brands from Gucci to Chanel, which have been sluggish for years, rose at the fastest pace in five years in 2016 and are positioned to consolidate those gains in 2018. Sales of luxury goods in China reached 142 billion yuan ($22.07 billion) in 2016 in a 20 percent increase from the prior year, Bain & Co said in a report on Wednesday.
As the biggest spenders of luxury products in the world, Chinese consumers made up 32 percent of the €262 billion spent in the global market last year, fueling sales at France’s LVMH, Burberry and Gucci owner Kering. 2017 saw a global recovery of the luxury retail market due to their affinity for high-end brands.
Capitalizing on the trend, French fashion retailer Louis Vuitton, part of LVMH, launched an eCommerce website in China in 2017. Louis Vuitton, which opened its first store in Beijing in 1992, offers items from leather goods to shoes on its website."
Within China, sales of brands from Gucci to Chanel, which have been sluggish for years, rose at the fastest pace in five years in 2016 and are positioned to consolidate those gains in 2018. Sales of luxury goods in China reached 142 billion yuan ($22.07 billion) in 2016 in a 20 percent increase from the prior year, Bain & Co said in a report on Wednesday.
As the biggest spenders of luxury products in the world, Chinese consumers made up 32 percent of the €262 billion spent in the global market last year, fueling sales at France’s LVMH, Burberry and Gucci owner Kering. 2017 saw a global recovery of the luxury retail market due to their affinity for high-end brands.
Capitalizing on the trend, French fashion retailer Louis Vuitton, part of LVMH, launched an eCommerce website in China in 2017. Louis Vuitton, which opened its first store in Beijing in 1992, offers items from leather goods to shoes on its website."
Source: PYMNTS, 18th January 2018
Most Amazon Alexa users 'only use their device for basic tasks'
"A management-consulting firm recently looked at heavy users of virtual assistants, defined as people who use one more than three times a day. The firm, called Activate, found that the majority of these users turned to virtual assistants to play music, get the weather, set a timer or ask questions.
Activate also found that the majority of Alexa users had never used more than the basic apps that come with the device, although Amazon said its data suggested that 4 out of 5 registered Alexa customers have used at least one of the more than 30,000 “skills” — third-party apps that tap into Alexa’s voice controls to accomplish tasks — it makes available.
But while some hard-core fans are indeed tapping into advanced features of virtual assistants, like controlling the lights in their homes, for the most part, “people are still using these speakers for very routine tasks,” said Michael J. Wolf, founder of Activate. “It’s not clear that there is something that’s going to drive people to use these.”"
Source: The Seattle Times, 21st January 2018
Activate also found that the majority of Alexa users had never used more than the basic apps that come with the device, although Amazon said its data suggested that 4 out of 5 registered Alexa customers have used at least one of the more than 30,000 “skills” — third-party apps that tap into Alexa’s voice controls to accomplish tasks — it makes available.
But while some hard-core fans are indeed tapping into advanced features of virtual assistants, like controlling the lights in their homes, for the most part, “people are still using these speakers for very routine tasks,” said Michael J. Wolf, founder of Activate. “It’s not clear that there is something that’s going to drive people to use these.”"
Source: The Seattle Times, 21st January 2018
Monday, 15 January 2018
Juniper estimates that 1.3bn QR code coupons were redeemed in 2017
"Until recently, the QR code was one of the great contenders in the race to ignite mobile commerce. But according to new reserach from Juniper, the humble QR code may be facing a rich second life as a driver of mobile loyalty.
New data released by the firm indicated that 1.3 billion mobile QR code coupons were estimated to have been redeemed last year, and the figure is set to grow by a lot — to 5.3 billion by 2022. Juniper also assigned a 2022 deadline for 4 billion mobile-enabled loyalty cards being activated by 2022 — nearly doubling the 2017 rate.
The QR-based coupon redemptions, according to Juniper, will occur across 1 billion phones and take a major boost from the fact that Apple has finally decided to include a QR code scanner in its iPhone product.
