Digital American Newsletter

Kik (the chat app used by 40% of American teens) recently launched chat commerce, with brands like H&M already on board.

What the heck is chat commerce? It’s a way for consumers to quickly and easily buy an item, without ever leaving their chat app.

Here’s how it works. Brands set up a bot and program it to engage in conversations. These bots are easy to find, right in the Bot Store of the app. Consumers simply click on the bot profile picture to start chatting. Bots ask questions, make recommendations, and lead consumers through a purchase process. Their names stay in users’ contact lists, alongside friends.

The potential of chat commerce is huge. First, it’s incredibly easy. Need convincing? Download Kik and chat with the H&M bot. You will be seriously amazed. (And yes, you should buy those jeans.) Second, it fits seamlessly into everyday life. One tap toggles between texting a friend and shopping. Third, it has viral written all over it. Just message the bot name to a friend, and they can engage right away.

How big could this be? Almost a third of Kik users have interacted with a brand on the app. Core users of Kik—US teenagers—influence $44B in spending.

Amazon Dash buttons could revolutionize online CPG sales. In fact, they could completely rewire consumers’ loyalty to brands. Here are the fast facts.

• For those of you who haven’t seen one yet…Dash is a prominently branded small plastic button that allows Amazon Prime members (50% of US households) to reorder their favorite products with just one click. Shoppers pay $4.99 for each button, but the money is refunded on the first purchase.
• Dash buttons are available from over 100 brands, ranging from Tide, Cottonelle, and Bounty, to Slim Jim, Beyond natural pet food, and Trojan Condoms.
• Amazon says they receive roughly 10,000 Dash orders per week.
• The average Dash user buys every two months and spends between $10 and $30 per order.
• About half of the people who purchased a Dash button between May 2015 and March 2016, have used it.
• The average Dash purchaser is a prototypical technology early adopter.
• Cutting edge marketers are starting to think about how Dash will impact brand loyalty and marketing communication.

Millennials watch more TV via streaming than via all traditional means combined (live, on-demand, or DVR.) In fact, 54% of their TV time is spent streaming, and only 25% is live TV.

If you think this shift happened suddenly, you’re right. Less than four years ago, only 15% of Millennials’ TV time was spent streaming.

It’s not surprising then, that Millennials go to Netflix first when they want to watch TV. Live TV channels are their second choice.

Millennials are less likely than other demographics to have cable or satellite services. If they do subscribe, they are more likely to be thinking about “cutting the cord.”

All is not lost for traditional TV (yet.) Only a very small group of Millennials exclusively stream TV; the vast majority combine streaming and traditional viewing. And, if you look at all Americans over 18 years old—not just Millennials—they watch 50% of their TV content live.

We expect the streaming trend to gain momentum. Because where Millennials lead, other generations follow.

As brands are focusing more and more on social media, consumers are backing away. They are posting less frequently. Engaging with fewer posts. And generally seem to be just the tiniest bit disillusioned with the whole idea of social media.

Between 2014 and 2015, consumers posted 21% fewer updates on Facebook. That number has declined an additional 15% this year.

Currently over 60% of people on Facebook share no personal content in a given week. None.

During 2015, the percentage of followers who engaged with branded content on any social channel dropped 17%. On Instagram—the social net that has the highest level of consumer interaction—engagement with brand posts dropped from 4.2% last year to 2.3% this year.

The number of consumers who engage with social content, and then come back for more, is disappointingly low. On Facebook, the average return rate is 19%, with retail at 15% and consumer goods at 12%. Twitter’s numbers are similar, but all slightly lower.

Meanwhile, brands increased their social media content by 35% between 2014 and 2015.

According to teens, Snapchat is a more important social network than Facebook. What’s more, Snapchat’s relevance is increasing, while Facebook’s is declining. That’s because among 12-17 year olds* Snapchat is considered cool, and Facebook is not.

Snapchat is used by more teens than Facebook. 72% of young adults are on the app, up from 57% last year. Over the same period, Facebook’s usage dropped to 68% from 74% and Instagram’s remained constant at 67%.

In the past, people have downplayed Snapchat’s importance by noting that young adults spend the majority of their time on Facebook. That is changing rapidly. 32% of teens say Facebook is the social net they use most, down from 43% last year. Meanwhile, 26% use Snapchat most frequently, up from 15% in 12 short months.

8 Billion (with a B) videos are watched daily on Snapchat—-the same as on Facebook.

Snapchat is not just a teen phenomenon. It is the fourth most popular social network among consumers of all ages. Its user base has surpassed Twitter and LinkedIn, and is rapidly closing in on Pinterest.

Marketers are starting to take note, with 36% saying they would like to spend money on Snapchat advertising this year.