By Sarah Sweeney

Feature Image Credit: Good Studio/Adobe Stock, Getty Images

By Sarah Sweeney

Sarah Sweeney is client and brand director at Parker Studio.

Sourced from ADWEEK

By Chris Alarcon

Operating an e-commerce business is a rewarding experience. However, venturing into online selling without a plan can hamper your chances of success. You may ask yourself, “Where do I start planning? What does it truly take to operate an e-commerce business in today’s age?”

Thankfully, we’re here to help answer those questions. This post will teach you how to start and grow your e-commerce business!

Let’s dive in.

Define Your E-Commerce Business Idea

Before entering the e-commerce world, you need to define your business idea. Defining your business idea will ensure you have a clear vision of what you want the business to be and determine if it will be successful.

By doing this, you’re finding your niche in the e-commerce market and learning how to do it better than the rest.

This step takes a bit of brainstorming and research, but soon, you will be on your way to financial freedom.

Choosing Your Right Product(s)

Choosing your product can seem like the easiest part of creating an e-commerce business plan, but the truth is that it takes quite a bit of forethought.

To find the right product for your business, you need to do some market research and sense what you are passionate about. Deciding what to sell means more than purchasing goods from a supplier.

You are identifying which market you want to tap into. Consider selling and creating a new business from various niche markets and products.

If you are unsure of what products or which markets you would like to tap into, here are a few examples:

• Clothing
• Home goods
• Children’s toys
• Homemade and handcrafted items
• Digital services

No matter which product or market you choose, performing research is critical.

Validate Your Idea

Once you’ve decided what your product will be, you must validate your e-commerce business idea.

This process entails researching to ensure an audience for your product, learning about the market’s problems and why they are facing them, and finding out how to solve them. You should also see if there are potential trends you can capitalize on.

Answering the questions above will give you the insight you need into whether a business will succeed.

Any business idea can sound ground breaking at the moment. But moving forward is put on hold until you validate it by ensuring that there is a market for your product or that you can create the need for it.

Define Your Target Audience

Beyond discovering if there is an audience for your product, you will also need to define your target audience.

Is your audience the younger crowd that enjoys and needs trendy items and marketing? Or is it an older audience that prefers straightforward marketing and practical products? Of course, the gender, income level, and general location of your audience also factor in.

Further, you must know your intended audience’s lifestyle factors, interests, wants, and needs.

Implementing a solid definition of who your target audience is will help you shape your marketing approach and tailor your product offerings.

This definition will give you a sense of direction before jumping into the launch of your product or business. Then, you can visualize the prize you should focus on.

Brainstorm What Will Set Your Business Apart

Brainstorming how your business will differ from competitors is vital.

You need to give potential customers a reason why they should choose you over what else is available currently. Without a solid aspect that sets you apart, your business can become lost in the sea of emerging e-commerce businesses.

Research Your Competition

Knowing what sets your business apart from others in the market is critical. That’s why we also recommend spending a substantial amount of time researching your competitors.

To start researching your competitors, pretend you are a potential customer and search for the popular keyword and search queries pertaining to your business.

Then, take note of the pages with the highest rankings, as they will be your main competitors. Don’t stop there!

Dive into your competitors’ social media accounts and note how they brand and market themselves on the platforms. (Also, don’t forget about Amazon!) Use the infamous online retailer as a database to identify similar product offerings.

After you gather all of this information, organize it into a spreadsheet, listing the top competitors for your business.

Build Strong Branding

Branding is everything when marketing your products and your e-commerce business. It conveys the overall message that your company believes in and offers.

For example, brands like Nike will use motivational language to motivate their established customer base and draw potential customers.

But what does branding entail? How do you build your business with strong branding?

Building a strong brand doesn’t have to be costly; it simply takes consistency, planning, and research.

Audience Persona

Your audience persona is what customers will come to know your business for.

As previously mentioned, companies will utilize specific language to convey a message regarding branding. That helps build a company’s persona and brand identity.

You can implement your brand persona in all forms of marketing, from the colours you use in the marketing campaign to the vocabulary you use in social media posts. This implementation will help formulate the characteristics and emotions customers associate with your company.

When you are creating your persona, remember who your target audience is. For example, the persona for a brand like L.L. Bean will not have the same effect on a younger modern audience.

Brand Voice

In addition to vernacular and language, brand voice is critical for conveying your message. It will further tell your audience what your company is and what it can do for them.

This branding portion focuses explicitly on the language and vernacular part of the branding strategy.

To create a strong brand voice, you should first figure out how you want customers to feel when interacting with your brand’s online presence.

If a relaxed vibe is what you are going for, a laid-back tone and casual language are what you want when creating e-commerce marketing materials.

But on the other hand, if luxury and glamor are the vibe of your company, sophisticated language with flowery descriptions is what you need.

Social Media Branding

In our digital age, branding efforts extend into the social media sphere with most audiences, including older generations. In short, social media is the number one place to reach potential customers.

Your brand’s social media presence should be more than posting advertisements and product launches. Engaging with your audience is critical for building rapport and further ingraining brand voice, persona, and identity.

You can increase your audience engagement by hosting polls, commenting back to followers, and organizing live streams where they can interact with you and your company.

Brand Identity

Finally, we reach brand identity. This encompasses your voice, persona, and social media presence. It gets into the fine details of your visuals and content choices that will set you apart from your competitors.

With a proper brand identity, customers recognize your brand through adverts and social media posts without seeing your company’s name.

Visuals and Content

To establish your brand’s identity, you will want to choose your brand colours, design your logo, create content creation guidelines, and formulate your strategy.

Your branding guidelines should entail information about marketing copy, colour palette, brand story, and image guidelines.

Your strategy should also entail plans for reaching your intended audience through stylized branded content and marketing materials.

If you need help formulating these guidelines and plans, professional brand strategists are available on freelance marketplaces such as Upwork and Fiverr. They can help take your current vision and turn it into an actualized plan.

E-Commerce Websites

Next, incorporate that information into setting up your e-commerce website.

