Google Takes on Amazon’s Info Appliance; Get Ready for Voice Search (Dex Media Blog)
The search giant announced a table-top, voice command device and an iPhone competitor as it makes a big move into voice search.
Facebook launches Marketplace, a friendlier Craigslist (TechCrunch)
Users can search for stuff on sale by other Facebook users nearby in a challenge to the long-established local-sales site. While sellers on Craigslist are anonymous, you can see who’s selling on Facebook, a possible advantage. And, of course, just being on Facebook gives Marketplace a major shot at success–users now spend close to an hour a day on average on the social site.
Psychology of Pricing: A Gigantic List of Strategies (Nick Kalenda, Psychology and Marketing)
If you show your prices in ads or on your website, you must read this list of 42 tips and tricks for making prices seem higher or lower, more valuable or more of a bargain. Why does $1499 seem less expensive than $1,499? It’s all in the comma.
How mobile has changed the way we search, based on 10+ years of eye-tracking studies (Search Engine Land)
Lots of interesting insights here into how little details make big differences for mobile users: for instance, the Knowledge Graph, the box Google adds to search results, cuts way down on views to the number one listing in the search return and listings with star ratings get about a quarter of clicks on a search page.
Four Big Power Shifts For Commerce And Payments (PYMNTS.com)
Starbucks patrons order ahead through the Starbucks app, walk into the store and pick up their drinks without stopping at a cash register. Uber drivers never collect from their passengers. This writer argues that consumers’ expectations of how and when payment and service takes place are undergoing a major shift.
