flexEngage, a provider of personalized smart receipts for retailers, is working with Movable to help clients provide content in e-receipts at a critical moment in the purchase cycle.

The goal is to “harness the power of personalization to deliver exciting new digital content to email audiences,” states Alex Bean, digital production manager at flexEngage.  

Movable Ink delivers personalized content across customer touchpoints based on behavior, contextual data, third-party insights and business logic.

flexEngage, now the official app of Movable Ink, will be able to deliver compelling visual content in e-receipts, it says. 

Vitamin Shoppe, which has been moving from paper toward e-receipts, “brought FlexEngage and Movable Ink, both existing partners, together to personalize our digital receipts,” states Scott Devlin, vice president of Applications at Vitamin Shoppe.

Movable Ink makes Healthy Awards information available to FlexEngage, which displays it to the customer at the top of the receipt, Devlin adds. 

The advertising industry continues to roll out new protocols around online data and consumer privacy. Are consumers really aware of the changes? What are their thoughts?  

Deciding how to approach customers and reach new ones as the industry navigates a post-cookie and post-identity reality isn’t easy. Consider these findings from thousands of consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom.  

LoopMe’s opt-in GDPR compliant survey, fielded in March 2021, was delivered to 142,976 consumers via their mobile device. The data is based on responses from 2,410 U.S. consumers and 3,395 UK consumers.

The study is titled Understanding Consumer Ad Preferences & Online Data Regulations.

Consumers do not believe their online data is secure or understand how it is used.

• 58% of U.S. consumers do not believe their online data is more secure than it was a year ago, compared with one in two UK consumers.
• 15% have a clear understanding around how companies use their online data for advertising, compared with 18% in the UK.
• 34% do not read website cookie and privacy policies before continuing with content browsing or video viewing, compared with 48% in the UK.

UK respondents are somewhat more trusting in regards to the security of their online data with one in two saying they do not believe in their online data being more secure than a year ago, vs. 58% in U.S.

It turns out consumers prefer the exchange of ads for free content.

• 85% of U.S. consumers view advertising in exchange for video or editorial content, compared with 88% in the UK.
• 49% of US consumers are most comfortable receiving ads the way they have been delivered for decades, via TV, radio, and direct mail.
• One in five U.K. consumers are most comfortable receiving ads on websites and prefer this type of advertising to receiving ads via their social media feed.
• 75% of U.S. consumers find unsolicited calls and texts the most intrusive experience, compared with 68% in the UK.

Websites and apps help consumers make their smartest purchasing decisions.

• 27% of U.S. consumers find websites and apps the most helpful in making smart purchasing decisions -- ranking highest above all other types of advertising, compared with 29% in the U.K. 
• One in two U.S. consumers find repetitive creative messaging the most off-putting form of advertising, compared with 45% in the UK.
• One in five U.S. consumers find the most off-putting ads are those for products they do not need, compared with 22% in the UK.

Apple just scheduled its always anticipated annual Worldwide Developers Conference for June 7 through 11 -- but an accompanying graphic in the announcement gave some Apple watchers a possible clue to what’s cooking at headquarters in Cupertino.

At the top of the document was the illustration of a young woman or girl staring into a half-closed laptop. The potentially newsworthy detail is that she’s wearing a pair of glasses with no side stem. Unusual! Significant?

Maybe.

The Verge website jumped right in, noting that details of the conference itself were typically “opaque” but said “there might be a tantalizing hint: is the memoji character’s glasses simply showing a reflection from their laptop? Or could Apple finally be gearing up to announce its long-rumored VR headset and AR glasses?”

Engadget’s bit of tech Kremlinology was even more detailed, pointing out the memoji looked as if it were referencing an unintentionally hilarious YouTube video by Apple’s vice president of engineering.  “Everything in the image is positioned to look like a reference to a Craig Federighi meme that made the rounds after last year's WWDC,”  the story said, and the reflection captured on eyeglasses seemed like it “might be a hint that we'll get our first glimpse at Apple’s wearable Glass in a few months.”

