Shopify Secures the Bag

[00:00:01] It's Wednesday, November 13th. Today, Shopify reports massive revenue growth. Australians

[00:00:08] might soon find their social media rated 16+. Brands brace for a mobile shopping surge

[00:00:15] this holiday season, and a new Facebook chatbot may or may not be trying to send you to the

[00:00:20] ER. I'm Steph Gunn sitting in for Tod Maffin. That's ahead, today in Digital Marketing.

[00:00:27] Shopify's third quarter results was all about the comeback. The Canadian e-commerce company

[00:00:32] reported its Q3 results yesterday, with revenue growing more than 25% year-over-year to more

[00:00:38] than $2 billion, surpassing projections. Its free cash flow margin also climbed to nearly 20%,

[00:00:45] exceeding its previous quarterly forecast by approximately 3%. After unloading its unprofitable

[00:00:52] logistics division to freight company Flexport last year, Shopify's margins have steadily improved.

[00:00:58] This shift boosted free cash flow to $421 million, a 52% increase compared to last year.

[00:01:06] Quoting the information,

[00:01:07] The company, which generates revenue from payments and other merchant services as well as selling

[00:01:12] software subscriptions, said its gross profit margin dipped slightly as payments volumes grew

[00:01:18] during the quarter. Payments, the biggest source of Shopify's revenue, is lower margin than its software

[00:01:23] business, because Shopify pays some of what it charges merchants back out of its payments processors.

[00:01:29] End quote. Looking ahead, Shopify projects further revenue growth of 25% to 29% in the fourth quarter,

[00:01:36] sending its stock up more than 20% following the announcement.

[00:01:44] Scroll limits could be coming down under. Australia is pushing forward with new social media legislation,

[00:01:51] which could see users under 16 banned from using any social app. This week, Australia's Prime Minister

[00:01:57] announced the next stage of the social media restrictions. He said that young people are increasingly

[00:02:03] exposed to harmful portrayals of body image and behaviour online, which are having real-world effects.

[00:02:09] As a result, the government believes limiting social media is necessary.

[00:02:13] While the new laws are set to face a final vote this week, many details remain unclear. The Prime

[00:02:19] Minister acknowledged that the new restrictions won't entirely prevent young people from accessing

[00:02:24] social media, comparing the new age limits to alcohol restrictions, which some minors managed to

[00:02:29] bypass. The laws look to secure final approval soon, but challenges remain in enforcing these

[00:02:35] restrictions, given the multiple ways kids can still reach social media content online. The proposed policy

[00:02:43] places the responsibility on platforms to enforce age limits and implement systems to block underage users,

[00:02:50] though many social platforms already have age restrictions that are often bypassed by underage users.

[00:02:59] 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,

[00:03:25] Digiday reports today that optimizing the mobile shopping experience is critical.

[00:03:31] 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.

[00:03:44] 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.

[00:03:55] With products ranging from about $150 to $800, they're not impulse buys and require multiple touchpoints and retargeting, including product videos and micro-influencer partnerships.

[00:04:07] Another major challenge for brands is cart abandonment, which is higher on mobile than desktop, according to the report.

[00:04:14] To combat this, many brands are implementing strategies like sharing links to preloaded carts and faster checkout options.

[00:04:25] In the battle for former Twitter users, ex-rival BlueSky has had a big week.

[00:04:30] The short-form posting platform hit 15 million users today, fueled by a surge in sign-ups following the U.S. presidential election.

[00:04:38] A stat-tracking site created by BlueSky's developer using the platform's API shows a million new users joined in the last week.

[00:04:47] BlueSky's CEO recently told media that the majority of new users flocking to the platform have been from the U.S.

[00:04:53] The app is now currently at number one in the iOS app store, followed by Threads, ChatGPT, and the Google app.

[00:05:01] You can follow us on BlueSky at todayindigital.bsky.social.

[00:05:09] Amazon is pulling the plug on Freevi, its free ad-supported streaming service.

[00:05:15] Deadline reports that the service's content has already been moved to Prime Video.

[00:05:19] The service featured some original content like Jury Duty, and last year Amazon also added some Prime Video shows to the platform.

[00:05:27] The decision to phase out Freevi follows Amazon's move to introduce ads on Prime Video.

[00:05:32] A spokesperson for the company said that there will be no change to the content available for Prime members,

[00:05:37] while non-Prime viewers will still have access to a wide range of free content.

[00:05:41] Their Freevi brand will be phased out in the coming weeks.

[00:05:48] Google is looking to lure Microsoft PowerPoint users with a new set of professionally designed templates for Google Slides.

[00:05:56] The updated library includes templates for sales pitches, product roadmaps, lesson plans, book reports, workshop facilitation, and even team building games.

[00:06:06] The rollout of these new templates started last week, reaching users with both personal Gmail accounts and paid workspace tiers.

[00:06:13] The full rollout is expected by the end of the month.

[00:06:15] However, there is a catch.

[00:06:17] The templates are only available to those using the English United States language setting.

[00:06:25] A new AI chatbot named Fungifriend was added to a popular mushroom foraging Facebook group yesterday,

[00:06:32] and wasted no time sharing questionable advice.

[00:06:36] Meta recently started introducing AI chatbots into select groups, including character-based AIs like this one,

[00:06:43] which is personified as a bearded, psychedelic wizard.

[00:06:46] One member of the group asked the bot how to cook a potentially deadly mushroom.

[00:06:51] Fungifriend responded that it was edible, but rare, and suggested cooking it by sauteing it in butter,

[00:06:58] adding to soups or stews, or even pickling it.

[00:07:01] Remember, friends, the chances of being killed by AI are low, but not zero.

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[00:07:43] Thanks for listening.

[00:07:44] I'm Steph Gunn, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.