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Smart speakers comprise one of the fastest-growing device segments in the consumer technology market today. Ownership levels have nearly doubled from early 2017 to summer 2018. 

With this rapid growth, there are a few pivotal questions that both companies looking to develop and sell smart speakers as well as those looking to sell products, deliver media, and offer access to services like banking over these devices need answers to in order to craft successful strategies. In particular, they need to know who is and isn’t buying smart speakers, and what consumers who own smart speakers are actually doing with them. 

To offer these stakeholders insight, Business Insider Intelligence asked more than 500 US consumers about their knowledge of smart speakers, the devices they do or don’t own and what led them to their purchase decisions, as well as the tasks they’re using their smart speakers for.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence will look at the state of the smart speaker market and outline how each of the major device providers approaches the space. We will then focus on the key factors that affect whether or not someone owns one of these devices. Next, we will use our survey data to outline the reasons why people don’t own devices in order to offer guidance for who to target and how. Finally, we will discuss what consumers are actually doing with their smart speakers — specifically looking at how the devices are used and perceived in e-commerce, digital media, and banking — which can help companies determine how well they’re publicizing their smart speaker services and capabilities.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Amazon, Google, Apple, Samsung, Facebook, Sonos, LG, Anker, Spotify, Pandora, Grubhub, Netflix, Hulu, Instagram, Snap.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Despite their growing popularity, nearly half of respondents still don't own a device — which presents a long runway for adoption. Our survey data reveals a number of key factors that impact whether or not someone owns one of these devices, including income, gender, and age.
• Smart speakers are establishing themselves as a key platform for e-commerce, media, and the smart home.
• The introduction of a screen to some smart speakers will expand the possibilities for companies developing for the device — but developers will need to resist the compulsion to use speakers to accomplish too much.

In full, the report:

• Provides an overview of the key players and products in the smart speaker market.
• Highlights critical adoption rates broken out by key factors that define the segment.
• Identifies how consumers are using devices in important areas where companies in various industries are trying foster greater use of the voice interface.

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• Tensions are running high between Apple and Facebook.
• The revelation that Facebook skirted around Apple's rules to distribute an app that spied on users only added to the animosity.
• Despite the strains between the two, they're likely to find a way to continue to get along, at least so far as it comes to having Facebook's consumer apps in Apple's App Store.

Facebook appears to have blatantly violated Apple's rules by convincing some users to install a special iPhone app that collects personal data. 

The revelation, reported by TechCrunch on Tuesday, has caused an outrage among privacy advocates. And it's spurred speculation that Apple could retaliate with the nuclear option: Banishing the Facebook app from Apple's app store. 

The move would be virtually unprecedented in the modern tech business, and although there's a case to be made that Apple would be within its rights, the reality is much more complex.

Both companies simply need each other too much to break their commercial ties.

"Apple has a has lot of leverage here. If they want to ban Facebook's app, they can," said Matt Stoller, a fellow at the Open Markets Institute, a research and advocacy group that has been helping lead the charge against the market dominance of tech firms, particularly Facebook.

But, he continued, Apple surely recognizes the risk that "people won't want to buy the iPhone, because they want access to Facebook's suite of products."

Facebook skirted around Apple's rules

Animosity between Facebook and Apple has been growing for years now. Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly criticized Facebook publicly over its privacy practices. In response to those comments, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ordered his company's management team to ditch their iPhones for rival devices running Google's Android operating system.

But tensions reached new heights this week after the TechCrunch report that Facebook has been paying consumers as young as 13 to install an app called Facebook Research. Facebook Research is a virtual private network (VPN) app that can be used to monitor everything users do on their smartphones. 

Instead of offering Facebook Research through the App Store, Facebook distributed it through a special
"sideloading" process that Apple set up to allow companies to distribute iPhone apps internally to their employees. An Apple representative told TechCrunch that Facebook's use of this channel for the Faceook Research app clearly violated the iPhone maker's rules.

In response, Apple revoked the security certificates for all the apps that Facebook distributes through this channel. That means not just the Facebook Research app, but pretty much all the internal apps Facebook employees rely on to do their jobs and to communicate everyday. Apple's move caused chaos inside Facebook, because it basically disabled all of those apps.

Read this:Chaos has reportedly erupted inside Facebook as employees find themselves unable to open the company's apps on their iPhones

"Sometimes a bully needs to be punched in the face"

But some outside observers believe Apple needs to go further. 

John Gruber, the Apple blogger, wrote that Apple would be justified if it pulled Facebook's consumer-facing apps from the App store.  

"Sometimes a bully needs to be punched in the face, not just told to knock it off," he wrote on Wednesday. 

Anil Dash, the CEO of app development startup Glitch, tweeted that it "would be a good time for Apple users to show that they want Facebook held accountable in the same way that other devs are."

"Any other publisher carrying out this level of deliberate circumvention of Apple’s platform rules would have all their apps kicked out of the store," Dash continued. 

Apple banned a Facebook-owned VPN app called Onavo Protect from its app store in August, after concluding that the app was monitoring user activities on their iPhones and being used by Facebook to collect info on rival apps, as TechCrunch noted in its report.  And Tim Cook's predecessor Steve Jobs famously blocked Adobe from working with Apple products, for a variety of supposed transgressions.

But banning Facebook, which has more than 2 billion users, would be a move on an entirely different level. It would amount to a direct attack on one of the most powerful companies in the world. And it would likely cause deep pain to both sides.  It may not be mutually assured destruction, but it will cause a lot of damage. 

Apple may not like Facebook, but its users love the latter's apps. The top free app in Apple's App Store is Facebook-owned Instagram. Facebook Messenger ranks no. 6. Facebook's eponymous app and WhatsApp, which the company owns, are also in the top 20. And those apps aren't just sitting idle on customers' iPhones. Numerous studies have indicated that customers spend gobs of time each day on Facebook's apps.

If Apple were to boot Facebook from its App Store, it could give users a real incentive to trade in their iPhones for Android devices.

But Facebook needs Apple, and vice versa

In fact, some industry observers have suggested that Facebook is the one with the leverage, and that it should threaten to pull its app from Apple's App Store to bring the iPhone maker to heel. 

However, it's not like Facebook can really do without Apple either. Mobile ads now account for 93% of Facebook's total advertising revenue, which provides nearly all of Facebook's overall sales, as the company detailed in its fourth-quarter earnings report Wednesday. Nearly half of Facebook's total revenue comes from the US and Canada, and in the US, depending on what figure you believe, somewhere around 40% to 50% of all mobile devices in use are iPhones.

Although the iPhone's market share is less in other areas of the world, it's still a sizeable player in many important markets, including Japan.

In other words, if Facebook were to pull its apps from Apple's App Store, it would be putting at risk a huge portion of its revenue, somewhere around a fifth of its total sales just from US iPhone users alone.