Your company’s website is a hub for selling your products to customers and establishing a home base for all things relating to your brand. In addition, this website is the place for driving your brand voice, persona, and identity into the hearts of established and potential customers.

So, remember to strictly enforce your brand guidelines when building and maintaining your website.

Again, if you need help building an e-commerce website, you can find website builders and your brand strategist on platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork.

Create Your Shipping Strategy

If you are running an e-commerce business with physical products, like clothing, home goods, or kids’ toys, you must create a shipping strategy that gets the product to your customers safely and efficiently.

First, you must determine if you will transfer the shipping costs to your customers or factor shipping into the product’s price and offer free shipping. Offering flat-rate shipping is also an option.

Additionally, no matter which shipping cost method you choose, you will want to keep a database of the weight of your product(s). This data will help you consistently track the price of shipping your products when it is dependent upon their weight.

Finally, you need to source your packaging materials. From boxes to envelopes and wrapping materials to filler, your packaging should help safely deliver the product to the consumer and leave a lasting impression with its presentation.

If you have downloadable digital products to sell online, you will want to find the best platform and software for delivering these materials. Consider these top five:

• SendOwl
• Shootproof
• Shopify Digital Downloads
• Fetch app
• Digital Product Delivery

Each has unique offerings, and depending on the type of digital products you sell and your target audience, some will be more suitable than others.

Launch Your Business

After choosing your products, formulating a brand identity, creating a website, and developing a shipping strategy, it’s time to launch your e-commerce business!

Although you have accomplished so much already, the adventure is still ongoing because you need to start selling products.

When launching your business, it’s critical to remember that anything can happen, and you may have to reformulate your previous plans. But don’t be too quick to jump ship; the plan was created for a reason. You simply want to open yourself up to new possibilities.

From here on out, your mission is to achieve financial freedom, which sometimes requires testing variables to improve performance.

Market Your Business

After getting your business up and running, you must increase your marketing efforts to ensure your business grows.

But unlike decades past, with your online business, physical advertisements on billboards and in print newspapers won’t cut it. So instead, you need to learn the ways of e-commerce marketing.

Learn Basic SEO

Learning the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) is your ticket to boosting your business among the Google ranks.

Have a Baseline

To start venturing into the world of SEO, you need to have a baseline.

By utilizing a service like Semrush, you can see your domain overview, and it will tell you how visible your business/webpage is on mobile and desktop apps. Its domain overview section covers all the data and analytics you need to understand where your business currently stands.

Know Your Keywords

Additionally, you will want to research and learn the most prevalent keywords and search queries for your type of business. You can then use this information to create content that will help lead shoppers back to your website.

Discover The Power of Backlinks

Backlinks are also essential for creating online traffic for your business, as they are links to your website from other websites.

The more links you have from trustworthy and high-traffic web pages, the more search engines like Google and Bing will see your business and website as valuable and reliable sources.

But the most critical component of all when it comes to basic SEO is staying informed. SEO is an ever-evolving world that takes ongoing reform to remain successful.

Blog Consistently

While looking for the best ways to market your e-commerce store or business, you may have seen the phrase “content is king.” But what kind of content is best?

Blogging is one of the best forms of online content for marketing your business. By publishing blog posts consistently and utilizing the keywords and search queries that pertain to your business, you can increase your chances of climbing the Google ranks and accruing more backlinks.

Your blog posts should always surround topics pertaining to your business.

For instance, post frequent blog posts about what’s trending in fashion if you have a clothing business. Or, if it’s a digital service company, publish articles that discuss the benefits of utilizing a service like yours.

Implement Social Media Marketing

We live in the golden age of social media, and if you’re searching for more customers, you need to utilize Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and more.

You can do this by posting relevant branded content frequently. Your social media content should also utilize hashtags to help further increase your visibility among your target audience.

Like SEO keywords, hashtags can help lead potential customers back to your page, and the more interaction you have on a post, the more likely you are to appear on Explore and For You pages on social media.

Build and Grow an Email List

Building and growing an email list is the best way to create a direct line to your customer base. You can ensure they return and purchase more products by staying in touch with them.

But people prefer to keep their personal information, like email addresses, private. So how do you grow an email list?

You need to offer a deal in return for a customer’s email. Whether it’s free downloads or special sales offers, customers will take note of what you are willing to give in return.

Analyse Your Results

Adapting your e-commerce business to the ever-evolving world is crucial for long-term success.

After spending time in the market and gathering data, you should analyse your results. You will want to look at critical metrics, like your popular products.

Once you notice consistent growth in your business, you will want to optimize your online storefront for high-scale volume. Think about performing the following as your business grows:

• Display popular products on the front page.
• Manage fluctuating stock volumes by sending email invitations and allowing backorders.
• Allow for more checkout options: guest checkout, abandoned shopping cart reminders, etc.
• Match your brand and website messaging to the current market.

No matter what your results are after performing an annual analysis, being prepared to make a few changes is always wise.

FAQs

How Do You Start an E-Commerce Business Without Money?

You can start an e-commerce business without money in a few different ways. One of the best and easiest ways is to sell your expert service.

Whether you are a great writer, marketer, virtual assistant, or graphic designer, you can create an online e-commerce business today with zero or minimal start-up costs.

You can also start a drop shipping business, where you have an online store that customers can order from, and the supplier does the product fulfilment directly. AliExpress or Alibaba are popular suppliers for such storefronts.

How Do You Start an E-Commerce Business on Amazon?

Starting an e-commerce business on Amazon is simple.

First, you must choose what kind of products you want to sell; the possibilities are endless when you choose Amazon as your e-commerce platform.

Afterward, you must sign up for an Amazon seller’s account and select your business model. Wholesale, private label, and retail arbitrage are the most popular.

Once you have the basics covered, it’s time to start listing your products, send them to Amazon to handle storage and shipping, and then market yourself.

What Does an E-Commerce Business Do?

An e-commerce business is a business that sells goods or services online. These goods and services can range from writing and graphic design services to clothing retailers and home goods storefronts.

What Are The Four Types of E-Commerce?

