by Tod Maffin and Steph Gunn
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Shopify’s Revenue Growth Hits Different
Shopify's third quarter was all about the comeback.
The Canadian e-commerce company reported its Q3 results yesterday, with revenue growing more than 25% year-over-year to $2.15 billion, surpassing projections.
Its free cash flow margin also climbed to nearly 20%, exceeding its previous quarterly forecast by approximately 3%.
What’s driving profits?
After unloading its unprofitable logistics division to freight company Flexport last year, Shopify’s margins have steadily improved. This shift boosted free cash flow to $421 million—a 52% increase compared to last year.
Q4 predictions
Looking ahead Shopify projects further revenue growth of 25-29% in the fourth quarter, sending its stock up more than 20% following the announcement.
Aussie Teens Face Social Lockdown
Scroll limits could be coming down under.
Australia is pushing forward with new social media legislation, which will see users under 16 banned from using any social app.
This week, Australia's Prime Minister announced the next stage of the social media restrictions.
Keeping kids off the grid
He said that young people are increasingly exposed to harmful portrayals of body image and behaviour online, which are having real-world effects. As a result, the government believes limiting social media access is necessary.
While the new laws are set to face a final vote this week, many details remain unclear. The Prime Minister acknowledged the new restrictions won’t entirely prevent young people from accessing social media, comparing the new age limits to alcohol restrictions, which some minors manage to bypass.
Enforcement hurdles remain
The laws look to secure final approval soon, but challenges remain in enforcing these restrictions, given the multiple ways kids can still reach social media content online.
The proposed policy places the responsibility on platforms to enforce age limits and implement systems to block underage users, though many social platforms already have age restrictions that are often bypassed by underage users.
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Holiday Sales Go Mobile-First
Brands are preparing for a mobile-first holiday season.
Adobe Analytics predicts mobile will account for more than half of all online holiday spending, with mobile spend already reaching a record $280.4 billion from January to July this year—a 10% year-over-year increase.
For companies like Therabody, which sees about 70% of its website traffic from mobile devices, Digiday reports today that optimizing the mobile shopping experience is critical.
Optimizing for mobile
Ahead of the holiday season, the wellness tech company introduced several updates, including quick-pay options at checkout and social media ads featuring minimal copy and product videos to grab shoppers' attention as they scroll.
One challenge for Therabody is that mobile users are often multitasking.
To reach these customers, the brand invested in social ad strategies designed to push consideration.
With products ranging from $150 to $800, they’re not impulse buys and require multiple touchpoints and retargeting, including product videos and micro-influencer partnerships.
Tackling cart abandonment
Another major challenge for brands is cart abandonment, which is higher on mobile than desktop, according to the report. To combat this, many brands are implementing strategies like sharing links to pre-loaded carts and faster checkout options.
Bluesky Hits 15 Million Users
In the battle for former Twitter users, X-rival Bluesky has had a big week.
The short-form posting platform hit 15 million users today, fueled by a surge in signups following the U.S. presidential election.
15M people on Bluesky!!! 💫
The Verge beat us to our own announcement — that's the beauty of an open network with public stats!
— bluesky (@bluesky)
4:17 PM • Nov 13, 2024
A stat-tracking site created by Bluesky's developer, using the platform’s API, shows a million new users joined in the last week.
Bluesky's COO recently told media that the “majority” of new users flocking to the platform have been from the U.S. The app is now currently at number one in the iOS app store, followed by Threads, ChatGPT, and the Google app.
You can follow us on Bluesky @todayindigital.bsky.social
RIP Freevee: Your Free Ride is Over
Amazon pulling the plug on Freevee, its free ad-supported streaming service. Deadline reports that the service’s content has already been moved to Prime Video.
The service featured some original content like Jury Duty and last year Amazon also added some Prime Video shows to the platform.
The decision to phase out Freevee follows Amazon’s move to introduce ads on Prime Video. A spokesperson for the company said that there will be no change to the content available for Prime members, while non-Prime viewers will still have access to a wide range of free content.
The Freevee brand will be phased out in the coming weeks.
Google Slides Ups Its Game
Google is looking to lure Microsoft PowerPoint users, with a new set of professionally designed templates for Google Slides.
Templates, templates for everyone
The updated library includes templates for sales pitches, product roadmaps, lesson plans, book reports, workshop facilitation, and even team building games.
Rollout in progress
The rollout of these new templates started last week, reaching users with both personal Gmail accounts and paid Workspace tiers. The full rollout is expected by the end of the month.
However, there's a catch: the templates are only available to those using the “English (United States)” language setting.
FungiFriend’s Guide to Foraging Your Way to the ER
A new AI chatbot, named “FungiFriend,” was added to a popular mushroom foraging Facebook group yesterday, and wasted no time sharing dangerously questionable advice.
Meta recently started introducing AI chatbots into select groups, including character-based AIs like this one, which is personified as a bearded, psychedelic wizard.
One member of the group asked the bot how to cook a potentially deadly mushroom. FungiFriend responded that it was “edible but rare,” and suggested cooking it by “sautéing in butter, adding to soups or stews,” or even pickling it.
Remember, friends… the chances of being killed by AI are low, but not zero.
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