In the end, those facts are likely to prove too much to overcome. As much as Facebook and Apple are at odds, the amount of money at stake will almost certainly encourage both sides to continue to deal with the other.

To paraphrase "The Godfather," their dispute may be personal, but this is still business.

• Read more on Apple and Facebook's latest dispute:
• LEAKED MEMO: Facebook is scrambling to do damage control with 'pissed' employees after Apple blocks its internal apps
• Facebook and Apple are arguing over who banned a Facebook app that paid people $20 a month for complete access to their phones
• Facebook shut down an intrusive data-gathering app it vigorously defended just hours earlier
• Facebook got caught paying people $20 a month to let them spy on their phones

SEE ALSO: Mark Zuckerberg’s tone-deaf declaration of victory in 2018 should make everybody worry about what’s going to happen with Facebook next year

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NOW WATCH: Apple forever changed the biggest tech event of the year by not showing up

• Billionaire investor Howard Marks, who co-founded Oaktree Capital in 1995, said it's gotten increasingly hard to start a hedge fund.
• Hedge fund managers will see their pay squeezed compared to those of years past due to competition from passive investment products. 
• Hedge fund launches were cut nearly in half between 2018 and 2017, according to data from Preqin.

Billionaire investor Howard Marks first step for aspiring hedge fund managers dying to start their own fund is to find a time machine.

Marks, speaking on Wednesday at the Context Summits conference in Miami, said that those looking to launch a hedge should "start in 1968"— the year the Oaktree Capital co-founder left graduate school.

"The people that start in 2019 are not going to face the same opportunities that we faced," he said. 

Factors such as passive investing driven by computers have made it more difficult for people to make a career out of investing, he said, noting that most computer-driven strategies can beat as much as 95% of investors. 

Hedge fund launches were cut nearly in half between 2018 and 2017, according to data from Preqin.

"The trend toward passive did not take place because the passive returns were so great, it was because the active returns were so bad," he said.

Read more: It's not enough to be two guys from Goldman Sachs in a room with $5 million — the bar for launching a hedge fund is rising in 2019

Still, Marks sees room for humans in investing to provide what he called "exceptional insight."

"I don't think a computer can sit down with an executive and tell that he's Steve Jobs," he said.

But the abundance of computer-driven investing options not only pushes people out of the space, but also cuts down on pay since managers are competing with cheaper passive products. Fees have been cut to where the one-time typical charge of a 2% management fee and 20% performance fee is now only attached to only 30% of funds, according to Hedge Fund Research. 

To launch a fund, "you have to do it because you love it, and if that all sounds attractive, then I would do it," Marks said.

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

What is eSports? History & Rise of Video Game Tournaments

Years ago, eSports was a community of video gamers who would gather at conventions to play Counter Strike, Call of Duty, or League of Legends.

These multiplayer video game competitions would determine League of Legends champions, the greatest shooters in Call of Duty, the cream of the crop of Street Fighter players, the elite Dota 2 competitors, and more.

But today, as the history of eSports continue to unfold, media giants such as ESPN and Turner are broadcasting eSports tournaments and competitions. And in 2014, Amazon acquired Twitch, the live streaming video platform that has been and continues to be the leader in online gaming broadcasts. And YouTube also wanted to jump on the live streaming gaming community with the creation of YouTube Gaming.

eSports Market Growth Booming

To put in perspective how big eSports is becoming, a Google search for "lol" does not produce "laughing out loud" as the top result. Instead, it points to League of Legends, one of the most popular competitive games in existence. The game has spawned a worldwide community called the League of Legends Championship Series, more commonly known as LCS or LOL eSports.

What started as friends gathering in each other's homes to host LAN parties and play into the night has become an official network of pro gaming tournaments and leagues with legitimate teams, some of which are even sponsored and have international reach. Organizations such as Denial, AHQ, and MLG have multiple eSports leagues.

And to really understand the scope of all this, consider that the prize pool for the latest Dota 2 tournament was more than $20 million.

Websites even exist for eSports live scores to let people track the competitions in real time if they are unable to watch. There are even fantasy eSports leagues similar to fantasy football, along with the large and growing scene of eSports betting and gambling.

So it's understandable why traditional media companies would want to capitalize on this growing trend just before it floods into the mainstream. Approximately 300 million people worldwide tune in to eSports today, and that number is growing rapidly. By 2020, that number will be closer to 500 million.

eSports Industry Analysis - The Future of the Competitive Gaming Market

Financial institutions are starting to take notice. Goldman Sachs valued eSports at $500 million in 2016 and expects the market will grow at 22% annually compounded over the next three years into a more than $1 billion opportunity.

And industry statistics are already backing this valuation and demonstrating the potential for massive earnings. To illustrate the market value, market growth, and potential earnings for eSports, consider Swedish media company Modern Times Group's $87 million acquisition of Turtle Entertainment, the holding company for ESL. YouTube has made its biggest eSports investment to date by signing a multiyear broadcasting deal with Faceit to stream the latter's Esports Championship Series. And the NBA will launch its own eSports league in 2018.

Of course, as with any growing phenomenon, the question becomes: How do advertisers capitalize? This is especially tricky for eSports because of its audience demographics, which is young, passionate, male-dominated, and digital-first. They live online and on social media, are avid ad-blockers, and don't watch traditional TV or respond to conventional advertising.

So what will the future of eSports look like? How high can it climb? Could it reach the mainstream popularity of baseball or football? How will advertisers be able to reach an audience that does its best to shield itself from advertising?

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled an unparalleled report on the eSports ecosystem that dissects the growing market for competitive gaming. This comprehensive, industry-defining report contains more than 30 charts and figures that forecast audience growth, average revenue per user, and revenue growth.

Companies and organizations mentioned in the report include: NFL, NBA, English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, NHL, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Ligue de Football, Twitch, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, ESPN, Electronic Arts, EA Sports, Valve, Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, ESL, Turtle Entertainment, Dreamhack, Modern Times Group, Turner Broadcasting, TBS Network, Vivendi, Canal Plus, Dailymotion, Disney, BAMTech, Intel, Coca Cola, Red Bull, HTC, Mikonet

Here are some eSports industry facts and statistics from the report:

• eSports is a still nascent industry filled with commercial opportunity.
• There are a variety of revenue streams that companies can tap into.
• The market is presently undervalued and has significant room to grow.
• The dynamism of this market distinguishes it from traditional sports.
• The audience is high-value and global, and its numbers are rising.
• Brands can prosper in eSports by following the appropriate game plan.
• Game publishers approach their Esport ecosystems in different ways.  
• Successful esport games are comprised of the same basic ingredients.
• Digital streaming platforms are spearheading the popularity of eSports.
• Legacy media are investing into eSports, and seeing encouraging results.
• Traditional sports franchises have a clear opportunity to seize in eSports.
• Virtual and augmented reality firms also stand to benefit from eSports.  

