I had a great conversation with Evan Schuman, author of a recent article on bot shoppers. As the article describes, bots are autonomous AI agents that compare, select, and buy on behalf of people – are expected to become common within 2–3 years. The piece argues most retailers aren’t ready and will need to redesign the full buying journey for machines: product data, pricing, promotion, checkout, returns, and post‑purchase support. Key challenges flagged include returns at “bot scale,” who earns loyalty points, and new fraud/liability norms (analogous to early e‑commerce’s “Zero Liability” programs).
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E-Commerce Demonstrates the Accelerating Power Of COVID-19
At the start of 2019, I Articulated three macro-level forces that I believed would set the stage for a very disruptive decade ahead. They were: Acceleration, Convergence, and a Burst of Possibilities. Here we are during a pandemic, and all three are alive and well. The one that stands out is acceleration. There are many examples of acceleration driven by COVID-19 that demonstrate what we can accomplish when driven by a Catalyst. Innovation windows have collapsed considerably, and we are witnessing accelerated adoption of scenarios that although inevitable, were slowed by societal resistance. For example, the embrace of digital learning has accelerated, and while many employers resisted the move to remote work due to fears of productivity loss, those fears have proven unfounded.
Continue readingMary Meeker: Internet Trends 2018
On May 30th, Mary Meeker delivered her now famous Internet Trends Report for 2018. Enjoy.
Reimagining the Future 