Peecycling and Anti-Mergers

The celebration of insincerity. A seemingly unruly mob greeted visitors to NFT NYC this week, and protested that they were not supporting NFTs. In reality, this was a The Hundreds popup in NYC, and the "picketers" were all NFT holders of the Adam Bomb Squad token.

The Rise of Livestream Shopping. Walmart and Roku have announced a new partnership enabling viewers to purchase items using their Roku remotes while streaming their favorite shows. Meanwhile, eBay is launching eBay Live, a platform for shoppers to buy in an interactive format. And Amazon Live is having a hard time retaining support of influencers. And while we’re talking shopping, enjoy this TikTok of what Phillip calls “the real department stores of Beverly Hills."

Editor's note: It's important to establish a distinction between livestream shopping and the emergence of contextual commerce. While Future Commerce has been critical of those calling for a "DTC QVC", we do believe that buying in-context is the next logical step to merge content and commerce.

This news paves the path for marketplaces to dominate the next generation of commerce engagement — and to own the headless story. Currently, eCom requires consideration and deliberation on the part of the consumer.

More Sights & Sounds. A24 has released a candle based on their “Auditor of the Month” trophy from Everything Everywhere All at Once. Anna Sorokin wants to “move away from this, like quote unquote scammer persona” and so is… releasing an NFT. A legal claim is in play accusing Apple of slowing down older phones and encouraging users to upgrade. And speaking of Apple, workers at one of the company’s stores in Maryland voted to unionize. Petco is extending its services to farm animals in rural communities. Nerf's new mascot is named Murph and is kinda freaky. Amazon has replaced Dave Clark. “Buy with Prime” buttons are in full swing. Unilever is having to adjust ingredients in some of its products because of shortages in crude oil and sunflower oil. Also, tampons are the latest product to add to the list of shortages. And finally, UPS has the cutest little new e-bike delivery “trucks.”

Virtual DIY. Lowe’s is dropping over 500 3D digital assets for customers to download for free and use in the company's new metaverse. In addition, they’ll also be releasing their own NFTs.

The Separation of Cereal and State. Kellogg's is splitting into three separate companies to help "unleash their true potential". Those companies will be split into plant-based, cereals, and snack foods. This was a continuation of the eCommerce arm spinouts we've seen from the lines of Saks. The process is expected to take years.

Frozen Fruit? French’s Canada is releasing a frozen summer treat made with 100% Canadian tomatoes — a ketchup popsicle. I guess tomatoes are technically a fruit, so…. Why not?

More Palate News. The iconic “Jumbo Floating Restaurant” in Hong Kong is sadly now just a giant restaurant that sank to the bottom of the sea. After McDonald’s exited Russia, the country relaunched it as a new national restaurant called “Tasty & that’s it.” Krispy Kreme is now serving cold soft serve ice cream along with its hot fresh donuts. And Clif Bar is getting acquired by Mondelez International Inc.

Chargers for the common good. Now that the EU has passed a law to standardize USB-C chargers across the board for smartphones, US senators want in on the action. They are not calling for universal USB-C adoption, but rather a strategy from the Commerce Department on “this consumer and environmental issue.”

Human Urine as Crop Fertilizer. More commonly referred to as “peecycling,” this is something that really happens, as our urine is apparently a better plant fertilizer than our… not urine. Discuss.