In full, the report illuminates the business of eSports from four angles:

• The gaming nucleus of eSports, including an overview of popular esport genres and games; the influence of game publishers, and the spectrum of strategies they adopt toward their respective esport scenes; the role of eSports event producers and the tournaments they operate.
• The eSports audience profile, its size, global reach, and demographic, psychographic, and behavioral attributes; the underlying factors driving its growth; why they are an attractive target for brands and broadcasters; and the significant audience and commercial crossover with traditional sports.
• eSports media broadcasters, including digital avant-garde like Twitch and YouTube, newer digital entrants like Facebook and traditional media outlets like Turner’s TBS Network, ESPN, and Canal Plus; their strategies and successes in this space; and the virtual reality opportunity.
• eSports market economics, with a market sizing, growth forecasts, and regional analyses; an evaluation of the eSports spectacle and its revenue generators, some of which are idiosyncratic to this industry; strategic planning for brand marketers, with case studies; and an exploration of the infinite dynamism and immense potential of the eSports economy.

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• Gary Cohn, a former economic advisor to President Donald Trump and a senior executive at Goldman Sachs, said employees at the Wall Street bank knew who they were working with and what they were working for, while the White House lacked an agenda and familiarity.
• Cohn, who left the White House last March, said White House officials quickly had to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses at the highest level while Goldman colleagues often spend decades together before making it to senior leadership.

Ask Gary Cohn the difference between working for President Donald Trump and Goldman Sachs.

"Everything," Cohn, a former White House economic advisor and Goldman executive, said on Wednesday at the Context Summits conference in Miami.

Cohn pinpointed two items that separated his two most recent employers: agenda and familiarity. 

At Goldman, the instructions were clear and simple, said Cohn, who left the White House in March of last year over a disagreement on tariff policy.

"You serve clients and make money," Cohn said. 

Read more: The David Solomon era at Goldman Sachs kicked off with 43 words Lloyd Blankfein would never say

In the White House, however, the agenda was set before Trump's team even got into their offices by former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Cohn said. 

"Had we been left to our own agenda, we would not have done Obamacare first," he said.

The lack of familiarity between White House officials also cut into the team's productivity, Cohn said, adding that at Goldman, there's "very, very, very few political games played."

"You're thrown into this and said 'work together,'" he said. Compared to Goldman — where Cohn said he has worked with colleagues for decades before reaching senior leadership — the White House staff had to learn everyone's strengths and motives immediately. Though, he said, "you can figure out the good communicators pretty quickly and the bad communicators pretty quickly."

Read more: Goldman Sachs' 1MDB problems are eating into employee morale, and insiders worry the firm will use its legal woes as an excuse to scrimp on bonuses

Cohn expressed frustration with some of the moves made by "nationalists" in the White House, specifically naming trade hawk Peter Navarro and his axing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the first day of Trump's presidency. 

Calling Navarro an "Amazon economist," Cohn said that his team killed "a vast majority" of the protectionist executive orders Navarro tried to push Trump to sign early on. 

"I will never fully understand why we got rid of the TPP," he said. 

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See also:

• A former Goldman exec has the same philosophy for investing and for building a career
• Goldman Sachs is shuffling its top stock trading executives as the business tries to claw back market share from Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan
• Goldman Sachs’ big bet on the future of Wall Street had a rocky start. Here’s the inside story of the bank’s struggle to grow its next business and an exclusive look at its plans

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• On Wednesday, Google announced its consumer version of Google+ will officially shut down on April 2.
• On that date, Google+ accounts and pages will become inaccessible to users and content, including photos and videos from Album Archives, will begin to be deleted. Google says the deletion process may take some time.
• Google has encouraged users to download and save their content before it is deleted. 

The end of Google+ is drawing nearer. 

On Wednesday, Google announced its consumer version of Google+ will officially shut down on April 2.

On that date, Google+ accounts and pages will become inaccessible to users. At that point, content on Google+, including photos and videos from Album Archives, will begin to be deleted. Also, as soon as February 4, users will not be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events. 

To gear up for the April 2 closer, Google has encouraged users to download and save their content before it is deleted. Android Police has recommended a download tool called the Google+ Exporter for power users of the social network. 

Read more: Here's how to quickly check if you have a Google+ account, and delete it

Google had announced last December that Google+ for consumers would be shut down in April, but it had not provided a definite date. 

At the time, Google cited "challenges involved in maintaining a successful product" and the "platform’s low usage" as reasons for shuttering the service. The company reiterated this messaging in its announcement on Wednesday. 

Last October, The Wall Street Journal revealed that data from 500,000 Google+ users had been exposed over a three year period, but the company had decided to keep quiet on the matter.

Two months later, Google announced that more than 52 million Google+ users had been affected by another bug which exposed personal information including names, email addresses, occupations, and ages. This issue prompted the company to expedite the shut down of its consumer product, moving it from August 2019 to April 2019. 

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal at +1 (209) 730-3387, emailnbastone@businessinsider.com, or direct message on Twitter @nickbastone.

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NOW WATCH: All smartphones look the same today for 2 key reasons

• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined 4 priorities for 2019
• The four goals are designed to get the company out of the defensive crouch that's defined the past two years amid a string of scandals.
• Zuckerberg emphasized that the company will redouble its efforts on "building new experiences."

After a two-year apology tour, Facebook is changing strategy: It's going to go all-out building stuff again.

On Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts on a conference call after the company's Q4 2018 earnings that the Silicon Valley tech giant believes it has made significant progress tackling its myriad woes, and that throughout 2019 one of the company's key areas of focus will be launching significant new features and products for its apps.

"I'm not talking about the many day-to-day iterative improvements we make so that ranking gets a bit better or things get somewhat faster, but major improvements to people's lives that whole communities recognize and say 'wow, we're all doing something new on Facebook or WhatsApp that we weren't doing before,'"Zuckerberg said in remarks also shared to his public Facebook page.

It's a significant step for Facebook, which has been on the back foot almost constantly since the 2016 US presidential elections, as its historically rosy image was tarnished by a string of scandals over everything from misuse of users' data and hacking, to the social network's role in spreading hate speech that fueled genocide in Myanmar and Russia's sowing of propaganda on the platform.

The new focus on product updates is also a likely necessity for keeping the company's increasingly unhappy workforce on board. Employees have been bombarded by a barrage of negative headlines, while the company's faltering stock price has put a dent in their compensation packages. ("Employee morale is dead," a Facebook employee recently told Business Insider. "It's like an open secret ... everyone has to pretend like they're all happy-go-lucky, but most people aren't, which is kinda crazy.")

As such, Zuckerberg's change of tack will allow rank-and-file employees, especially newer ones, to feel invested in new initiatives — rather than constantly playing on the defense and cleaning up other people's mess.