What industry leaders commonly refer to as the four traditional types of e-commerce are business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and consumer-to-business (C2B).

Each type has specific traits and offerings that set them apart. The most common type is B2C.

Is E-Commerce Really Profitable?

E-commerce can be an incredibly profitable business venture. But if you’re looking for an entirely passive way to generate income, this venture isn’t for you.

Running an e-commerce business takes time and dedication. You have to be willing to devote all of your time to managing the business and potentially marketing yourself to thrive.

How Do You Start up an E-Commerce Business?

Suppose you want to start up an e-commerce business. In that case, you must follow a plan to define your business, create a branding and marketing strategy, and perform market analysis regularly.

Free and low-cost start-up options exist whether you want to sell a service or a physical product.

No matter what e-commerce business you decide to open, be prepared to dedicate a lot of time to starting it. However, it is a rewarding venture.

Start Your Journey to Financial Freedom Today!

Whether you want to operate a small business like a small-scale online retailer or an industry-leading digital service, e-commerce is a way to set yourself up for future financial freedom!

All it takes is time and dedication to ensure smooth sailing in e-commerce. So why not start today?

Start researching your ideas, get to know the current online marketplaces, validate those ideas, and start drawing up a plan.

By Chris Alarcon

Sourced from Parent Portfolio

By Jennifer Elias

Key Points

Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis (L) and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai open the tech titan’s annual I/O developers conference focusing on how artificial intelligence is being woven into search, email, virtual meetings and more.  Glenn Chapman | AFP | Getty Images

The AI race pressure cooker

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

A search for vision

A Google quantum processor “Sycamore” is held up to the camera wearing blue gloves. In 2019, Google made a breakthrough in quantum computing. Peter Kneffel | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin speaks during a press conference after the third game of the Google DeepMind Challenge Match against Google-developed supercomputer AlphaGo at a hotel in Seoul on March 12, 2016. Jung Yeon-Je | AFP | Getty Images

Culture Clashes

Google DeepMind co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis gives a conference during the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry’s biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 26, 2024. Pau Barrena | Afp | Getty Images

Pro-Palestinian protesters are blocked the Google I/O developer conference entrance to protest Google’s Project Nimbus and Israeli attacks on Gaza and Rafah, at its headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on May 14, 2024.  Tayfun Coskun | Anadolu | Getty Images

Feature Image Credit: Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

By Jennifer Elias

Sourced from CNBC

By Flavio Vidigal

In a world overwhelmed by constant distraction, simply buying media space doesn’t ensure a brand will be noticed anymore. Advertising has become almost invisible amid the noise of our daily lives, and ironically, the big-budgeted campaigns of large publicly traded companies have often contributed to this problem. The relentless focus on data, numbers and financial efficiency has created a formulaic approach to communication that lacks emotional and creative innovation. This not only harms brands but also wastes resources in the pursuit of hollow metrics.

Yet, in this creatively barren landscape, a revival is taking place. The shift is powered by advancements in technology that are transforming how creativity is produced and managed, empowering smaller creative agencies to directly challenge the conventional wisdom upheld by large firms. These smaller players are leading a movement that is placing creativity back at the heart of advertising, producing work that isn’t just seen but that genuinely connects with audiences.

To put it plainly: What makes creative work meaningful is less about the size of the budget and more about the story, message and relevance to the audience. Brands can’t afford to simply be heard anymore; they need to resonate.

The problem with large advertising agencies today lies in the model itself. The traditional agency model is outdated. For too long, it has prioritized agency growth over client success. The industry has been set up in a way that ties scalability to retainers and billable hours, not to tangible outcomes. That’s why so many clients are disillusioned with big networks.

This disillusionment with bloated agency models has led many brand leaders to seek more efficient alternatives—approaches that integrate creativity, technology and strategic execution. Smaller, independent networks of creative agencies, often referred to as boutiques, have carved out a significant niche by focusing on delivering value without the burdensome overhead that drags down larger firms.

This new kind of partnership goes beyond just cutting costs. It’s about changing the fundamental relationship between brands and agencies. Rather than being a mere vendor pushing campaigns for the sake of hitting KPIs, these smaller creative networks act as partners who are genuinely invested in creating cultural impact. They look at the big picture, using creativity as a catalyst for brand growth.

Paying For Value, Not For Hours

Unlike most agencies that rely on annual retainers and hourly billing—often inflating costs without necessarily delivering proportionate value—modern boutiques are breaking the mould. They offer tailored solutions designed for specific needs, putting creativity at the forefront and aligning their success with that of their clients. Instead of charging based on time spent, they are charging based on value delivered. It’s about producing outcomes that everyone can see and feel, rather than just tallying media results on a spreadsheet.

This impact-oriented model provides flexibility and accountability. The emphasis is on tangible results, creative storytelling and meaningful engagement—outcomes that traditional agencies often promise but struggle to deliver because of their rigid structures. With smaller, specialized teams, creative boutiques can offer high-impact stories and immersive experiences with streamlined, client-cantered operations.

Creating Seamless Solutions Through Network Integration

One of the distinctive advantages of smaller creative agencies lies in their ability to deliver integrated, holistic solutions. For many, this comes from leveraging a network of capabilities model, where specialized creative services operate through distinct but interconnected entities. This provides brands the flexibility to access diverse expertise across creative, strategic and production areas, without having to juggle multiple vendors or deal with management complexities.

This model takes the weight off clients’ shoulders and combines strategy, design, technology and production to produce seamless work that feels cohesive and relevant without the client needing to over-manage the process.

This model ensures that clients pay only for what they need, making every dollar count toward creative output. A typical collaboration begins with a deep understanding of the client’s business challenge, setting clear objectives and creating solutions tailored to those needs. From there, the focus is on efficient, high-quality execution that stays true to the brand’s voice and vision.

Maximizing Impact With A Leaner Approach

One of the key reasons brands are turning away from traditional agencies is the lack of perceived value. Premium retainers have often led to increased costs with limited leadership involvement, while alternative options—such as managing a pool of vendors—can lead to inefficiencies and inconsistency in brand messaging. Smaller creative boutiques offer a compelling middle ground.

