GOOGLE EXPRESS UNITES TRADITIONAL RETAIL: You might recall last month’s announcement about the Walmart-Google partnership in which Walmart would supply and ship purchases made on Google Home connected devices. This strategic partnership benefits both sides as it gives Google a neighborhood-level distribution platform to compete against Amazon’s Echo-based purchases, and it provides Walmart with a new eCommerce sales channel. Now a reverse partnership is expanding across the entire Retail sector. The attached AgAge article (Google Express) describes how Google is teaming up with several national retailers (Walmart, Target, Costco, Walgreen’s, etc.) by offering free shipping of their online purchases through Google Express, without Google’s normal $95/yr subscription fee. This consortium is even going so far as to run a co-branded marketing campaign to support the launch. So did you ever think you’d see the likes of Walmart and Target paying to advertise together? I guess that speaks to the power (and threat) Amazon has become to the entire Retail space.
US AUTO SALES ARE UP (NOT A TYPO): If you touch any part of the Auto industry you know 2017 has been a rough ride. But based on the latest September sales report the clouds might be breaking just a little. According to the attached Inside Radio article US Auto Unit Sales rose 6.3% vs. Sept’16. This growth was driven by light truck sales that rose 12%, which offset a 3% drop in car sales. There’s some early speculation that some of this growth was driven by hurricane replacement vehicle purchases – it’s estimated that 500-750K automobiles sustained water damage during Harvey and Irma. There’s also the reality that US economic conditions are generally favorable for auto sales – with strong employment and lower gas prices and interest rates. No matter what the cause, the entire US Auto Industry is breathing a collective “we’ll take it” sigh of relief this morning!
RECOGNIZING OURSELVES IN WHAT’S AROUND US: In today’s last article Inc.com asked 25 of the most successful people in the world to give career advice to millennials. I know this might seem like a cliché list of inspirational proverbs on the surface, but there’s a really interesting exercise you can do with it. After you read the list pick the three which really speak to you. Then share your choices with someone who knows you professionally. If you’ve been completely honest with yourself about your favorite three, the person you share these with will almost always say “those remind me of you”. Why will this happen? Because we define positive things around us by what we value internally. So if we’re given a list of choices we’ll naturally gravitate to the ones which most closely mirror us. It doesn’t mean the others on the list are bad or less important, they’re just not us. As for my three I choices I went with; #4 J.K. Rowling – embrace failure, #14 TJ Miller – work harder than anyone else around you, and #21 Cynthia Tidwell – be patient enough to learn, but impatient enough to take risks. If you know me do you think these reflect who I am? Care to share your favorites?
Have a great Wednesday guys!