Zuckerberg conceded this, saying: "The reality is we've put most of our energy into security over the past 18 months so that building new experiences wasn't the priority over that period."

Particular points of focus when it comes to building new experience will be around messaging, groups and communities, "commerce and shopping" on Instagram, and Facebook's video service Watch, the 34-year-old billionaire chief exec said.

Zuck's four Facebook priorities for 2019

The plan is one of four key priorities Facebook's leadership has set for 2019. These are (in Zuckerberg's words):

• "First, continue making progress on the major social issues facing the internet and our company."
• "Second, build new experiences that meaningfully improve people's lives today and set the stage for even bigger improvements in the future."
• "Third, keep building our business by supporting the millions of businesses — mostly small businesses — that rely on our services to grow and create jobs."
• "And fourth, communicate more transparently about what we're doing and the role our services play in the world."

Facebook's attempts to refresh its image have had false starts before. The New York Times previously reported that in early 2018, the company had an internal comms campaign that was "meant to assure employees that the company was committed to getting back on track in 2018"— but it was ditched in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

And 2019 is already shaping up to pose some challenges for Facebook.

Less than a day before Facebook announced its Q4 earnings, TechCrunch reported that Facebook was paying users on iOS to let it spy on them — and Apple responded by revoking the company's developer certificate, effectively blocking Facebook employees' from using internal apps to do their jobs and causing chaos for the company.

Do you work at Facebook? Got a tip? Contact this reporter via Signal or WhatsApp at +1 (650) 636-6268 using a non-work phone, email at rprice@businessinsider.com, Telegram or WeChat at robaeprice, or Twitter DM at @robaeprice. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

SEE ALSO: Facebook's stock soars 12% after beating on top and bottom lines for Q4 2018 earnings

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NOW WATCH: All smartphones look the same today for 2 key reasons

• Zoom, the $1 billion video conferencing company, is in the process of filing confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a source told Business Insider.
• While the company submitted its paperwork, it hasn't gotten confirmation from the regulator, which was mostly shut down throughout January with the rest of the US federal government.
• Zoom is working with Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse on its IPO.

The $1 billion video conferencing company Zoom is in the process of filing confidentially for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission but its registration is stuck due to the government shutdown, according to a source familiar with the company's plans. 

While Zoom has submitted paperwork with the SEC, the compay still isn't officially filed because of a processing delay, the source added. 

The startup has picked banks for a public offering that include Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, the source said. 

Representatives for Zoom and the banks declined to comment. 

Reuters previously reported that Zoom was preparing for an IPO with Morgan Stanley last October. 

Zoom was founded in 2011 by CEO Eric S. Yuan, who was previously VP of engineering at the video conferencing company WebEx. Yuan joined Cisco in 2007 when it bought WebEx for $3.2 billion.

Zoom, which sells subscriptions for enterprise-grade video conference services, is used by companies including Uber and Box. Morgan Stanley also uses Zoom's video conferencing technology, which played a role in the company's decision to appoint the bank as its lead underwriter, the source said. 

The company is cash flow positive, the source said. It was last valued at $1 billion in a Series D led by Sequoia Capital in 2017. The company is also backed by Facebook and Qualcomm. 

Zoom is just one of a handful of tech unicorns awaiting feedback or confirmation from the SEC following the federal government shutdown. The ride-hailing competitors Uber and Lyft reportedly had not gotten comments from the SEC as of January 9, despite filing confidentially in early December, ahead of the shutdown.

SEE ALSO: 2019 was supposed to be a banner year for IPOs, but now it's turning into a 's---show'

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• Senators Mark R. Warner, Richard Blumenthal, and Edward J. Markey have called out Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the recent reports that the company paid people to install an intrusive, data-collecting app.
• Facebook pulled the iOS research app following a TechCrunch report on Tuesday that revealed it paid people, including teenagers, to allow it to gather data about them.
• Legislators are concerned the app did not properly inform users of the extent of its data gathering.

Facebook's reputation among lawmakers has taken another hit and the company could be in for more tough questions, following reports that it paid people, including teens, to install a special app to monitor their movements online. 

On Wednesday, several US senators fired off letters to the company or made public comments voicing their unease and demanding answers. 

"I have concerns that users were not appropriately informed about the extent of Facebook’s data-gathering and the commercial purposes of this data collection," Sen. Mark Warner wrote in a letter to Zuckerberg. 

TechCrunch on Tuesday reported that Facebook had a program that paid people up to $20 a month to install a VPN app that tracked their data.  

The app, called Facebook Research, is similar to Facebook's controversial virtual-private-network app Onavo and shares much of the same code, according to security expert Will Strafach, who was asked by TechCrunch to investigate the program. Apple previously banned Onavo outright from its App Store on the iPhone and the iPad over violations of its privacy policy.

Warner (D-VA) continued: "Facebook's lack of full transparency with users... has been a source of frustration for me."

Facebook has said the program existed for it to learn more about the apps that people download and how they use their phones. The company said that only five percent of the participants were teenagers.

Blumenthal (D-CT) in a statement to TechCrunch said, "Wiretapping teens is not research, and it should never be permissible. This is yet another astonishing example of Facebook’s complete disregard for data privacy and eagerness to engage in anti-competitive behavior."

He then called Zuckerberg's promises "empty" and urged the Federal Trade Commission, which is currently investigating Facebook, to add the Onavo app to its probe. 

Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) told Mother Jones, "It is inherently manipulative to offer teens money in exchange for their personal information when younger users don’t have a clear understanding how much data they’re handing over and how sensitive it is."

This latest privacy scandal is one in a long line of back-to-back-to-back controversies the company has faced in the last two years. Critics and lawmakers have said Facebook has a lot of trust to gain back from its users, who have pioneered movements like #DeleteFacebook, and have implored it to clearly define consent in terms of data collection.

Read Sen. Warner's full letter here: 

SEE ALSO: LEAKED MEMO: Facebook is scrambling to do damage control with 'pissed' employees after Apple blocks its internal apps

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NOW WATCH: 7 science-backed ways to a happier and healthier 2019 that you can do the first week of the new year

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here. Current subscribers can read the report here.

The consumerization of healthcare — a fundamental shift in patients’ preferences, behaviors, and demands around healthcare services — is threatening hospitals' bottom lines. For the first time, patients are transforming from passive recipients of healthcare services to active participants in their own health. They're flocking to online review sites to choose which doctor to see, skipping hospital visits in favor of a health clinic in their local CVS, and aren't afraid to ditch providers that don't offer them an engaging experience.