With centralized leadership and a clear methodology, these agencies provide greater value for the budget while ensuring consistency and alignment across all creative outputs. The leadership remains directly involved in every project, offering insights and driving innovation in ways that larger, more bureaucratic agencies simply cannot match. The result? A high-impact, culturally relevant campaign that doesn’t just create impressions but meaning.

Embracing Technology, Empowering Creativity

Small agencies are also leveraging technology in a way that enhances creative output without diluting the human touch. Many have incorporated artificial intelligence into their workflows—whether for meeting notes, project management, finance or content production—to free up time for what truly matters: creativity.

Forward-leaning agencies are adopting AI across operations, not to replace creativity but to empower it by automating mundane processes. This allows smaller teams to focus on what makes the work exceptional—the ideas and the stories we tell.

Creative Renaissance

The advertising industry is at a crossroads. The rise of creative boutiques is challenging the status quo, emphasizing that success lies not in the size of the budget but in the boldness of the creative vision. Brands today need partners who understand their need for authenticity, cultural relevance and meaningful connections with audiences. The new wave of creative agencies is answering this call—not with superficial data-driven metrics but with genuine, resonant storytelling.

In a time where audiences are bombarded with content from all sides, standing out is no longer about shouting louder; it’s about saying something worth hearing. And that is what the creative resurgence is all about—returning to the fundamentals of human connection through the power of creativity.

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By Flavio Vidigal

Follow me on LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Flavio Vidigal is Partner and Chief Creative Officer at Rise New York & Partners. Read Flavio Vidigal’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

By Jessica Hawthorne-Castro

As we close out 2024, we’re facing a marketing industry that is changing faster than ever. To stay ahead, it’s crucial to evaluate shifts in consumer behaviour and media trends that are redefining advertising and marketing strategies.

With 2025 on the horizon, here are five significant trends I think will influence the industry and shape strategies, as well as the opportunities and areas for improvement they present with the impact of artificial intelligence.

1. Visual Content Will Remain A Dominant Force

Visual content—especially video—continues to remain king when it comes to consumer engagement. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels are fuelling the popularity of short-form videos, which are highly effective in capturing and retaining user attention. About 62% of consumers have watched videos to learn more about brands, discover how their products or services work, and identify benefits they might not have learned about in the text-based description.

To capitalize on this demand, consider boosting your video production capabilities and focus on authentic, informative videos that align with consumer preferences. Video content that delivers quick, engaging and valuable insights will help your brand stay visible and relevant in crowded digital spaces.

With the assistance of AI-driven video editing, you can produce personalized content that caters to individual consumer preferences more efficiently and at a lower cost. On the other hand, relying solely on AI tools for video creation may reduce authenticity, which can affect brand trust, so make sure you find the right balance between AI and human effort.

2. UGC Will Enhance Brand Authenticity

User-generated content (UGC) has become a vital asset for building brand trust. Consumers increasingly look to peers for genuine product evaluations, with 99.9% of consumers reading reviews before making an online purchase. With this in mind, consider UGC not just as a tool for engagement but as an authentic storytelling engine that creates a deeper connection with your consumers and builds trust.

By featuring customer reviews and encouraging social media shares, you can strengthen connections with consumers and cultivate a loyal customer base by making users part of your brand’s story.

AI sentiment analysis can provide insights into consumer attitudes, allowing you to align with positive user tendencies and drive engagement. Depending on AI for UGC poses some risks, though. AI systems might misinterpret context, leading to the promotion of content that doesn’t align with your brand’s image and potentially causing concerns with brand alignment and customer perceptions.

3. AI-Powered Personalization Will Be A Driving Force

AI, specifically generative AI, will likely play a transformative role in delivering hyper-personalized marketing experiences, moving beyond simple segmentation. This will allow you to tailor content to each person’s preferences, habits and buying patterns. Gartner predicts that next year, 30% of large organizations’ outbound marketing messages will be “synthetically generated,” helping companies deliver new, personalized content faster than ever before.

This level of personalization can deepen customer relationships and drive business growth by making marketing messages feel tailored and timely. As more brands adopt generative AI, they will have new tools for reaching customers in more meaningful and relevant ways.

Generative AI tools allow for a wide range of tailored marketing strategies that can help deepen brand-consumer relationships. The challenge with AI-driven personalization is acquiring significant amounts of consumer data without overstepping on privacy. You must carefully navigate this challenge to avoid breaking consumer trust.

4. The Integration Of Advanced Analytics Will Expand

AI’s integration into marketing technology is evolving beyond ad placements, especially in programmatic advertising. This transformation has added sophistication and smart targeting to customers, and it is no longer just about automating ad placements. Brand awareness, engagement and performance are more integrated across marketing and media executions and optimizations. AI now facilitates deeper insights into campaign paths, including conversion or acquisition tracking, lifetime value optimizations and cross-channel loyalty programs.

AI-driven analytics provide robust insights that can advise you on effective strategies, boost ROI and optimize your overall marketing spend. By understanding customer behaviours and patterns through advanced analytics, you can tailor campaigns to achieve specific outcomes, such as higher retention rates or increased brand loyalty. Keep in mind, though, that while AI may improve efficiency, it may overlook or misconceive emerging consumer trends and broader market shifts that humans understand based on context.

5. Adoption Of Zero- And First-Party Data Will Increase

As data privacy regulations tighten and third-party cookies phase out, marketers are pivoting to first- and zero-party data collection. Customer interactions, voluntary surveys and loyalty programs will be critical to create substantial, compliant marketing strategies.

Consumers are increasingly becoming more concerned about privacy. This means you must prioritize transparency and consent. By following simple privacy rules, you can continue to leverage customer insight in ways that build trust while still personalizing customer experiences.

AI can improve your data collection strategies by pinpointing relevant touchpoints and enhancing data insights to create value-driven marketing that aligns with consumer privacy expectations.

The coming year promises to be one of significant evolution in the advertising and marketing industry. By leveraging AI with careful consideration, you can optimize your strategies to deliver and enhance consumer trust in a time when data, personalization and authenticity are key.

