The wild success of retail media networks has spawned a need for tools to manage them effectively. IPG Mediabrands’ media agency network UM has introduced jauntily-named Shoptimizer, a budgeting and optimization tool for the purpose. The key feature is a dashboard comparing performance of different retail networks and offering AI-powered budget allocation recommendations.
In a clear win for the AI industry, the California Public Utilities Commission granted Waymo and Cruise permission to charge for self-driving taxis in San Francisco with virtually no restrictions. Previous conditions had largely required paid rides to have a safety driver present, although empty and unpaid driverless vehicles have become common in the city. Local residents are not universally pleased.
Wunderman Thompson reports that 45% of global consumers are interested in shopping after they are dead. Puts a whole new spin on “richest person in the graveyard.” Less surprising but still interesting: 32% of online spending in on mobile devices and 19% of everything ordered online is returned. There’s lots of regional detail here if you want it.
CDP Redpoint Global is launching its Data Readiness Hub, which packages its data quality and identity resolution tools in a real-time environment to automatically update customer profiles as new data becomes available. The aim is to solve quality problems before the data enters critical activation systems. Continuous updates also reduce data preparation time.