Despite a past littered with sad — and in some cases hilarious — misses, QR codes have enjoyed something of a renaissance, as players have begun using them as a nearly universal tool for consumer engagement. On top of that, consumers usually needed a special mobile app to turn their smartphone cameras into coupon scanners, which dampened enthusiasm for use. As Apple has moved to embed the technology, enthusiasm is seeing a big uptick, even in previously resistant markets."
Source: PYMNTS, 10th January 2018
Note - I'm not entirely sure what 'redeemed' is defined as - it may be the same as 'scanned'
New data released by the firm indicated that 1.3 billion mobile QR code coupons were estimated to have been redeemed last year, and the figure is set to grow by a lot — to 5.3 billion by 2022. Juniper also assigned a 2022 deadline for 4 billion mobile-enabled loyalty cards being activated by 2022 — nearly doubling the 2017 rate.
The QR-based coupon redemptions, according to Juniper, will occur across 1 billion phones and take a major boost from the fact that Apple has finally decided to include a QR code scanner in its iPhone product.
Despite a past littered with sad — and in some cases hilarious — misses, QR codes have enjoyed something of a renaissance, as players have begun using them as a nearly universal tool for consumer engagement. On top of that, consumers usually needed a special mobile app to turn their smartphone cameras into coupon scanners, which dampened enthusiasm for use. As Apple has moved to embed the technology, enthusiasm is seeing a big uptick, even in previously resistant markets."
Source: PYMNTS, 10th January 2018
Note - I'm not entirely sure what 'redeemed' is defined as - it may be the same as 'scanned'
Hulu has more than 17m subscribers
"Hulu closed its fiscal year 2017 with more than 17 million total subscribers across its SVoD and live TV plans in the US – over 5 million more subscribers and a more than 40 per cent lift from the company’s last publicly reported total in 2016. The company also announced that its total audience grew to 54 million total unique viewers.
Hulu expanded its on-demand library in 2017 to over 75,000 episodes of television across 1700 titles – more than twice the number of episodes available on any of the other leading streaming services – adding all existing episodes of more than 600 popular and award-winning series, including This is Us, Designated Survivor, Atlanta, Futurama, 30 Rock, Black-ish, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, Bob’s Burgers, Will & Grace, Power, Golden Girls, Prison Break, Full House and Family Matters."
Hulu expanded its on-demand library in 2017 to over 75,000 episodes of television across 1700 titles – more than twice the number of episodes available on any of the other leading streaming services – adding all existing episodes of more than 600 popular and award-winning series, including This is Us, Designated Survivor, Atlanta, Futurama, 30 Rock, Black-ish, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, Bob’s Burgers, Will & Grace, Power, Golden Girls, Prison Break, Full House and Family Matters."
Christmas Week 2017 was the BBC iPlayer's busiest ever week
"A Christmas treat of box-sets has helped BBC iPlayer achieve its best week on record. Viewers spent more time and streamed more programmes on BBC iPlayer than in any previous week.
Christmas week (Monday December 25th to Sunday December 31st) was BBC iPlayer’s best-ever week, both for requests (69.2 million) and for weekly hours (25.6 million). That was considerably up on December 25-31 last year, when there were 58.6 million requests and 22.5 million hours watched.
A host of box-sets and classic programmes made available for people to enjoy during the holidays – from Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty to family favourite animation Stick Man – contributed to BBC iPlayer’s record-breaking week. The extra content has so far been requested more than 29.4 million times – an average of 1.7 million times a day."
Christmas week (Monday December 25th to Sunday December 31st) was BBC iPlayer’s best-ever week, both for requests (69.2 million) and for weekly hours (25.6 million). That was considerably up on December 25-31 last year, when there were 58.6 million requests and 22.5 million hours watched.
A host of box-sets and classic programmes made available for people to enjoy during the holidays – from Peaky Blinders and Line of Duty to family favourite animation Stick Man – contributed to BBC iPlayer’s record-breaking week. The extra content has so far been requested more than 29.4 million times – an average of 1.7 million times a day."