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By Jessica Hawthorne-Castro

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Jessica Hawthorne-Castro is CEO of Hawthorne, an analytics and technology-driven accountable advertising agency. Read Jessica Hawthorne-Castro’s full executive profile here.

Sourced from Forbes

By Jason Goldberg

In 2007, Steve Jobs stepped onto the stage and, with his now-legendary “one more thing” moment, unveiled the iPhone. Few realized at the time that this device would usher in an era that fundamentally transformed commerce, reshaping how people discover, buy, and interact with products. Fast forward to today, and another transformative shift is on the horizon. Perplexity’s launch of “Shop Like a Pro” may be the tipping point for a new era: AI Agent Commerce. Much like the iPhone wove the internet into the fabric of everyday life, AI shopping assistants are poised to embed artificial intelligence into the heart of our shopping experiences, forever changing the retail landscape.

AI agents, once a speculative idea, are becoming reality as industry giants like Amazon, Google, Apple, OpenAI, and Perplexity pour resources into this burgeoning space. These companies envision a future where the friction of shopping—endless comparisons, scrolling, and decision-making—is replaced by seamless, personalized assistance.

Picture this: You ask Alexa to find the perfect winter coat. Alexa doesn’t just offer a list; it considers the weather in your location, your past style preferences, your budget, and customer reviews to present the ideal option. Or, imagine Perplexity’s recently unveiled “Shop Like a Pro,” where AI curates product suggestions based on social proof, your unique tastes, and emerging trends, allowing you to make a purchase with one click directly from its platform. Meanwhile, Google Lens now lets you snap a picture of a product and instantly discover where to buy it, compare prices, and check inventory—all in real time.

Feature Image Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images

By Jason Goldberg

Jason “Retailgeek” Goldberg has been a Forbes contributor since 2018, covering commerce, retail, and shopper marketing. He’s covered commerce topics including public retailers’ earning reports, US Department of Commerce retail forecasts, and emerging trends in e-commerce, social commerce, and the impact of artificial intelligence on retail. Read More

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Sourced from Forbes

By Robin Jaffin

Locate X, a powerful location tracking tool developed by data broker Babel Street, has sparked controversy due to its widespread use by government agencies for surveillance without warrants. As reported by Vice, this tool allows users to monitor the precise movements of mobile devices, raising significant concerns about privacy and civil liberties in the digital age.

What is Locate X?

Developed by data broker Babel Street, Locate X is a sophisticated location tracking service that utilizes mobile advertising IDs (MAIDs) to create detailed maps of device movements.

This powerful tool aggregates location data from various sources, including popular mobile apps that request location access, allowing users to monitor specific devices across state lines and even internationally.

Locate X’s capabilities extend beyond real-time tracking, as it can also display historical location data, making it particularly valuable for surveillance purposes.

Government Use of Locate X

Several U.S. government agencies have been identified as users of Locate X, raising concerns about warrantless surveillance:

• The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) signed a contract to access the service, as revealed by procurement records.
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have reportedly utilized the tool.
• The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) purchased access to Locate X, according to uncovered procurement records.

These agencies can track device locations anonymously using data harvested from popular apps, without the need for a warrant.

This widespread adoption by federal agencies has intensified the debate surrounding privacy rights and the extent of government surveillance capabilities.

Privacy Concerns and Controversy

The use of Locate X has ignited significant privacy concerns and controversy, particularly due to its ability to bypass traditional legal safeguards. Unlike conventional surveillance methods that require court orders, this tool allows agencies to track individuals without obtaining warrants, potentially infringing on citizens’ Fourth Amendment rights.

This warrantless surveillance capability has drawn criticism from civil liberties advocates and lawmakers, with Senator Ron Wyden proposing legislation called “The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale” to ban government agencies from purchasing such data.

• Vulnerable groups, including abortion-seekers in restrictive states, immigrants, and LGBTQ+ individuals, face heightened risks from this technology.
• The tool’s existence highlights the largely unregulated nature of the data broker industry and the ease with which personal data can be acquired and weaponized for surveillance purposes.

Future Implications of Surveillance

As technology continues to advance, the capabilities of tools like Locate X are likely to expand, raising critical questions about the balance between national security, law enforcement needs, and individual privacy rights. The ongoing debate surrounding these issues will shape the future of digital surveillance and data protection laws. Experts warn that without proper regulation, such tools could lead to a surveillance state where personal privacy becomes increasingly scarce.

To address these concerns, lawmakers and privacy advocates are calling for stronger data protection measures and increased transparency in how location data is collected and used by both government agencies and private companies.

The outcome of this debate will have far-reaching implications for civil liberties and the relationship between citizens and their government in the digital age.

Ethical Debates in the Tech Community Regarding Locate X

The development and use of Locate X has sparked intense ethical debates within the tech community, highlighting the tension between technological innovation and privacy concerns. Many technologists argue that tools like Locate X represent a dangerous overreach of surveillance capabilities, potentially undermining fundamental rights to privacy and freedom of movement.

Critics within the industry emphasize the need for stronger ethical guidelines and oversight in the development of such technologies. They argue that companies like Babel Street should implement more rigorous vetting processes for potential buyers and establish clear boundaries on how their tools can be used.

Some advocate for a “conditional good” approach to technology development, which recognizes the potential benefits of location tracking while also acknowledging and mitigating its risks.

This debate underscores the growing recognition among tech professionals that ethical considerations must be central to the design and deployment of powerful surveillance tools, not an afterthought.

 Abortion Surveillance Risks

The potential use of location tracking tools like Locate X to monitor women seeking abortions has raised significant privacy concerns in the post-Dobbs era. Digital surveillance poses a serious threat to reproductive health privacy,  as cell phone location data can reveal visits to clinics and track individuals across state lines.