The superior customer service expectations of millennials, declines in hospital profitability, and threats from startup providers and retail pharmacies intensify the need for providers to revamp the patient experience. Providers' current engagement capabilities are weak, and deficiencies around scheduling, appointment wait times, and billing are dragging on patient satisfaction, driving patients elsewhere and draining provider revenue.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence explores the trends that are driving providers to revamp their care services. We then outline how patients' expectations for transparency, convenience, and access are transforming the way they interact with providers across each stage of care. Finally, we detail strategies health systems and hospitals can implement to create a consumer-centric patient experience that fosters satisfaction, loyalty, and patient volume. 

The companies mentioned in this report are: 98point6, BayCare, Cleveland Clinic, CVS, Integris, Kaiser Permanente, Luma Health, New York-Presbyterian, One Medical, Publix, Target, Walgreens, Walmart, Yelp, and Zocdoc.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

SEE ALSO: Top 5 Healthcare Startups & Digital Health Tech Disruptors in 2018

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for season three, episode 11 of "Riverdale," titled "The Red Dahlia."

• Kelly Ripa is on "Riverdale" as Mrs. Mulwray, Hiram's alleged mistress.
• She is married to Mark Consuelos, who plays Hiram, in real life.
• Mulwray is also connected to a larger crime on the CW series. 

"Riverdale" fans are getting more details about Hiram's criminal antics, and they involve an alleged mistress named Mrs. Mulwray.

Kelly Ripa, who's married to the actor who plays Hiram, Mark Consuelos, in real life, made her debut as Mulwray on Wednesday's episode of The CW show. She's introduced as part of a larger crime in the town.

Read more:'Riverdale' star Mark Consuelos wants his entire family to be on the show after his wife guest-stars as his mistress

Here's everything we know about Mulwray. 

Mulwray is Hiram's alleged mistress.

When Jughead confronts Hermione as a suspect in Hiram's shooting, she denies any involvement. However, she tells Jughead that she learned Hiram was having an affair because she sent Sheriff Minetta to follow her husband.

"I don't know who she is, but he was meeting her regularly at the Five Seasons," Hermione says as she hands Jughead a folder filled with photos of Hiram and a mysterious woman.

Hermione says she told Hiram to end it, so he did. 

"Maybe Hiram's mistress was angry when he called it quits," she says. "You do know how volatile blondes can be." 

Jughead goes to the Five Seasons to confront Hiram's alleged mistress and breaks into her hotel room. She pulls a gun on him when she catches him going through her items. Mulwray doesn't confirm her personal relationship with Hiram, but she does reveal more information about his criminal activity. 

Mulwray has a connection to the seizures and the town's quarantine.

Jughead learns that Mulwray is a health and sanitation inspector sent to Riverdale to investigate the water supply, specifically the Sweetwater River and the reservoir. 

"I'm no kept woman," Mulwray says. "I do a job, I get paid for it." 

Jughead asks Mulwray why she was the inspector who was brought in. 

"Young women in town were having seizures," she says. "I was sent in to help." 

"Brought in by Hiram Lodge," Jughead responds. "He also make you write the letter to Governor Dooley advising him to support a town-wide quarantine? You see, I'm confused because the letter says the water is dirty, but the report says the water is clean. So you either lied to the governor, or you faked that report. Or both."

Read more: Everything we know about 'Riverdale's' mysterious group home the Sisters of Quiet Mercy and its connection to the Gargoyle King

Mulwray refuses to respond to Jughead's accusations, but Betty learns more about the poisoned water after confronting Penelope Blossom. Penelope says that the water was infected by runoff from the manufacturing of Fizzle Rocks. When Betty asks why only girls were affected, Penelope says she's not a medical doctor. 

Betty updates Jughead with the information. When Hermione later confronts Jughead, he tells her that he knows why Hiram's mistress doctored the water reports. 

"Betty told me about the runoff of the Fizzle Rocks manufacturing at the Blossom maple factory, how it poisoned Sweetwater River, gave everyone seizures — that's why Hiram had her doctor those reports, to cover his a--," Jughead says. "It's also why he moved his drug lab to the prison. ... Now my guess is that you were pissed about his drug lab and what it was doing to all the girls in the town." 

Jughead links Hermione's anger to the assassination attempt on Hiram and says she ordered the hit. Hermione tells Jughead that if he turns her in, she will implicate his dad in the crimes. 

Is this the end of Mulwray? 

Now that truth about the poisoned water is known and Hermione claims that Hiram's affair is over, Mulwray doesn't have another explicit reason to appear on the series. But many characters have left and then made a surprise return, so maybe she's not finished for good.

"Riverdale" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

Visit INSIDER's homepage for more.

• Read more about "Riverdale":
• 'Riverdale' fans finally know who the 'gruesome' Gargoyle King is, but there may be a twist
• Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa have been married for 22 years. The 'Riverdale' star shares his 2 simple tips for a successful marriage.
• 'Riverdale' fans finally know how the deadly role-playing game 'Gryphons and Gargoyles' started

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for season three, episode 11 of "Riverdale," titled "The Red Dahlia." 

• Jughead learned who shot Hiram on Wednesday's episode of "Riverdale."
• The episode featured references to a number of crime novels and noir films, like "The Big Sleep."
• INSIDER worked with Archie Comics to find details you may have missed.

Jughead and Betty uncover some answers on the latest "Riverdale" episode. 

On Wednesday's episode of The CW show, Betty learns that runoff from Fizzle Rocks caused the seizures in town, Jughead discovers who shot Hiram, and Veronica destroys her dad's drug empire after confronting her mother. As for Archie, who is emotionally struggling with his return to the town, he gets some help from Josie. 

The episode calls back to and references the film noir stylings of '40s Hollywood movies. We worked with Archie Comics to find 10 details you may have missed. 

The episode title, "The Red Dahlia," derives from a movie, book, and real crime.

"The Blue Dahlia" is a 1946 crime noir film about a murder mystery. 

The "Black Dahlia" murder refers to the 1947 murder and mutilation of a woman named Elizabeth Short, who was nicknamed the "Black Dahlia." Her murder was never solved.

Crime author Lynda La Plante published a novel titled "The Red Dahlia" in 2005.

Jughead says Riverdale has become a setting in a Raymond Chandler novel.

Chandler was a detective fiction writer. He also wrote the screenplay for "The Blue Dahlia" (which is mentioned in the above slide).

Jughead references another Chandler work when he says Claudius Blossom has taken "the big sleep," a euphemism for death.  

Chandler's crime novel "The Big Sleep" was adapted into a 1946 movie and a 1978 movie of the same name. The novel is the first to feature Chandler's detective character Philip Marlowe, which Jughead references on the episode when he tells Veronica she can consider him her "Philip Marlowe." 

Jughead references a number of noir and crime movies.

After mentioning Raymond Chandler, Jughead says the town is filled with "dames to kill for, postmen who like to ring twice, and more mobsters than a Scorsese retrospective at the Bijou." 

"Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" is a book by comic book writer Frank Miller and the follow-up movie to "Sin City," which is based on the comic series. 