More than $3bn was raised by VR & AR start-ups in 2017
"AR/VR investment records were broken last year as startups raised over $3 billion across 28 AR/VR categories (over $1.5 billion in Q4 2017). Perhaps the most surprising thing was the bellwether of big AR/VR rounds, Magic Leap, becoming slightly less mythical by finally revealing its product and taking less than a fifth of all the money raised in 2017."
Source - DigiCapital, January 2018
Tuesday, 9 January 2018
Streaming accounts for more than half of UK music consumption
"Streaming now accounts for over half of UK music consumption; 1.5bn weekly streams milestone
The year’s strong growth in demand for recorded music was driven by a staggering 68.1 billion audio streams served through Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and other audio streaming services. This represents a 51.5 per cent rise on 2016 and a remarkable 1,740 per cent increase since 2012.
Streaming now accounts for over half (50.4%) of all domestic music consumption, and in December the market witnessed a new landmark of 1.5 billion audio streams in a single week6. Ed Sheeran was the year’s most streamed artist ahead of Drake, with Shape of You the most streamed song and four tracks in the top- 10. Little Mix were the third most streamed, while Calvin Harris, Coldplay and Stormzy also made the top-10."
Source: Report from the BPI, 3rd January 2018
The year’s strong growth in demand for recorded music was driven by a staggering 68.1 billion audio streams served through Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and other audio streaming services. This represents a 51.5 per cent rise on 2016 and a remarkable 1,740 per cent increase since 2012.
Streaming now accounts for over half (50.4%) of all domestic music consumption, and in December the market witnessed a new landmark of 1.5 billion audio streams in a single week6. Ed Sheeran was the year’s most streamed artist ahead of Drake, with Shape of You the most streamed song and four tracks in the top- 10. Little Mix were the third most streamed, while Calvin Harris, Coldplay and Stormzy also made the top-10."
Source: Report from the BPI, 3rd January 2018
Monday, 8 January 2018
As many Americans aged 18-59 watch Netflix as watch cable TV
"A PricewaterhouseCoopers study of nearly 2,000 Americans aged 18 to 59 has revealed that the percentage of consumers who watched cable TV and Netflix in 2017 were even.
The survey shows that 73 per cent of respondents subscribed to a pay-TV service this year, which is down from 76 per cent in 2016, and 79 per cent in 2015. 73 per cent also said they were subscribed to Netflix this year.
The survey also found that a huge 82 per cent of sports watchers admit they would ‘end or trim their pay-TV subscription if they no longer needed it to access live sports.’"
Source - Advanced TV, 20th December 2017
The survey shows that 73 per cent of respondents subscribed to a pay-TV service this year, which is down from 76 per cent in 2016, and 79 per cent in 2015. 73 per cent also said they were subscribed to Netflix this year.
The survey also found that a huge 82 per cent of sports watchers admit they would ‘end or trim their pay-TV subscription if they no longer needed it to access live sports.’"
Source - Advanced TV, 20th December 2017
Apple shipped an estimated 322m devices in 2017
"It's easy to think of Apple as just an iPhone maker. More than 210M iPhones are sold per year, and no other Apple product comes close to surpassing iPhone in terms of unit sales. However, iPhone is only one piece of Apple's hardware story.
According to my estimates, Apple sold 322M gadgets in FY2017. This total includes unit sales from every major product category and accessory powered by Apple software (iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, AirPods, iPods, Apple Pencils, Beats headphones, and Apple TVs). After a down year in 2016, when Apple shipped 8% fewer devices than in 2015, the company returned to unit sales growth in 2017. In fact, Apple shipped 7% more devices in 2017 than in 2016."
Source: Above Avalon, 20th December 2017
According to my estimates, Apple sold 322M gadgets in FY2017. This total includes unit sales from every major product category and accessory powered by Apple software (iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, AirPods, iPods, Apple Pencils, Beats headphones, and Apple TVs). After a down year in 2016, when Apple shipped 8% fewer devices than in 2015, the company returned to unit sales growth in 2017. In fact, Apple shipped 7% more devices in 2017 than in 2016."