In one alarming instance, privacy advocates used Locate X to track a device traveling from Alabama, where abortion is banned, to a clinic in Florida. Atlas Privacy, a company specializing in data removal, demonstrated how they were able to access the tracking tool Locate X and use it to monitor the movements of a specific device. The device’s journey included crossing state lines from Alabama, where abortion is fully prohibited, to a reproductive health clinic in Florida, which restricts abortion after six weeks. Originally intended for law enforcement, the tool was obtained by Atlas Privacy after they claimed it would eventually be used in collaboration with law enforcement agencies. This case underscores significant concerns about the potential misuse of such powerful surveillance tools.

Law enforcement in states with abortion restrictions could potentially use such tools to identify and prosecute abortion-seekers. Some states have even introduced “bounty hunter” laws allowing private citizens to sue those aiding abortions, further incentivizing surveillance.

To protect privacy, experts recommend disabling location services, using VPNs, and being cautious about sharing information online.

Lawmakers are also being urged to enact stronger data protection measures to prevent the misuse of location data in criminalizing abortion care.

Balancing Security and Privacy

The use of tools like Locate X highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing national security interests with individual privacy rights. While proponents argue that such technologies are essential for law enforcement and counterterrorism efforts, critics warn of the potential for abuse and erosion of civil liberties.

.To address these concerns, experts advocate for:

• Developing robust ethical frameworks and regulations to guide the responsible use of surveillance technologies
• Increasing transparency about how these tools are used and implementing strong accountability measures
• Exploring privacy-preserving technical solutions, such as encryption and secure multiparty computation
• Establishing clear guidelines that safeguard privacy while still allowing for effective security measures

Ultimately, finding an appropriate balance requires ongoing dialogue between government agencies, technology companies, civil society organizations, and the public to ensure that security measures do not come at the expense of fundamental rights and democratic values.

Impact of Locate X on Civil Liberties

Locate X’s widespread use by government agencies without warrants has raised significant concerns about its impact on civil liberties. The tool’s ability to track individuals’ movements with precision threatens fundamental rights protected by the Constitution, particularly the Fourth Amendment’s safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures.

• The ACLU warns that such surveillance practices may chill free speech and religious expression, as people become less likely to engage in these activities when they know they’re being monitored.
• Privacy advocates argue that the aggregation of location data creates an “intimate window” into a person’s life, revealing sensitive information about their associations and activities.
• The tool’s use in immigration enforcement has sparked particular alarm, potentially endangering vulnerable populations and undermining trust in public institutions.

By circumventing traditional warrant requirements, Locate X represents a significant erosion of privacy protections in the digital age, potentially reshaping the relationship between citizens and the state in ways that threaten the foundations of democratic society.

International Perspectives on Surveillance Tools

The global proliferation of AI-powered surveillance tools has sparked diverse international responses, with countries adopting varying approaches to their development and use. According to the AI Global Surveillance Index, 56 out of 176 countries now employ AI for surveillance purposes, highlighting the widespread adoption of these technologies.

While some nations view these tools as essential for maintaining public safety and national security, others express concerns about their potential for abuse and human rights violations.

• China has emerged as a leading developer and exporter of AI surveillance technologies, with its systems being adopted by countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
• The European Union has taken a more cautious approach, emphasizing the need for ethical AI development and strong data protection regulations.
• In response to growing concerns, the United Nations has called for a moratorium on the sale and use of surveillance tools until adequate human rights safeguards are in place.
• Civil society organizations worldwide are pushing for greater transparency and accountability in the deployment of these technologies, advocating for legal frameworks that protect privacy rights while allowing for legitimate security needs.

Evading Location Tracking

To protect yourself from being tracked, individuals can employ several effective strategies:

• Disable location services on devices and apps when not needed
• Use a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt internet traffic and mask IP addresses
• Opt for private browsers like DuckDuckGo that don’t collect user data
• Regularly scan for and remove spyware or unfamiliar apps
• Enable airplane mode when not actively using the device
• Avoid using public Wi-Fi networks that aren’t password-protected
• Disable location tracking on social media platforms
• Use end-to-end encrypted messaging services for communications
• Be cautious about sharing personal information online and on social media

Additionally, individuals should regularly update privacy settings on their accounts and devices, and consider using tools to detect unauthorized GPS trackers.

While no method is fool proof, combining these strategies can significantly reduce the risk of unwanted tracking and protect personal privacy.

Privacy Versus Surveillance

The emergence of tools like Locate X represents a critical juncture in the ongoing struggle between privacy rights and surveillance capabilities. As technology continues to advance, the potential for invasive tracking and monitoring of individuals’ movements has reached unprecedented levels, raising profound questions about civil liberties in the digital age.

While proponents argue that such tools are essential for law enforcement and national security, the lack of oversight and potential for abuse pose significant risks to fundamental rights. The ease with which private entities can access and exploit location data highlights the urgent need for comprehensive data protection legislation and stricter regulation of the data broker industry.

As society grapples with these challenges, it is crucial for citizens to remain vigilant, advocate for their privacy rights, and demand transparency and accountability from both government agencies and private companies in the use of surveillance technologies.

Feature Image Credit: BritCats Studio via Shutterstock

By Robin Jaffin

Sourced from QZ The Queen Zone

By Rocio Fabbro

From scouring subreddits to personalized messages from John Stamos, AI is helping target audiences in new ways

https://qz.com/known-agency-big-lebotski-chicken-subreddit-ai-stamos-1851695089

Artificial intelligence is helping marketers keep up with the rapid pace of change in the advertising industry, allowing them to stay nimble while also expanding their creative capabilities, says Kern Schireson, CEO of the full-service advertising agency Known. That’s making it easier for marketers to know exactly what you want — and how you want to see it.

“It’s a real asset to us as we look to work through a bunch of complex decisions on where and how to introduce messaging, where it’ll be most persuasive to our clients’ audiences. AI gets us there faster,” Schireson said in the latest episode of Quartz AI Factor, a video interview series set at the Nasdaq MarketSite (NDAQ).

But it’s not just an efficiency tool. Known also deploys AI to help tune advertisements to individual viewers, a gargantuan task that used to take far longer and use up considerable resources.

“If you want to do that manually, that’s an insurmountable level of content that you need to create,” Schireson said. “But if you have AI tuning and optimizing the creative iteration for the individual audience at the particular time of day, place context platform in which they’re receiving it, you can do that quickly and efficiently that creates opportunities that never existed before.”

