FitBit is a pioneer in wearable technology. But the company has recently shifted its strategy amid competition from the Apple Watch, and as the wearable market has failed to really see mass adoption. Cheddar's Hope King and Brad Smith explore the company's performance using E*Trade's innovative platform.
Adult wearable technology users in the U.S. is expected to grow nearly 12 percent this year, according to eMarketer. In a survey conducted by Cheddar, 18 percent said they own a FitBit compared to 27 percent who've said they own an Apple Watch. 47 percent of those surveyed by Cheddar say they don't wear any wearable technology.
FitBit has had an up and down year, with shares ranging between $5 and $7 a share. Overall, shares are down 17 percent over the course of the past year. The company did introduce its first smartwatch in 2017, and is looking to directly compete against the Apple Watch at a similar price point. Shares also hit a 52-week high in December during the holiday shopping season.
FitBit reports fourth quarter earnings after the Closing Bell Monday. Analysts expect revenue of nearly $590 Million, and to break even in profit.
HSBC U.S. has entered the personal loans arms race through a partnership with the online lender Avant, in the decades-old institution's latest initiative to bring its business further into the digital-first present, level the playing field between banks and start-ups, and grow its domestic brand. Jeremy Balkin, head of innovation at HSBC's U.S. franchise, shared the bank's strategy with Cheddar.
When serial entrepreneur Samuel Ian Rosen topped his water bottle at an airport fill station and took a drink, it left a bad taste in his mouth. Rather than let the taste linger, Rosen founded water technology company Tap to ensure drinkers never fall prey to stale water ー or plastic bottles ー again.
The markets looked to recover losses for October in the last day of trading for the month. Facebook shares were making solid gains on the heels of its third-quarter earnings results. Revenue slowed but the company beat estimates on earnings per share. Plus, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, an Ecuadorian immigrant running to represent Florida's 26th district, tells Cheddar the changes she would make if elected to office. The midterms are just six days out.
In the fight to save broadcast from cord cutters and big tech, television streamer Locast has an ambitious plan: increase and improve the data available to traditional broadcasters. "What I'd like to be able to do is help broadcasters with their advertising, reaching the audiences that are online," Locast's chairman David Goodfriend told Cheddar Wednesday.
Deloitte Digital CMO Alicia Hatch told Cheddar that the exploding adoption of mobile devices will drive consumers to embrace the value of AR in more of their everyday lives. "We've been in a mobile world for a while, but the number of devices, and the ubiquity of them, will allow us to have fewer barriers to entry to actually be using AR and have it threaded through our lives."
Known for disrupting the "Big Mattress" industry as one of the original digitally native, direct-to-consumer brands, Casper is set to open 200 new brick-and-mortar locations around the world. It's part of what CMO Jeff Brooks says is a strategy to meet the consumer wherever they are, on their terms. (And it helps the company stand out in a crowded marketplace, too.)
An executive named in a damning report about sexual harassment at Google has resigned, Axios reported, as Google employees prepare to stage a walkout to protest the company's leadership ー or lack thereof ー on issues of alleged misconduct at the company.
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Apple showed some love to the MacBook Air and Mac Mini Tuesday. Reports ahead of the event anticipated the announcements, but that didn’t leave the crowd — made up of Apple employees, guests, partners, and media — any less enthused when C.E.O. Tim Cook and team finally got on stage. Cheddar's Hope King was in Brooklyn for the unveiling.
It's been nearly two weeks since Canada opened the retail market for recreational marijuana, and now it faces a shortage of supply across many of the retail operations in a number of provinces. "Given the robustness of the demand, suppliers clearly did have challenges getting the stores full and adequately supplied," Cowen Managing Director Vivien Azer told Cheddar's CannaBiz Tuesday.
