As Bought On TV
Great Ones, has this ever happened to you?
You’re watching TV (streaming or otherwise) and an ad comes on for, say, a George Foreman Grill. It gets you so riled up with the allure of freshly grilled meats that you need to buy it. Right here, right this very second!
But … your phone. It’s all the way over there. And you’d have to unglue yourself from the couch to go grab it, search online for the exact grill you saw on TV, and then — phew, I’m overwhelmed already. So much work to be so lazy.
No? Never done any of that?
Y’all are living healthy well-adjusted lives with, like, responsible spending habits and whatnot?
Well fine, but don’t be surprised if today’s news gets you in an impulse-buying mood. Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.
See, Roku (Nasdaq: ROKU) just inked a partnership with Walmart (NYSE: WMT) in a move that seems like a head-scratcher on the surface … but actually makes perfect sense.
We have Roku, the company with the biggest gateway to the streaming world, and Walmart, the biggest retailer and a wannabe Amazon e-tailer.
The partnership is thus: If you’re using a Roku device to stream, and a “shoppable” ad comes up, you can click a single button on your remote to buy that product on Walmart.com. Crazy, I know.
No longer will you have to scan QR codes off your TV or call up various 800 numbers to buy those Ginsu Knives — no sir! Once you have your payment details in Roku Pay (such creativity in that name, I know) you are free to buy all those grills, Ginsu Knives and more.
Walmart’s Chief Marketing Officer, William White, is understandably excited about the prospect:
Cracked the code? This isn’t the Rosetta Stone, my guy. This is QVC with some added pizazz.
You’re making it easier for half-awake and half-intoxicated people to buy more stuff they don’t need at 3 a.m. And by “they,” I mean … certain people familiar with the matter.
Anyway, this could potentially be a big deal — for both Roku and Walmart. That is, as long as the feature works and doesn’t become a one-off “huh, neat” kinda shebang.
Roku has advertising data. Walmart has consumer data.
Combine the two, and you get a very keyed-in platform that knows what people are watching, when they’re watching, what they want to buy and when they want to buy it. That’s power in the hands of the right marketer. And it all leads to a Walmart purchase.
Granted, it can also be too easy to buy stuff.
I can already imagine the conversation with, how should we say, “certain family members” over accidentally ordering a blender while trying to watch Jerry Springer and then getting pissed at Walmart when said blender shows up at the door.
And I sure hope Roku planned ahead and thought of all y’all parentals out there, so that kids can’t just blow your credit card limit in a single episode of SpongeBob or Team Umizoomi or whatever.
Check it out: Your son bought 14 Lego sets today, but the kid actually has good taste. I have dibs on the Lego Star Wars set when it comes in.
You get the gist. News of the partnership initially lifted Roku and Walmart stocks, but after the day’s volatility, only Roku was left in the green.
Great Stuff Picks readers holding Roku … rejoice! Behold the power of overspending and watching too much TV. It might actually pay off for once.
Just like how it’ll pay off to watch what Mike Carr just dropped on the market…
Money managers are perfectly happy to limit your moneymaking potential to 10% a year. Most investors are fine with that … because they’ve always thought it’s “normal.”
But not Michael J. Carr! Using his one-ticker options strategy, Mike shows his readers how they can make 10% in as little as one day … and potentially much more.
Stop settling for what financial advisors tell you to expect. Click here and learn about something better.
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