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" is a crime novel by James M. Cain and has been made into a movie multiple times, but the 1946 noir film is one of the best-known adaptations.

Director Martin Scorsese is known for his crime movies, including "Goodfellas" and "Casino." 

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NOW WATCH: Airports are dealing with massive lines during the government shutdown as TSA employees are working without pay

This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence,  Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here.

In recent years, we've seen a ballooning of activity in fintech — an expansive term applied to technology-driven disruptions in financial services. And 2018 has been no different, with fintechs' staggering influence on the market evidenced by record funding levels for the industry — by Q3 2018, overall funding was already up 82% from 2017’s total figure, according to CB Insights.

Additionally, this year marked a watershed moment for the industry, with the once clear distinction between fintechs and financial services proper now blurred significantly. Virtually every incumbent financial institution (FI) is now looking inward and engaging in an innovation drive, spurred on by competition from fintechs. As such, incumbents are now actively investing in, acquiring, and collaborating with their fintech rivals.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence details recent developments in fintech funding and regulation that are defining the environment these startups operate in. We also examine the business model changes being employed among different categories of fintechs as they strive to embed themselves further in mainstream finance and prove sustainability. Finally, we consider which elements of the fintech industry are rapidly rubbing off on incumbent financial services providers, and what the future of fintech will look like.

The companies mentioned in this report are: Funding Circle, GreenSky, Transferwise, Ant Financial, Nubank, Cellulant, Oscar Health, Stripe, One97, UiPath, LianLian Pay, Wacai.com, Gusto, Toast, PingPong, Flywire, Deposit Solutions, Root, Robinhood, Atom, N26, Revolut, OneConnect, PolicyBazaar, WeCash, Zurich, OneDegree, Dinghy, Vouch Insurance, Laka, Cleo, Ernit, Monzo, Moneybox, Bud, Tandem, Starling, Varo Money, Square, ING, Chase, AmEx, Amazon, Monese, Betterment, Tiller Investments, West Hill Capital, Square, Ameritrade, JPMorgan, eToro, Lendy, OnDeck, Ripple, Quorom, Chain, Coinbase, Fidelity, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bank of America, TransferGo, Klarna, Western Union, Veriff, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Canada, Facebook, ThreatMetrix, Relx, Entersekt, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Gemalto, Lloyd's of London, Kingdom Trust, Aviva, Symbility LINK, eTrade, Allianz, AXA, Broadridge, TD Bank, First Republic Bank, BBVA Compass, Capital One, Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Ally, Goldman Sachs.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• Fintech funding has already reached new highs globally in 2018, with overall funding hitting $32.6 billion at the end of Q3.
• Some new regions, including South America and Africa, are emerging on the fintech scene.
• We've seen considerable scaling in older corners of the fintech ecosystem, including among neobanks and alt lenders.
• Some fintechs, including a number of insurtechs, have dipped into new markets to escape heightened competition.
• Emergent areas like blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT), as well as digital identity, are gaining traction.
• Many incumbents are undertaking business transformations that aim to reimagine everything from products and services to front-end systems and back-end processes.

 In full, the report:

• Details the funding and regulatory landscape in the US, Europe, and Asia.
• Gives an overview into a number of fintech segments and how they've changed over the past year.
• Discusses how incumbents are reacting to fintechs in order to stay relevant in the changing financial services sector.
• Evaluates what the future of fintech will look like and what trends to look out for in the coming year.
  

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SEE ALSO: How the largest US financial institutions rank on offering the mobile banking features customers value most

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• Amazon's Prime service may be a good deal for customers, but it's becoming a worse one for the company.
• The key component of the subscription offering is its free-shipping deals.
• But the cost of those deals also now eats up half of the $119 annual subscription price the company charges customers, estimates Dan Morgan, a portfolio manager who closely follows the company and whose fund owns Amazon shares.
• Amazon's fulfilment costs are slated to keep rising, thanks to price hikes by the major shippers.

Amazon's Prime service may be starting to become too much of a good thing for the tech giant.

The offering has attracted some 100 million subscribers. That sizable customer base has in turn encouraged a growing number of third-party merchants to sign up as customers of Amazon's fulfilment services. That's because products offered by vendors who are part of that program are eligible for Prime's free shipping offers.

So far, so good right? Prime brings more customers to Amazon, which lures in more merchants, which helps Amazon expand its product offerings, which likely attracts more shoppers and encourages existing ones to buy more items from Amazon.

The problem for the company is that shipping costs are rising, cutting into its profits and making its free shipping offers more costly. Amazon's fulfillment costs have already been rising faster than its revenue, noted Dan Morgan, a senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust, which owns Amazon shares.

One of the key questions for the company, he said in an email, is "How can Amazon balance its fulfillment/shipping costs with increased order volumes from Prime members?"

Free shipping is costly for Amazon to offer

Morgan is a longtime bull on Amazon, but much of his optimism about the company is due to its Amazon Web Services cloud-computing business and its burgeoning advertising business. He's more skeptical of the prospects for its traditional retail business.

Read more:A gold mine is buried 'under the weeds' at Amazon — here's why it could take the company beyond the $1 trillion mark

Amazon charges customers $119 a year for its Prime subscription. But about half of that amount is now being consumed by the cost of offering free shipping to customers, Morgan estimated.

Those costs could continue to rise.

Amazon spent $25.2 billion on fulfillment costs in 2017, which was up 43% from the year before and amounted to 14% of the company's total revenue. That amount likely rose to $35 billion, or 15.1% of the company's sales, for all of 2018, and will probably jump to $43.3 billion, or 15.4% of sales, this year, estimates Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos in a recent report.

Indeed, Kurnos worried that shipping-related factors may have weighed down Amazon's results over the holidays. While Wall Street analysts as a whole are betting that the company posted $3.7 billion in operating income in the fourth quarter, Kurnos is forecasting $3.2 billion.

Amazon is slated to report its holiday period results on Thursday.

"We are somewhat cautious ... given external pressure on delivery costs and significant increases in same-day to two-day shipping," he said.

Amazon is facing price hikes

Part of the problem for Amazon going into this year is that all three of the major domestic shippers — the US Postal Service, FedEx, and United Parcel Service — just hiked their prices. Amazon recently adjusted its own charges for merchant customers who take advantage of its fulfillment services. But it's unclear if its higher charges will fully cover its increased costs. And regardless, those fees only apply to third-party merchants, not to products Amazon sells itself.

Add it all up, and Prime's free shipping offering is becoming a better deal for customers — and a worse one for Amazon.

The "rising fulfillment costs not only hurt operating margin, but it also erodes revenues from Prime members, as the $119.00 annual fee revenue evaporates as shipping costs rise," Morgan said.

