2PM - No. 923: How The Wrist Was Won 🫲

What we can all learn from Walmart: Whoop won; Amazon bricked its Halo line of products.

Amazon decided to shut down its wearable technology operation that aimed to compete with other prominent players in the market such as Google Wear OS and the Apple Watch. But it’s Amazon’s competition with Whoop that was the most noteworthy. Whoop CEO Will Ahmed was livid when Amazon attempted to duplicate Whoop’s core design concepts and technologies. On September 2021, Ahmed tweeted: “[We] left a message for Amazon etc on every 4.0 circuit board.” The competition runs deeper than a tweet, however. 

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Inside Amazon's canceled plan to make Halo a fitness success

Excerpt: In a coincidental bit of timing, Bloomberg just recently reported that Apple is developing an AI-based health coaching service that’s meant to keep users motivated as they pursue exercise, diet, and sleep goals. That paid offering, codenamed Quartz, could make its way to consumers in 2024. 

Prebiotic soda Olipop approaches $200 million in annual sales

Excerpt: Rival Poppi, which was founded in 2015 and has also seen its sales accelerate over the last year, infuses its soda with apple cider vinegar, which contains prebiotics. Both Olipop and Poppi have leaned into influencer marketing on TikTok, where gut health became a trending topic last year.

Social media is now a financial WMD

Why this article? We covered the history of the bank run and this is a natural continuation of the narrative established in that March 2023 resource. Excerpt: What proved fatal to Credit Suisse, said Monchau, is that the bank—like SVB—did not realize that with the rise of social media, the principle of “know your customer” (banks monitoring their clients) has been turned on its head. “Nowadays, it is ‘know your bank’,” he said: customers keeping an eye on banks.

Farmer's Fridge rapidly expands (in an interesting way)

Excerpt: The Chicago-based company's pre-made meals and snacks are sold at 400 retail locations around the country — including Hudson News in airports, Costco, Target and Jewel-Osco — up from about 200 at the beginning of 2023. CEO Luke Saunders is targeting 1,000 retail locations nationally by the end of the year. 

From our recent report on fully vertical meal delivery: "There is a difference between shipped goods and delivered goods, one relies on dry ice and one arrives prepared. Perishable goods that are solely reliant on shipping as a mechanism for distribution will continue to struggle as customer acquisition begins to reward “the now.” 

Is streaming TV retail media's next growth driver?

Excerpt: Insider Intelligence predicts that more than 80 percent of RMNs’ placement will remain online for several years, but the next growth spurt will be off-site inventory from CTV to digital out-of-home and in-store. As usual, the challenge is linking advertising to purchases. Best Buy, in early March, agreed to allow Roku to use its customer purchasing data for ad-targeting.

The glory days of the American mall

Excerpt: In the 1980s, there were around 2,500 malls in America. We’re down to 700 today. Forecasters expect there to be just 250 in a decade—killed by the internet, by recessions, by social media, Covid and computer games, by an accumulation of trends that’s made many of us, in our darkest hours, long for mullets and acid-washed jeans.

From 2PM's 2018 Archives: "There are 1,100+ malls in America and approximately 320 are graded Tier A. We have an oversupply of malls but that does not mean that traditional, anchored shopping centers no longer have a place in consumerism."

How AI is about to transform the advertising businesses

Excerpt: OpenAI's ChatGPT launched the concept of generative AI into mainstream consciousness in November last year. Agencies say they've been applying AI to target ads to specific audiences, trim down production times, and sift through reams of data.

Shein, dtc retailer hit by criticism, goes on charm offensive

Excerpt: Shein has one of the most downloaded mobile apps, has a dedicated and active hashtag on TikTok (#Sheinhaul) and is right behind Amazon and Nike when it comes to Gen Z’s favorite e-commerce websites. It sells items like mesh dresses, glitter T-shirts and two-piece lime green swimsuits for under $9.

Excerpt: There is a difference between shipped goods and delivered goods, one relies on dry ice and one arrives prepared. Perishable goods that are solely reliant on shipping as a mechanism for distribution will continue to struggle as customer acquisition begins to reward “the now.” But by getting those frozen or packaged goods closer to the customer, impulse purchases can lead to longer-termed relationships. One avenue is traditional e-grocery (Amazon Prime, Instacart, DoorDash), though those items won’t be prepared. For working mothers and fathers, who are often inhibited by preparation demands, this is another idea altogether.

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