Tag Archives: Environment

by | Wednesday, February 28, 2024 · 7:56 am

Are you ready for Temu?

Remember this year’s Super Bowl ads?

While most ads were for brands that consumers already know and buy, there were FIVE 30-second ads (at a cost of roughly $7 million per 30 seconds, plus another $15 million in coupons and giveaways) from a somewhat new-to-America Chinese company named Temu which promises prices so low that customers can “shop like a billionaire.”

The Super Bowl ads seem to have paid off already as Temu’s app rose to second place among the most downloaded free apps on Apple devices. But what is Temu and why should we care about it?

Basically, Temu is an online discount marketplace that sells low-priced items ranging from clothes, to home products, to technology products. In addition, customers earn store credit for promoting it on social media, or playing games hosted on its website.

A big difference (besides the low prices) is that shipping can take 23 days since products come from outside the U.S. Another problem is the level of customer complaints, possible unfair/unethical labor practices, as well as data privacy concerns about the information it collects. Part of the company’s success is also based on its use of a loophole in import laws which allows it to skip import taxes based on the low price of individual items, not bulk shipment.

Temu is actually the U.S. version of a giant e-commerce Chinese company called Pinduoduo (now renamed PDD Holdings, Inc.) and sells to more than 750 million users/month. Temu launched in the U.S. in fall of 2022 and now has more than 50 million active users, up 300% year-over-year.

Will shop on Temu?  

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has used Temu? What do they know about it?
  2. Show video about Temu: https://youtu.be/LYU7QEGsBtE?si=Ij7UuDjar4RKUxhs
  3. Show Temu website: https://www.temu.com/
  4. Divide students into teams and have each team compare prices on Temu versus prices on Amazon or at other ecommerce retailers.
  5. What are the main differences?
  6. Have students prepare a positioning map for Temu versus its competitors. What are the risks?
  7. OPTIONAL: Either the professor or students can place an order on Temu to observe the handling and product quality for themselves. A caveat: Be very aware of data that may be collected by the company before deciding to go ahead with buying.

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by | Thursday, February 22, 2024 · 11:41 am

The Latest in Drone Deliveries

Distribution, environment, innovation, retail, services, sustainability, technology

Ready for deliveries via drone? It’s been a lot of talk, and testing since we saw Amazon first demonstrate drones in 2013, but it seems that little has been done to implement drone delivery for the average consumer.

Well, that’s about to change. That is, if you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth right now, you are in luck. Walmart has announced it is expanding its drone delivery program to millions of people in 30 municipalities around the geography.

Why drones? They are a great way to deliver fast service for small packages. Drone delivery lowers carbon emissions, but does add some noise to the environment. For Walmart, it can impact the scale of its delivery fleet in the U.S. – 80,000 trailers, 12,000 drivers, driving 1.1 billion miles each year. Drones weigh 400 times less than cars, run on electric power, and can make a delivery in less than a third of the time.

Delivery time is roughly 30 minutes, but works best in places with open areas such as suburbs. Drones can fly at speeds up to 65 miles per hour and hover several hundred feet above the ground. Customers can watch the progress on an app which includes time and precise delivery location. The drone hovers about 20 feet above the ground, then disengages the package from a long wire system.

The company uses drones from Zipline and Wing (an Alphabet company) and has made hundreds of thousands of deliveries testing the deliveries.

However, the service is not free and not all items are eligible for drone delivery. The delivery fee for this service is $3.99 and the order can weigh up to 10 pounds. Walmart stated that the top-selling item at one of its current hubs isn’t an emergency item – it’s Hamburger Helper (ok, that might be an emergency if it’s dinner time). Products delivered tend to be a last-minute purchase or forgotten ingredient, plus medicine and treats.

Give it a try!

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:  

  1. Poll students: What are their opinions about using drones for supply chain and deliveries? Have they seen or used a drone service?
  2. Show Wing website: https://wing.com/
  3. Show a video using Wing for delivery: https://youtu.be/xfaMJgHX_4E?si=CbTn6buiixf9adJH
  4. For schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (or other areas using drone delivery), consider assigning a project whereby students order using drone delivery. Have them evaluate the service.
  5. In teams, have students develop a promotional plan for the drone delivery service.
  6. Who is the target market for drone delivery?
  7. What is the key message?

Source:  Birch, K. (16 January 2024). Walmart: Reducing emissions with drone technology. Sustainability magazine; Nassauer, S. (9 January 2024). Walmart expands drone delivery in Dallas as it races Amazon. Wall Street Journal; Shankland, S. (9 January 2024). Walmart expands Dallas drone deliveries to millions more Texans. CNET; other news sources.

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by | Thursday, December 21, 2023 · 7:48 am

Using Tap Technologies to Increase Donations

During the holiday season, we often see Santa and his helpers manning the Salvation Army’s Red Kettles. Usually, people will contribute their spare change into the kettle either entering or leaving a store. But, in today’s growing cash-less society, people seldom have extra cash on hand to contribute to charity. This presents a problem for organizations such as the Salvation Army who rely on cash contributions in its annual Red Kettle program.

This year – problem solved! The Salvation Army is testing tap technology at its red kettles so that donors can give money with a simple tap of their credit card or smart phone. No dollar bills required (but still accepted!). For consumers, there is no learning curve as we are all used to tapping credit cards at retail stores and gas pumps.

This isn’t the only use of digital technology in the non-profit sector. Many other non-profits (plus the Salvation Army) promote paying using Venmo, PayPal, using QR codes and tap-pay options.

Online giving is increasingly being used and is effective with younger donors. According to a Giving USA report, 81% of millennials, 69% of Gen Xers, and 61% of baby boomers give their donations online. However, all is not good news. Due to many changes in the economy and technology post-pandemic, total giving by individuals dropped 6.4% from 2021. A cause for concern that the Salvation Army helps to solve using new technology.

The tap makes it easier to give – tap away!

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What charities might they give to? How would they prefer to donate?
  2. Show the Salvation Army website: https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/
  3. Navigate to the donation page.
  4. While developing the marketing for charities is different than for-profit marketing, there are still similar techniques and media channels.
  5. OPTION: Have students research how to do effective non-profiting marketing.
  6. Example: Salesforce’s guide to nonprofit marketing: https://www.salesforce.org/resources/article/nonprofit-marketing/
  7. Example: Double the Donation’s guide: https://doublethedonation.com/nonprofit-marketing/
  8. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a charity to examine.
  9. For their chosen charity, have students access the Web site and analyze how the charity solicits and accepts donations. (Ex: American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)
  10. Have each team develop a seasonal marketing plan for their chosen charity.

Source: Cha P. (9 November 2023). Salvation Army red kettle donations to kick off Friday. Chicago Sun Times; Smith, K. (7 November 2023). Twin Cities Salvation Army adds tap technology to red kettles to boost donations.  Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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