• Read more about Amazon:
• Jeff Bezos' divorce could soon make MacKenzie Bezos one of Amazon's biggest shareholders
• Jeff Bezos' impending divorce carries some big risks for Amazon shareholders
• Amazon Web Services could be worth $600 billion by itself. Here's why Wall Street analysts think a spinoff won't happen any time soon.
• An Amazon bull says the company's stock is his 'best idea' for 2019. Here's why.

SEE ALSO: The business school prof who predicted Amazon would buy Whole Foods now says an AWS spinoff is inevitable — and the standalone company could be worth $600B

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The smartphone is an essential part of our everyday lives.

But as with all technology, things change. So the question becomes: What will be the next smartphone?

Will it be the connected car? Or the smart speaker? What about the smartwatch?

Find out which device, if any, will take over the smartphone's role with this brand new slide deck from Business Insider Intelligence called The Next Smartphone.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Smartphones are the fastest adopted tech in the U.S.
• Whichever device becomes the next smartphone needs to go everywhere
• Consumer expectations around the smartphone are changing
• And much more

To get your copy of this FREE slide deck, simply click here.

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• In December 2018, Victorina Morales came forward, telling The New York Times that she was an undocumented immigrant working at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
• On February 5, Morales will be making a political statement. She has been invited to attend the State of the Union address as the guest of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat from New Jersey.
• Her decision to come forward was prompted by President Donald Trump's harsh comments about undocumented immigrants — especially those from Latin America.
• "I hope that in his State of the Union address, Donald Trump will finally acknowledge the real face of immigrants in this country....And if he can’t, I’ve invited Victorina so that he may look her in her eyes to tell his lies to a familiar face," Rep. Watson Coleman said in a statement.

In December 2018, Victorina Morales came forward, telling The New York Times that she was an undocumented immigrant working at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

She was once a housekeeper making Donald Trump's bed, but on Tuesday, February 5, Morales will be making a political statement. She has been invited to attend the State of the Union address as the guest of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, a Democrat from New Jersey.

"Immigrants by and large are hardworking, trustworthy, and skilled people who simply want to work and build better lives here," Watson Coleman said in a statement. "For years these kinds of people were loyal and dedicated enough to be Trump Organization employees."

Morales came to the US from Guatemala in 1999, and worked at Trump's golf club in Bedminster for around five years starting in 2013, The Times reported. And according to her account, she was not the only undocumented immigrant working at the Trump golf club; she alleges that a manager there helped her obtain falsified documents. Since The New York Times article, she has not gone back to work. According to CNN, she could face deportation.

Her decision to come forward was prompted by Trump's harsh comments about undocumented immigrants — especially those from Latin America.

Following The New York Times piece, The Washington Post reported that the Trump Organization began checking immigration status, and on January 18 around a "dozen" undocumented workers were fired from Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County, New York. On Tuesday of this week, Eric Trump, who manages the day-to-day of the Trump Organization along with his brother Donald Trump Jr., said the company would be implementing E-Verify a program to check immigration status.

Morales and several others have been lobbying on Capitol Hill as lawmakers battle over immigration policies and border security — following a 35-day partial government shutdown over funding for Trump's desired border wall along the US-Mexico border to stop undocumented immigrants.

Trump has repeatedly railed against undocumented immigrants, and his administration has tried to restrict asylum claims and deter migrants from coming across the border from Central America.

The list of Trump's guests who will sit with First Lady Melania Trump has not yet been released. Guest choices are often political in nature, and are usually seen as a commentary on the issues of the moment.

At the State of the Union address in 2018, Trump's guests included family members of people killed by the gang MS-13, while several Democrats brought Dreamers — undocumented immigrants brought to the US illegally when they were children at no fault of their own.

"I hope that in his State of the Union address, Donald Trump will finally acknowledge the real face of immigrants in this country — women and children fleeing violence, law-abiding, tax-paying people who would do almost anything to be Americans," Watson Coleman said.

"And if he can’t, I’ve invited Victorina so that he may look her in her eyes to tell his lies to a familiar face."

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

• Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada railed against the US Department of Energy for what he described as "unacceptable deception," after the agency transported a half-ton of weapons-grade plutonium to Nevada, allegedly without the state's consent.
• The plutonium was shipped from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina in order to comply with a federal court order in the state, according to a National Nuclear Security Administration official cited in a Las Vegas Review-Journal report.
• Sisolak said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that he did not know how the plutonium was transported or the route the Energy Department took to get to Nevada: "They provided us with no information in that regard."
• Sisolak said he is "exploring" several options for the plutonium, which was taken to the Nevada National Security Site. The state filed a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to prevent future shipments.

Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada railed against the Department of Energy for what he described as "unacceptable deception," after the agency transported a half-ton of weapons-grade plutonium to Nevada, allegedly without the state's consent.

"I am beyond outraged by this completely unacceptable deception from [The Department of Energy]," Sisolak said in a statement. "The Department led the State of Nevada to believe that they were engaging in good-faith negotiations with us regarding a potential shipment of weapons-grade plutonium, only to reveal that those negotiations were a sham all along."

"They lied to the State of Nevada, misled a federal court, and jeopardized the safety of Nevada’s families and environment," Sisolak said.

During a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Sisolak said he did not know how the plutonium was transported or the route the Energy Department took to get to Nevada. "They provided us with no information in that regard," he said.

Sisolak said he would look into several options for the plutonium, which had been taken to the Nevada National Security Site.

"To put the health and the well-being of millions of people at risk ... without giving us the opportunity to prepare in case there would have been a mishap along the way, was irresponsible and reckless on behalf of the department," Sisolak said.

In a court filing, the Energy Department reportedly revealed it had completed the shipment of plutonium, but declined to provide specifics due to security reasons. It noted that the transfer was completed before November 2018, prior to an injunction the state had filed during negotiations.

The plutonium was shipped from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina in order to comply with a federal court order in the state, according to a National Nuclear Security Administration official cited in a Las Vegas Review-Journal report.

The National Nuclear Security Administration, the federal agency responsible for nuclear applications in the US military, claimed the plutonium would only be temporarily stored in Nevada before being moved to another facility in New Mexico or elsewhere, The Review-Journal reported.

Lawmakers from Nevada sought an injunction and raised questions about the safety of transporting the nuclear material, including the impact it could have on the environment. The state also claimed the Energy Department failed to conduct a federally mandated study to assess the risks in transportation, and neglected to study alternative sites for depositing the plutonium, according to The Review-Journal.

Sisolak said the state filed a temporary restraining order on Wednesday to prevent future shipments, and that he was seeking retribution from the Energy Department.

Throughout 2018, state and the federal officials were in preliminary negotiations for the transportation of plutonium, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in the press conference.

In previous group emails, Nevada officials questioned the procedure and said their analysis indicated it was "insufficient ... to commence this transaction," according to Ford.

