It’s been a while since I visited SF and I was blown away by the insane traffic and homelessness. The SF I remembered was friendly and chill, and perhaps my impression was intensified by the fact that I was there for work, but SF wasn’t for me.

The fog, the weather, the traffic, and the homelessness are not my cup of tea. The only good thing was fresh and inexpensive food. California as a whole has a leg up on New York when it comes to food, but that’s not enough to make me love SF.

Enough about SF. Below are interesting reads from last week.

1. Replication is important, however, does it mean that we should disregard previous studies because we can’t replicate it? I’m torn.

2. I should really write more Thank You cards.

3. Should I be embarrassed that I fall for “feminist media” without realizing it?

4. Life advice from Mindy Kaling that is actually spot-on.

5. A great example of real-time focus group from Target. Really surprised and delighted to read about Studio Connect.

6. Debunking all the buzz around the future of retail with research.

Myth: Shopping has become truly omnichannel.
Fact: Most journeys are still overwhelmingly single-channel (83%), though this is changing.

Myth: Online shopping is about instant gratification.
Fact: Online journeys tend to be longer than in-store.

Myth: Consumers always want something new.
Fact: Very often, they are happy to rebuy the same or a similar item.

7. AI applied to counterfeit bags — is there an industry or an area of business that will not be impacted by AI?

Photo by Joshua Sortino on Unsplash