Known ran a Super Bowl ad featuring John Stamos, Schireson said. Using AI, Stamos said the name of whichever city viewers were watching from, giving each individual viewer a different and more targeted experience.

In another example, the company’s AI chatbot, known as “The Big Letbotski,” dug through 80,000 active subreddits to identify the most relevant conversations about chicken sandwiches for its client, Shake Shack (SHAK). After finding 30 of the most content-specific subreddits, it ran targeted ads promoting its Chicken Shack Sundays giveaway in April. That helped Shake Shack beat sales estimates by 31%.

“The Big Lebotski helped look at the dimension of audience and the context of the conversation in that particular subreddit to say, ‘where is this gonna land, where it actually feels like it makes sense for people who are likely to be persuaded by it,’” Schireson said. “And so the intersection of those two questions was really where it helped us zoom in, and the performance speaks for itself.”

By Rocio Fabbro

Sourced from QUARTZ

Sourced from OM

I recently wrote about the future of the browser and Surf, a new app from the creators of Flipboard. Both stories explore the changing nature of the web and its impact on the media landscape. I’m not shy about expressing my frustrations with the establishment media and the ever-present gulf between technology and old media companies. I’ve been involved with the internet and online publishing from the very beginning — even before many big media companies embraced it. Those companies have almost always lagged behind in understanding the shifting reality of what media is, how we consume it, and how it’s distributed.

The widespread lack of understanding among the establishment media allowed Google to become a behemoth. And then they essentially handed the keys to the kingdom to Mark Zuckerberg and Co. They are making the same mistake with the new AI platforms. Despite all the brouhaha about fighting Perplexity or OpenAI, it will amount to nothing more than a short-term squeeze play.

Some media companies are simply signing deals, taking the cash while they can. By doing deals with these platforms and giving them access to their content, most publications might feel they will be rewarded with traffic to their websites. Here’s what Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, said on a podcast:

We can go through it in complex way or the simple way. The simple way is we believe it provides revenue, but more importantly provides a potential traffic source. Provides an avenue for a product partnership that could be very beneficial, and that provides a way for us to help shape the future of AI…

…[Another] part is this very interesting search element, where right now in OpenAI they have browse mode and they can link out to Atlantic stories. They have said that they’re going to build a search product. They have not launched the search product, but they have said they would build it. We have allowed them to include The Atlantic in their search product.

Our view is that if this becomes an important way that people navigate the internet, that it will be better for us to be in it than to not be in it, and also to help shape it than not help shape it.

The Atlantic and its brethren have about as much chance of shaping the future as I do of convincing Elon Musk to focus on playing cricket. The challenge for these publications is more existential.

Unlike search engines, AI platforms are built on precision and summaries. They’re unlikely to be a major source of traffic or advertising revenue. What about getting paid for the summaries OpenAI serves in response to prompts? These prompts will vary widely, as will the responses, breaking the traditional mass-media revenue model. As I explained in my “future of browser” article, information itself is being atomized, which will likely upend the web and media as we know them.

Facebook made big promises to media companies, only to pull the rug from under them. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity are likely to be equally, if not more, ruthless. These platforms won’t need the media for long.

The old media has consistently misunderstood digital transformation, and it’s no surprise that we have a media ecosystem still trapped in old monetization models, where “interruptions” have only grown more aggressive. What began as occasional magazine ads has evolved into a constant barrage across all platforms—from billboard-cluttered webpages to podcast sponsorship breaks and algorithmic social feeds designed for ad delivery.

Social media platforms, built around algorithmic feeds and advertising models, have reduced content discovery to a game of clicks, likes, and engagements. Mass-market media has followed suit, optimizing for sensationalism rather than depth. All of it, from podcasts to news apps, interrupts users constantly with ads, pushing all of us to exhaustion.

In reality, the seeds of media’s destruction are built into its architecture, because outlets must feed advertising systems, not the audience. The media establishment disregards why audiences visit them, and it’s no surprise the system has reached its limits. Too many advertisements, too many interruptions, and too much “content” mean that, as an end customer, you are decoupled from media brands.

Nowhere was this more obvious than during the recent election cycle. The news cycle showed that information consumers were ready to move on from tired old content creation, delivery, and distribution models. Who wants to deal with 500 versions of a 500-word article with a sizzling headline and a sliver of actual news? Try sitting through 10 minutes of CNN or any cable show. Screaming, shouting, and superficiality make it easy to tune out traditional media.

It’s hardly surprising people want 60-second summaries on TikTok and headlines on Twitter. A recent Pew Research study found that “about one-in-five Americans – including a much higher share of adults under 30 (37%) – say they regularly get news from influencers on social media.” While social media is known for hot takes and memes, it’s much more than that, as Pew’s study revealed. “Overwhelming majorities say they get all four types of content asked about in the survey: basic facts (90%), opinions (87%), funny posts (87%), and breaking news (83%),” the survey noted.

OpenAI and Claude are demonstrating that we’re entering a phase where individuals will engage with platforms as a singular individual entity. Even if these platforms adopt advertising, each query will generate a unique response, making it difficult to replicate traditional mass media monetization. This represents the newest variation of the game played by Google and Facebook.

Google and Facebook are already showing that by embedding “Ask AI” and “Summaries” into their products, they are ready to produce one-to-one advertising using “Generative AI.” They won’t need to send people anywhere, much like OpenAI or whoever triumphs as a big winner in the AI sweepstakes.

The internet was originally envisioned as a place for connection, collaboration, and discovery. But over time, it has been distorted by business models that prioritize engagement metrics over meaningful interaction. Discovery has long been the open web’s greatest challenge, with search engines turning it into an SEO game and social platforms creating algorithmic echo chambers. AI platforms are making discovery almost irrelevant.

You stay still, but your AI agent goes out and fetches, distils, and synthesizes the content and renders it in whatever format you want — audio, video, or text. This is the future. None of the media business models will work in the future — neither advertising nor paywalls. Today’s content deals, like the one The Atlantic signed with OpenAI, are akin to the sugar high you get from soda. The sugar high is followed by the inevitable crash.