On Twitter, a pile of tweets quickly pointed the same way. “Apple’s#WWDC21 announcement went out and the Memoji’s are wearing glasses…hmmm”” tweeted a fellow who identified himself as a podcaster for StarWarsNewsNet. Many tweets followed, picking up the same clue that Apple would use the WWDC event to announce it, whatever, exactly, it is. Something to do with virtual reality.

CNET  recently compiled a kind of chronology of published rumors about Apple’s purported virtual reality and/or augmented reality headsets being in the pipeline. Those are to be followed by smart glasses, coming…..well, soon.

Marketing Daily asked Apple to respond to the rumors, but has gotten no response.

The WWDC is where Apple often makes major software and sometimes hardware introductions and is a big deal for computer tech expert.  In the past, tickets to the show were sold for as much as $1,599 each and sold out in hours, or even minutes after they went on sale. Last year, and again this year WWDC will be a virtual event because of the pandemic.

This year, Apple said,  “Free for all developers, WWDC21 will offer unique insight into the future of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.” No mention of AR or VR or glasses at all. But don’t be surprised.

There seems to be no shortage of electrifying news on the automotive front this week. 

In what turned out to be an April Fool’s Day prank, Volkswagen now says it is not changing its name to Voltswagen. However the automaker is embracing electric vehicles, unveiling a campaign for its ID.4 electric SUV yesterday.

An alleged draft version of a press release about the name change was briefly available on the company's media site Monday before being taken down. Then Tuesday morning a "real" release said “Voltswagen” will be placed as an exterior badge on all EV models with gas vehicles sporting the VW emblem only. Exterior and interior signage will soon roll out to all Voltswagen properties and dealerships nationwide, per the release. By the end of the day, the company confirmed it was just a publicity stunt, which clearly succeeded based on the number of stories it generated by reporters and editors who were duped. 

The draft release and then the "real" release attracted investor attention. It sent VW shares 4.7% higher on the Frankfurt stock exchange and in the U.S., the company’s American depositary receipts rose as much as 12% Tuesday before sliding near the close after the company confirmed the name change was a joke, closing up 9%, observed The Wall Street Journal.

Jokes aside, the Volkswagen Group became the first major automaker to support the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, with an added target of a 30 % reduction in the company’s carbon footprint by 2025, and net-carbon neutrality by 2050. A resulting commitment to sell one million EVs worldwide by 2025 will see more than 70 electric models launched across the VW group brands by 2029, according to VW.

Meanwhile, Lexus staged the world premiere of the LF-Z Electrified concept car from its home base of Tokyo at 6 a.m. ET.  It incorporates driving performance, styling, and technologies envisioned for realization by 2025, according to the automaker.

The unveiling marks the luxury automaker’s plans to accelerate the development of electric vehicles. 

Lexus aims to offer electric variants of all its models by 2025, with the sales ratio of electric vehicles exceeding that of gasoline-engine vehicles. By 2050, Lexus aims to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the lifecycle of its entire model lineup – from the manufacturing of materials, parts and vehicles, to vehicle logistics, to the final disposal and recycling of older vehicles. 

“In addition to the growing social mission of carbon neutrality and compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, customers’ lifestyles and values are changing and diversifying at a speed previously beyond imagination,” according to the automaker. “The social environment, mobility needs, and customer lifestyle demands have evolved as part of the evolving luxury landscape.”

Since the launch of the RX 400h – the world’s first luxury electrified model – in 2005, Lexus customers have purchased nearly two million electrified vehicles, as of the end of 2020 and currently, offers nine models of hybrid electric vehicles and battery electric vehicles in approximately 90 countries and regions around the world.

Mini is also making its electric future known with the unveiling of the Mini Electric Pacesetter as the new Safety Car for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship race series. The vehicle connects the brand’s electrified future with the racing history of John Cooper Works. The car was created out of the new Mini Cooper SE as part of a collaboration between Mini Design, BMW Motorsport, the FIA and the Formula E, according to the automaker.