On October 30, Nevada officials met with Energy Department officials in Washington, DC, to "express the concerns regarding this proposal," Ford said. In November, the state also sent a request to the Energy Department for specific commitments and timelines.

"Now, this is all the while ... they had already shipped some plutonium," Ford said. "We're having good-faith discussions and negotiations ... but they had already shipped this plutonium."

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The transportation of nuclear waste is traditionally kept under close guard due to safety concerns. The Office of Secure Transportation within the Energy Department reportedly contracts hundreds of couriers to transport radioactive material using truck convoys.

SEE ALSO: The FBI has closed its investigation of the Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds more. Here's exactly how the nation's worst modern gun massacre unfolded

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NOW WATCH: MSNBC host Chris Hayes thinks President Trump's stance on China is 'not at all crazy'

In an increasingly digitized world, brick-and-mortar retailers are facing immense pressure to understand and accommodate their customers’ changing needs, including at the point of sale (POS). 

More than two years after the EMV liability shift in October 2015, most large merchants globally have upgraded their payment systems. And beyond upgrading to meet new standards, many major retailers are adopting full-feature, “smart” devices — and supplementing them with valuable tools and services — to help them better engage customers and build loyalty.

But POS solutions aren’t “one size fits all.” Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) don't usually have the same capabilities as larger merchants, which often have the resources and funds to adopt robust solutions or develop them in-house. That's where app marketplaces come in: POS app marketplaces are platforms, typically deployed by POS providers, where developers can host third-party business apps that offer back-office services, like accounting and inventory, and customer-retention tools, like loyalty programs and coupons.

SMBs' growing needs present a huge opportunity for POS terminal providers, software providers, and resellers. The US counts roughly 8 million SMBs, or 99.7% of all businesses. Until now, constraints such as time and budget have made it difficult for SMBs to implement value-added services that meet their unique needs. But app marketplaces enable providers to cater to SMBs with specialized solutions. 

App marketplaces also alleviate some of the issues associated with the overcrowded payments space. Relatively new players that have effectively leveraged the rise of the digital economy, like mPOS firm Square, are increasingly encroaching on the payments industry, putting pricing pressure on payment hardware and service giants. This has diminished client loyalty as merchants seek out the most affordable solution, and it's resulted in lost revenue for providers. However, app marketplaces can be used as tools not only to build client loyalty, but also as a revenue booster — Verifone, for instance, charges developers 30% of net revenue for each installed app and a distribution fee for each free app.

In this report, Business Insider Intelligence looks at the drivers of POS app marketplaces and the legacy and challenger firms that are supplying them. The report also highlights the strategies these providers are employing, and the ways that they can capitalize on the emergence of this new market. Finally, it looks to the future of POS app marketplaces, and how they may evolve moving forward.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• SMBs are a massive force in the US, which makes understanding their needs a necessity for POS terminal providers, software providers, and resellers — the US counts roughly 8 million SMBs, or 99.7% of all businesses.
• The entrance of new challengers into the payment space has put pricing pressure on the entire industry, forcing all of the players in the industry to find new solutions to keep customers loyal while also gaining a new revenue source.
• Major firms in the industry, like Verifone and Ingenico, have turned to value-added services, specifically app marketplaces, to not only build loyalty but also giving them a new revenue source — Verifone charges developers 30% of net revenue for each installed app and a distribution fee for each free app.
• According to a recent survey by Intuit, 68% of SMBs stated that they use an average of four apps to run their businesses. As developers flock to the space to grab a piece of the pie, it's likely that increased competition will lead to robust, revenue-generating marketplaces.
• And there are plenty of opportunities to build out app marketplace capabilities, such as in-person training, to further engage with users — 66% of app users would hire someone to train and educate them on which apps are right for their businesses. 

In full, the report:

• Identifies the factors that have changed how SMBs are choosing payment providers.  
• Discusses why firms in the payments industry have started to introduce app marketplaces over the last four years.
• Analyzes some of the most popular app marketplaces in the industry and identifies the strengths of each.
• Breaks down the concerns merchants have relating to app marketplaces, and discusses how providers can solve these issues.
• Explores what app marketplace providers will have to do going forward in order to avoid being outperformed in an industry that's becoming increasingly saturated. 

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence. Current subscribers can read the report here.

As streaming becomes an increasingly mainstream behavior among consumers, the video industry has produced new combinations of streaming video programming services to prepare for the progressive overhaul in how media is distributed.

These streaming bundles have emerged in response to the problems of media fragmentation, cord-cutting, and high consumer costs. Declining usage of traditional TV across every demographic, particularly among young viewers, has also demanded new solutions to the traditional distribution model that is pay-TV.

Although streaming media bundles are still evolving, four distinct models have emerged:

• Skinny bundles — Cheaper, streaming versions of the traditional pay-TV bundle, but with fewer channels.
• SVOD aggregators — Facilitate a la carte sign-ups to third-party streaming services through a central user portal. The primary example so far is Amazon Channels, Amazon's SVOD partner program. 
• SVOD integrations — SVOD services like Netflix that bring their offerings to a traditional operator's service.
• Streaming service partnerships — Combine one or more streaming services under a single offering, at a lower cost than the total price separately.

In the SVOD Bundling Report, Business Insider Intelligence examines the state of the US video ecosystem and how media companies are refining their distribution strategies to meet the changing needs of consumers. The report situates each of the four bundle model types within the overall SVOD market, and investigates the overarching advantages and challenges each faces. Finally, we predict how player dynamics might transform and adapt, outlining best practices for providers to succeed within the new TV landscape.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• SVOD bundles partake in a growing SVOD market in the US. Business Insider Intelligence estimates that the SVOD market totals $13.6 billion in 2018, primarily driven by uptake on services from SVOD giants Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. 
• Streaming video accessed on over-the-top (OTT) platforms is going mainstream, while consumers — particularly younger viewers — are reducing usage on live, linear TV. Traditional TV usage among viewers ages 18-24 has dropped 48% since 2011, 35% among 25-34 year olds, and 18% in the 35-49 demographic. 
• Skinny bundle services are growing in popularity, with 7.2 million subscribers in the US, but they suffer fundamental financial sustainability problems. 
• Distributors with at-scale platforms and powerful back-end tech can capitalize on the growing consumer demand for content consolidation among consumers. Faced with a fragmented and expanding universe of content options, more than two-thirds of consumers say they would prefer to get all their services from a single source, per Hub Entertainment Research. 
• Winners in the bundling shakeout will have prioritized internet-connected tech, an effective user experience, reasonable pricing, and content diversity. 

In full, the report:

• Identifies the four SVOD model types that have emerged as alternatives or supplements to traditional distribution.
• Investigates the top advantages and challenges of each model type.
• Outlines strategies that players across media and distribution companies can use to address business or market challenges.
• Explores how the dynamics of each model type will evolve as services converge under new bundled offerings.

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