December 21, 2024 San Francisco

Addendum: The Washington Post is drama central these days. The paper is trying to come up with a new growth strategy. And there is a new (editor in) chief in town. Furthermore, some believe they can save the paper if they can buy it from Jeff Bezos. I wish all of them good luck in all those endeavours. After all, trying is better than doing nothing. The media industry is in a dire situation. It is time to reinvent. and it starts by rethinking the meaning of media in the age of “AI” and then we need to figure out how to make it work financially.

Feature Image Credit: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Sourced from OM

By Darpan Munjal

In the age of Google and now ChatGPT, we take quality search for granted.

We’re used to having information at our fingertips, but this ecosystem of instant gratification hides complex processes that enable us to find what we’re looking for.

Maybe because of search’s ubiquity, good search and discovery is often overlooked in e-commerce. But getting this element right can have a huge impact on your business. Effectively matching customers and products increases conversions and reinforces trust and loyalty as customers realize you’re relevant to their needs. Increasingly, AI is driving a revolution in search and discovery, being implemented by everyone from Amazon to Shopify to personalize search results and allow for deeper categorization of products that reaches beyond standard keywords.

Think of search as a two-way street, an interaction between your products and your customers. AI allows us to understand both points on this line better, and draw the shortest possible distance between the two. Here’s how AI can help update your search and discovery.

Moving Beyond Keywords

Search and discovery has traditionally been driven by keywords, returning products that are the closest match to a user’s chosen search words. The problems with this approach are obvious: firstly, it requires both accurate classification of products. It also requires your customers to know pretty much exactly what they want to buy! While keyword search remains at the heart of most algorithms, including Google and Amazon, in e-commerce it has contributed to a failure rate in first searches of up to 17% and over two-thirds of consumers seeing irrelevant results.

For an online fashion brand or food delivery app, keyword search is a functional starting point, as customers often begin searching with a decent idea of what they’re looking for, be it jeans or Chinese food. Brands must be alert to the diversity of customer needs, though, and keywords should include broader categories and common phrases such as ‘healthy food’, ‘quick delivery’, or ‘relaxed fit’.

At Atom.com, our focus is on brandable domains. These often contain unique naming styles that make discovery less linear than that provided by a simple keyword approach. The main selling point of our domains may be the metaphor or emotional invocations, so the connection to keywords is tangential or opaque. Across e-commerce, brands may have product categories where keyword relevance is unclear; moreover, an intelligent search algorithm should read between the lines of consumer keywords to present supplementary products that the customer may want without yet realizing.

AI and the Future of Search and Discovery

In September 2024, after months of testing, we fully integrated AI with our search. This enabled it to continuously critique and improve its own results. By training AI models to think like buyers, we were able to identify irrelevant results across thousands of keywords, helping us eliminate results that didn’t align with buyer expectations. Since this implementation, we’ve already had some clear improvements: 17.4% better engagement and 14.6% increase in conversions. Here’s how AI has enabled an optimized search and discovery process.

Deep Classification

AI enables a deeper and more complex keyword classification than could ever be afforded by a manual process. Our buyers typically start by searching broad industry themes, such as fashion or beauty, as they work on building brands within these categories. With tens of thousands of domain names in these categories, reliably recommending the most relevant names is impossible, even with a huge base of root keywords.

We’ve implemented AI to build not only a deeper set of interrelated relevant keywords, including themes, emotion and name style, but also to generate accurate use cases for our domains. This means that if a buyer searches for use cases such as ‘sustainable clothing brand’ or ‘natural skincare brand’, our search will now prioritize the discovery of names like ‘PurityCompass’ which are highly relevant to the brand intentions without being rooted in direct keywords. Instead of returning names with the user’s search terms forced in, our AI-based discovery process offers an intuitive solution based on end-use.

Deeper classification is essential for any e-commerce brand, even when many of your products may be found by more direct keyword search and it enables your search algorithm to return highly relevant answers even when buyer keywords are lacking specificity. Moreover, by offering customers diverse but relevant products, you will learn more about their behaviour enabling individual personalization and accurate segmentation.

Connection With The Buyer Journey

Deep classification – and the accurate categorization it requires – is just one side of the coin of better discovery. The other side is your customers, those doing the searching. You must pair deep classification with data on buyer types and behaviour. In other words, how buyers are browsing your marketplace. This will allow you to create meaningful associations based on real end-user search terms.

In most industries it’s likely buyers will return to use your search function multiple times before making a purchase, as well as after an initial conversion. Data gathered through these touchpoints can be built into detailed user profiles. For example, if a buyer searches for a certain keyword and shortlists 5 different names, our AI begins building dynamic associations based on search intent and those domain attributes. With a dataset of 3 million unique monthly visitors, we’re able to aggregate insights to improve the discovery experience across the board.

Deep classification is integral to this, as it allows our search algorithm to cross-reference the products that pique the buyer’s interest and present personalized suggestions that are based upon how similar users interacted with those names in the past.

Of course, every customer is different. Advanced machine learning allows our dynamic user profiles to adjust in real-time, based on search behaviour. The result is ever-improving search results that hone buyers in on the right products at the right time.

Search Is About Data And People

Effective search and discovery requires a two-pronged approach. Firstly, a deeper, more sophisticated product classification. Second, understanding your customers and their search intent.

Once you’ve perfected both, search is no longer a coin toss for your customers but an accurate and effective tool for bringing the right products to the right buyers. Search should be able to handle customers at all stages of the buyer journey, and provide relevant and desirable results for those with different degrees of knowledge and information about your inventory. It can be the final step to finding and buying a product, or a mid-funnel test of just what you have to offer, so it truly is a core part of your business as an e-commerce provider!

Feature Image Credit: Getty

By Darpan Munjal

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn. Check out my website.

Founder and CEO of Atom.com, world’s leading brand-naming platform that uniquely combines AI, crowdsourcing, and agency-level expertise to help… Read More

Sourced from Forbes