March 8, 2019

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, approximately 29 percent of Americans said that they don’t use cash for any purchases during a typical week. Instead, they depend on credit and debit cards as well as mobile payment apps like Apple Pay. These increasingly cashless consumers are becoming so common that some companies have stopped accepting paper and coin money for the sake of efficiency. For instance, in 2016 the salad chain Sweetgreen announced it was going cashless in Continue reading

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March 7, 2019

On March 1 the Backstreet Boys began a residency at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater in Las Vegas that will run for 80 nights through the end of April. Although the legendary boy band are certainly playing plenty of shows, getting a ticket for one doesn’t come cheap. For instance, it costs up to $250 for a spot in the general admission area in front of the stage. For concertgoers who want to quickly find a good place to stand, though, Continue reading

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February 28, 2019

Managing the “last mile” of a product’s journey from the warehouse to its destination is one of the most complicated aspects of shipping and logistics. This final step accounts for as much as half of all delivery costs due to unpredictable factors like traffic jams, route distances, and the need to make multiple stops. That’s why this week FedEx revealed its new SameDay Bot, an autonomous machine that cuts costs by delivering products directly to the customer’s door.

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February 26, 2019

Since launching in late 2017 Fortnite has earned more than $2.4 billion, a staggering amount of revenue for a video game that is free for anyone to play. The battle royale title makes its money from virtual items like special outfits or victory dances that players can purchase from an in-game store. Given the breakout success of this business model, companies throughout the more than $100 billion video game industry have been scrambling to develop a credible Fortnite competitor.

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February 8, 2019

Sorry, candy lovers, but today we’ve got more bad news. Not only will millions of Americans soon be forced to spend Valentine’s Day without their SweetHearts, but there’s also something wrong with the nation’s supply of Hershey’s Kisses. While the chocolate treats will still be available for next week’s big day, they’ll be missing one of their most distinctive features: the tips. Since December consumers have been puzzled by the tips’ absence, fearing that Hershey had changed the candy’s Continue reading

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February 7, 2019

With Valentine’s Day just a week away, lovebirds across the nation are running out of time to stock up on romantic gifts like flowers and candy. But while stores should have many of the seasonal items that shoppers are looking for, there’s one iconic Valentine treat that consumers won’t be able to get their hands on. Due to the sudden closing of the Necco candy factory in July, there will be no SweetHearts available this year.

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February 5, 2019

This past Sunday, the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in one of the most boring Super Bowl matchups of all time. The winning team only managed to score a single touchdown, and even that exciting moment didn’t arrive until the fourth quarter. As a result, ratings for the big game dropped to their lowest point in a decade. While CBS managed to bring in 111.3 million Super Bowl viewers in 2017, two years later that amount fell Continue reading

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February 1, 2019

Many years ago, hundreds of delivery men used to criss-cross New York City transporting big bottles of seltzer water directly to customers. As soda and other pre-packaged drinks became popular, however, most of the city’s “seltzer men” began to disappear once demand for their product plummeted. But the old-school seltzer trade isn’t entirely dead in the Big Apple. The video below shows how Brooklyn Seltzer Boys carries on this legacy by combining traditional methods with a new marketing strategy.

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January 25, 2019

Since launching in 2016, the group video chat app Houseparty has attracted a dedicated userbase of young people looking to talk with their friends wherever they please. “Houseparty is basically the third place for Generation Z and young millennials,” said co-founder Sima Sistani. “What they’re doing there is hanging out in the way we used to in the backyard, the basement, or in my case — the Waffle House.” And unlike many other Silicon Valley startups, Houseparty doesn’t plan to Continue reading

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January 22, 2019

When Netflix launched its video streaming platform in the late 2000s, all of the titles featured on the service came from other movie studios and production companies. If you boot up your account these days, though, most of the TV shows and films listed on the homepage are owned and produced by Netflix itself. Over the last few years the streaming giant has invested heavily to create its own content. By one estimate, Netflix spends more than $8 billion annually Continue reading

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