The Mini Electric already demonstrates how “driving fun” and electric mobility go together, says Bernd Korber, head of Mini. 

“However, the Mini Electric Pacesetter inspired by John Cooper Works goes at least a step further and blends the performance character of the John Cooper Works brand with electric mobility,” Korber says in a release.

This extreme version of the Mini Electric is not intended for use on public roads. But it does reveal one of the directions the automaker could take with the electrification of the JCW brand, he says.

A new study shows that the resale shopping bug shows no sign of slowing and is spreading well beyond the young fans of sites like ThredUp, Poshmark and the RealReal.

Almost half­ -- 48% -- of all Americans shopped resale during the pandemic, especially intensifying their spending on home décor.

This research, from mobile marketplace OfferUp, in conjunction with Global Data, finds that home product sales had the fastest growth, up 17%, with 35% of those in its survey saying they shopped for such items.

That includes a scramble for the furniture that emerged as quarantine must-haves, such as desks, which were the most-searched-for items for four months straight. Home workout equipment also dominated searches and sales, with OfferUp detecting a 231% jump in demand for weights, a 152% rise for dumbbells and a 127% increase in interest in treadmills from January to December.

Analyzing metrics from its 56 million buyers and sellers, OfferUp also found that 58% did at least some level of redecorating. Many made their nests more comfortable, with significant increases in sales of beds, sofas and rugs. Others went for function, adding items like room screens and desk chairs.

The company also says 11% of Americans moved due to the pandemic, with 35% of those nomads transitioning to suburbs. About 40% say they moved to get more space, which also spurred more furniture purchases.

OfferUp, which also owns Letgo, is based in Seattle.

Surprisingly, the survey found that clothing resale fell 13%, as interest in workwear and fashion declined. But there were some significant exceptions. And many -- including investors -- expect that decline in clothing resales to change. Shares of ThredUp, which had its initial public stock offering recently, climbed as much as 43% on its first trading day. With the IPO, the thrift-store-turned-tech-titan raised $168 million, achieving a valuation of $1.3 billion.

Rival Poshmark, which made its public debut several months ago, saw its stock price doubled on the first day.

While both companies report growing sales, it’s clear all this working from home is altering the way people shop. Poshmark released quarterly results earlier this month, its first report since going public. And while revenue for the period grew by 27% to $69.3 million, the company lowered its sales estimates in the coming quarter.

In an interview with CNBC, Poshmark’s CEO attributed the scaled-back hopes to ongoing COVID restrictions. “Different parts of the country are behaving quite differently,” said founder and chief executive officer Manish Chandra. He told CNBC that sales in Florida are growing fast while New York is lagging. “So, we are accounting for the state-wide differences.”

And at the RealReal, which focuses solely on luxury consignment, revenue also declined 10%, to $84.6 million.

DRT Cyber Inc. has launched an email privacy-compliance platform to help companies observe anti-SPAM legislation worldwide. 

The new tool, RAVEN, is platform- and client-agnostic, covering emails sent from mobile devices, laptops or web interfaces, the company says. It is now being offered in beta to a select group of clients prior to rollout.

RAVEN is designed to help businesses comply with “the stringent, complex and evolving local and international anti-SPAM laws,” states David Taylor, president of DRT Cyber and parent VersaBank. RAVEN will help avoid “costly and damaging inadvertent errors,” Taylor adds. 

The solution acts as a centralized system of record for all consents and unsubscribes for all email platforms, the company says. 

It is configurable by customers and allows for organization-specific rules or groups of users within a company.

In addition, RAVEN covers one-to-one emails sent by employees using such platforms as Outlook or Gmail, and email blasts from bulk mail platforms and CRM systems. 

The firm adds that RAVEN integrates with existing email client and server solutions.  

Compliance is “a massive and continual challenge for businesses globally — one that can come with a huge cost, both monetary and reputational, for those that are unsuccessful in doing so," Taylor says.

VersaBank provides digital banking and cyber-security solutions.