Daily LInks
1. Walmart’s online store isn’t profitable. Now it’s borrowing from Amazon’s playbook: Walmart’s marketplace has been around since 2009, but only in recent years did it become a key priority for the company as it battles Amazon online. E-commerce makes up less than 10% of sales at Walmart, but it’s growing rapidly as Walmart shifts from its brick-and-mortar roots to reach customers online. – Read More on CNN
2. How Hermès Invented Hype: The way Hermès devotees see it, the house converts clients into collectors by encouraging those who seek its most exclusive products to accumulate a portfolio of objects from other métiers first, not unlike the way Rolex dealers develop collectors of the brand’s watches. – Read More on GQ
3. RETRO READ: What is the Difference Between Harvard and Hermès? Maybe Not that Much. Hermès’ model – which largely centers on the notion that “people want things that not a lot of people can get, and once something becomes very, very saturated that luxury customer doesn’t really want that anymore,” as Chavez put it – does not differ all that much from the one put in place by Rolex, which makes it difficult for consumers to purchase a brand new Daytona model without first spending on other watches from its lineup. The result takes the form of near-constant demand. – Read More on TFL
4. Luxury consumption on Chinese mainland rebounds during May Day holidays: Statistics from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce showed that luxury products, cosmetics and automobiles saw significant growth during the five-day holiday with luxury goods shops maintaining high-speed growth (62.8 percent year-on-year). – Read More on Global Times
5. Using AI to Track How Customers Feel — in Real Time: The most common methods of tracking customer sentiments has a big blind spot: They can’t pick up on important emotional responses. AI can help companies make use of this valuable data to better predict customer behavior. – Read More on HBR