8 Exceptional E-commerce and AI Posts: E-commerce Link Digest

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Howdy, Big Thinkers! Welcome to another Friday evening edition of the E-commerce Link Digest Series. Hope you had a killer week. I’m heading out on vacation for the next week, but wanted to leave you with this amazing set of 8 exceptional e-commerce and AI posts to keep you occupied in my absence. Enjoy:

1. According to Business Insider, “Amazon Got a Huge Spike in Echo Sales on Prime Day.” And the rich keep getting richer. As I said in our Thinks Out Loud podcast episode, “Amazon Goes Grocery Shopping,” Amazon is really knitting together an entire voice-activated, always-on shopping ecosystem that’s going to be hard for their competitors (hello, Google, Facebook, others) to overcome.
2. While we’re on the topic of Amazon, The Drum reports that “Amazon Appears to Be Readying the Launch of Its Own Messaging App.” The Drum has some solid thoughts on what this might all be about, but personally I suspect it will also enable peer-to-peer payments through Amazon’s ecosystem and provide one more reason “Why I’m Bullish on Mobile Payments and Messaging.”
3. Given all these changes in Amazon’s world, it seems like a good time to revisit this post that asks, “Will E-commerce Kill Retail?” The short answer? No. The longer answer? Well, that’s what the post is for. Check it out when you have a moment.
4. Shifting gears ever so slightly, Brand Quarterly examines “Getting Full Value From Your Data: Why Marketers Need To Think Big And Act Now.” Why is this only a slight shift? Well, because data leads directly to AI. Or as we pointed out recently, “AI For Marketers: AI Makes Big Data Little.”
5. And, since we’re on the topic, don’t miss Brand Quarterly’s look at how “Artificial Intelligence Ushers In A New Age Of Cognitive Content Marketing.” Good stuff.
6. Tying all these themes up into a nice shiny package, you’ll definitely want to check out “Voice, VR, AR, and AI: Hype or Hope for Marketers?” from Thinks Out Loud and “9 Great Posts Focused on Digital Transformation, Strategy, and AI: E-commerce Link Digest” from the E-commerce Link Digest series. Both are well worth your time.
7. Switching to the social side of the shop, We Are Social over in the UK uncovers “How Brands Can Make Social Commerce Work,” which is a really worthwhile read.
8. And, finally, let’s wrap up this week’s outstanding list of 8 exceptional e-commerce and AI posts with these “8 Killer Posts Connecting Content, E-commerce, and Customer Experience.”

See you all soon.

You might also want to check out these slides I had the pleasure of presenting recently about the key trends shaping marketing in the next year. Here are the slides for your reference:

Finally, you might enjoy some of these past posts from Thinks to help you build your e-commerce strategy and your digital success:

• 6 Mobile Commerce and Strategy Insights: E-commerce Link Digest
• Content is Still the King
• The Digital Strategy Myth
• Why Mobile Payments Will Rule
• Driving Seamless Experiences in 2016 (Thinks Out Loud Episode 149)
• Mobile is So Much Bigger Than You Think (Thinks Out Loud Episode 140)
• It’s Not “Mobile First.” It’s “Customer First.”
• 8 Killer Entries About Improving E-commerce Experience: E-commerce Link Digest