10 years of Spotify: How a digital platform succeeds [5 reading tips]

spotify, playlist, screenshot
Photo by Jean on Unsplash (bearbeitet von dotSource)

Music has always been part of my everyday life. Through the good times, and the bad. During special moments I won’t forget. It has the power to shape every moment with the right notes and melodies. It has only recently become possible to have a limitless catalogue of music with you at all times – and when Spotify launched in October 2008 they made it possible. A lot has changed in ten years. Today, Spotify does even more than just music streaming. Let’s take a look at their track record and explain what other companies can learn from it to drive their digital business.

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(12 vote(s), average: 4.33 out of 5)
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Five B2B e-commerce trends: What’s coming in the age of platforms

Photo by Anthony Ginsbrook on Unsplash
Photo by Anthony Ginsbrook on Unsplash

The platform age is fractured, not just for B2C but also for B2B commerce. That was the focus of this year’s ECC Forum on April 12th at the BALLONI Hallen in Cologne, that we got to attend. We got to eavesdrop of presentations from large retailers and manufacturers like Conrad Electronic and Gabor Shoes. Furthermore, we got to exchange ideas and knowledge about new e-commerce developments with many different other retailers, manufacturers, and other digital experts. That helps us summarise what the five trends in the platform age are for you.

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(10 vote(s), average: 4.60 out of 5)
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Companies using agile methods [5 reading tips]

scrum, agil, projektmanagement
Source: pexels.com

German companies are fit for the digital transformation from the inside out. Not just external macro data such as the status quo of the online retail has proven this. Working methods and internal organisation are adapting to the pace of the digital world. Agile methods are no longer empty promises. On the contrary: Every other major company already relies on agile project management, as a from Bitkom Research makes clear (German only).

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(7 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Social commerce: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

drei Mädels mit Smartphone
Source: Unsplash

The past few months have brought new developments from Facebook and others. Younger platforms and other large companies have been trying to gain their share of the marketplace as well. Even though these products from these companies are new, they take into account what went well for others, and what’s flopped.

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(8 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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From wearables to hearable – Digital is getting audible with augmented listening experiences

Hearable Design Study by Nicolas Sadoc
Source: Nicolas Sadoc, CC BY-SA 4.0

Looking at a screen and typing seems almost stale. Virtual reality lets us forget about the real world. Augmented reality merges the physical with the digital world. Smartphones and virtual assistants understand what we say. Looking at this development, it was only a matter of time before hearing also receives its own frontend.

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(6 vote(s), average: 4.33 out of 5)
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Paying with your own body – Biometric solutions are trendy [5 reading tips]

Source: Fotolia
Source: Fotolia

From cash to mobile payments. From password to fingerprint. The online payment sector is evolving rapidly to meet the steady pace of technological development and recent legislative changes within the EU. At the heart of these innovations are biometric payment procedures designed to ensure better security standards and a better user experience.

Why biometric payment methods via fingerprint or selfie become more important and why retailers and manufacturers should take this type of authentication seriously, we’ll share below.

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(5 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Give me feedback and I’ll give you what you need! Agile app development for next level personalisation

Briefkasten an der Wand
Source: pexels

Software development without agile methods is like jogging without a fitness tracker: old-fashioned. It’s no different in app development. But it’s not the companies that are able to react quickly to market changes thanks to agile actions, but users who influence the app while it is being developed. Through early user feedback, developers can customise the app to taste, so that the target audience is as satisfied as possible.

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(6 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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AUNT EMMA STRIKES BACK! Online pure-players are revolutionising the in-store experience

Tante Emma strikes back
Source: fotolia – Edit: dotSource

Depending on which group you belong to, stationery retail is dying or is long dead. As often as these statements are repeated, they don’t become true. Although it’s difficult to find even one example of a purely offline player from small boutiques, even purely online players are becoming rarer.

Physical locations, whether a pop-up store, showroom, or full-fledged flagship, is starting to gain importance again. Especially as marketing and service channels. It is noteworthy, however, that these shops hardly remember the miserable retailing industry of the last millennium. It’s just the opposite. New stores can merge online and offline experiences and teach tradition chain stores a thing or two about what a successful omnichannel scenario can look like.

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(6 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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The status quo of German online retail: Keeping an eye on omnichannel [5 reading tips]

visier, blick, fernglass
Source: Photo by Freddy Marschall on Unsplash

After Summer is over and September rolls around, opportunities to review fresh input and goals come around. Events (like #dmexco) help businesses and decision-makers continually listen to the market and give guidance heading into the last quarter of the year. Market figures also serve as a basis for intensifying or adjusting business strategies.

Of course, the question arises, how fit is German online retail, which online shops are at the top, and what lessons can be learned?

Statista’s and the EHI Retail Institute’s annual study “E-Commerce-Markt Deutschland 2018” (Germany’s E-Commerce Market in 2018) provides answers.

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(6 vote(s), average: 5.00 out of 5)
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