Source: Above Avalon, 20th December 2017
Friday, 5 January 2018
Spotify has 70m paying subscribers
Hello 70 million subscribers 👏— Spotify (@Spotify) January 4, 2018
Earlier - 60m in July 2017
Earlier - 50m in March 2017
Earlier - 37m (estimated) in July 2016
Also - Apple Music has 40m subscribers (11th April 2018)
Amazon Echo owners in the US spend an estimated $1,700 a year with Amazon
"Amazon Echo owners are among the eCommerce giant’s most loyal customers — and the most frequent of its shoppers, according to Wednesday (Jan. 3) reports from CNBC.
That’s according to new research from equity securities research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which noted owners of Amazon’s Echo smart speakers spend $1,700 on average each year on Amazon, higher than the $1,300 Amazon Prime customers spend annually. What’s more, the figure is 66 percent higher than the average spending rate of all Amazon customers around the globe.
“We’ve long thought that Amazon is keenly focused on building increasingly loyal and frequent shopping customers, and Echo seems to promote that goal,” CIRP’s co-founder Josh Lowitz said in the report. “Based on the spending patterns of Echo owners, Amazon can certainly subsidize sales its Echo devices.”
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners polled 2,000 U.S. Amazon customers during a 12-month period that ended in September. The researchers found the huge spending on the part of Echo customers is one of the reasons Amazon has been slashing prices on Echo devices, and is also why the eCommerce giant is rolling out different Echo devices — including one with a screen."
Source: PYMTS, 4th January 2018
That’s according to new research from equity securities research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which noted owners of Amazon’s Echo smart speakers spend $1,700 on average each year on Amazon, higher than the $1,300 Amazon Prime customers spend annually. What’s more, the figure is 66 percent higher than the average spending rate of all Amazon customers around the globe.
“We’ve long thought that Amazon is keenly focused on building increasingly loyal and frequent shopping customers, and Echo seems to promote that goal,” CIRP’s co-founder Josh Lowitz said in the report. “Based on the spending patterns of Echo owners, Amazon can certainly subsidize sales its Echo devices.”
Consumer Intelligence Research Partners polled 2,000 U.S. Amazon customers during a 12-month period that ended in September. The researchers found the huge spending on the part of Echo customers is one of the reasons Amazon has been slashing prices on Echo devices, and is also why the eCommerce giant is rolling out different Echo devices — including one with a screen."
Source: PYMTS, 4th January 2018
Amazon delivered 5 billion items to Prime members in 2017
"Amazon today announced its Best of Prime 2017 – revealing some of the Prime member favorites of the year. Built on a foundation of fast, free delivery, more than five billion items worldwide shipped with Prime in 2017, including free same-day, one-day, and two-day shipping. Prime is designed to make members’ lives easier and more fun with a unique combination of shipping, shopping and entertainment. Prime members used their digital benefits in 2017 more than in any previous year - putting The Grand Tour on Prime Video, “Believer” by Imagine Dragons on Prime Music and The Handmaid’s Tale on Prime Reading on the U.S. ‘best of’ list for 2017. Find Amazon’s Best of Prime 2017 on Prime Insider."
Spending on apps and advertising on Apple's App Store was more than $100m a day for the whole of 2017
Spending on apps and advertising on the App Store now running at more than $100 million/day (sustained over one year.) pic.twitter.com/C7heINXWRH— Horace Dediu (@asymco) January 5, 2018
More than 3m guests stayed at an Airbnb property on New Year's Eve 2017
Guests on @airbnb over New Year's— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) December 31, 2017
'17: 3 million+
'16: 2 million
'15: 1.1 million
'14: 540,000
'13: 250,000
'12: 108,000
'11: 31,000
'10: 6,000
'09: 1,400
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