Después de una de las salidas más sonadas del mercado de Segundamano en México, se abrieron nuevas oportunidades para las empresas que acercan a los internautas para comprar y vender productos ...
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The Internet and eCommerce Newsfeed – November 17, 2024
Key News Highlights Across Internet
- GOOGL announces various updates to YouTube ads (LINK).
- META to reportedly start testing Threads ads in January (LINK).
- META to provide option for less personalized ads in Europe, announces other changes (LINK).
- FTC reportedly preparing to launch investigation into Microsoft Azure (LINK).
- NFLX surpasses 70m AVOD MAUs globally (LINK).
- OpenAI to reportedly launch AI agent in January (LINK).
- AMZN launches low-cost storefront ‘Haul’ (LINK).
- Taobao and Tmall Group announce robust GMV growth and record number of active buyers during 11.11 Shopping Festival (LINK).
- JD sees over 20% y/y growth in shoppers for during 11.11 Shopping Festival (LINK).
- Wonder to acquire GrubHub for $650m (LINK).
- BKNG now subject to DMA regulations (LINK).
Key News Highlights Across Internet
Online Advertising and Digital Media
- BIDU expands AI capabilities with new applications (LINK). At Baidu World 2024, BIDU announced several new AI applications including iRAG, a text-to-image generation technology designed to produce realistic visuals while also reducing hallucinations and cost of image production, as well as a no-code assistant to help developers more easily build apps. The company also highlighted that ERNIE now handles 1.5b user queries daily, up from 200m in April.
- GOOGL to stop serving political ads in EU before TTPA enters into force (LINK). GOOGL announced its intention to stop serving political ads through Google in the European Union before October 2025 when the EU’s Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) enters into force. The company also said that paid political promotions under the TTPA will no longer be allowed on YouTube.
- GOOGL launches Gemini app for iPhone (LINK). GOOGL has launched a Gemini app for the iPhone. This app contains standard Gemini chat features, but also provides iPhone users with access to Gemini Live, the company’s conversational voice chat offering that began to rollout on Android in mid-September.
- GOOGL announces various updates to YouTube ads (LINK). GOOGL announced various updates to YouTube ads across buying, ad formats, and measurement. One of the new controls allows advertisers to run Video View Campaigns exclusively within the Shorts feed, which was previously only available for Video Reach Campaigns. Additionally, the platform plans to introduce Stickers on Shorts ads, a new tappable ad format designed to be more interactive for users, expected to be available to all retailers by the end of this year.
- Google News exec departs, reportedly due to publisher concerns around web traffic (LINK). On Monday, media outlets reported that Shailesh Prakash, VP and General Manager of Google News, departed from the company. Media reports suggested that he resigned due to concerns from publishers regarding how GOOGL drives search traffic and the impact of AI on search results.
- META ordered to pay ~€798m fine by EC, expected to appeal (LINK). The European Commission delivered a statement, saying that META must pay an approximately €798m fine regarding what the commission views as a violation of antitrust rules, stemming from the company tying its Facebook Marketplace to the Facebook platform itself, and conditions imposed on other online classified ads service providers. META intends to appeal the decision, though said it will comply and work on a solution to address the European Commission’s ruling.
- Judge declares META must go to trial regarding Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions (LINK). A judge denied META’s motion to end the FTC’s antitrust suit against the company regarding the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and as a result, will now have to go to trial. The suit, which was initially filed in 2020, alleges that the acquisitions of these platforms adversely impacted the competitive landscape. A trial date has not been set yet.
- META to reportedly start testing Threads ads in January (LINK). META will reportedly introduce ads to the Threads platform in 2025. According to media reports, the company will start testing ads on Threads among a small number of advertisers beginning in January.
- META to provide option for less personalized ads in Europe, announces other changes (LINK).META announced that, in the coming weeks, EU users will be able to opt into less personalized ads in their social media feeds, and that the company will be lowering the price of its ad-free subscription offerings in the region by 40%. For less personalized ads, the company will use contextual targeting rather than user data. META noted that the changes come in response to requests from EU regulators.
- MGNI announces advertising partnership with TCL (LINK). On Tuesday, MGNI announced an advertising partnership with the consumer electronics company, TCL. As part of this agreement, TCL will utilize MGNI’s ad server, SpringServe, as well as the company’s SSP, to help TCL improve its own ad business by enabling additional ad formats and providing buyers with better quality data.
- ROKU launches Max on The Roku Channel (LINK). On Wednesday, ROKU announced that Max is now available on The Roku Channel. Max will be available to all Roku users at $9.99 per month for the ad-supported plan or $16.99 per month for the ad-free plan.
- ZG promotes Jun Choo to COO (LINK). ZG announced the promotion of Jun Choo to COO. Jun Choo joined the company in 2015, and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Real Estate Software prior to his promotion.
- FTC reportedly preparing to launch investigation into Microsoft Azure (LINK). The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly preparing to launch an investigation into Microsoft Azure regarding alleged anti-competitive practices designed to prevent customers from switching cloud services. According to media reports, the regulator is looking into practices such as substantially higher subscription fees for customers who plan to leave, expensive exit fees, and the incompatibility of Office 365 products with other cloud providers.
- NFLX surpasses 70m AVOD MAUs globally (LINK). NFLX announced on Tuesday that its AVOD tier has surpassed 70m MAUs globally, up from 40m since the company’s last update in May. NFLX also noted that over 50% of new sign ups in ad-supported countries are now for the AVOD offering.
- OpenAI to reportedly launch AI agent in January (LINK). OpenAI reportedly plans to launch an AI agent, called “Operator,” in preview in January. According to media reports, the AI agent will be able to control computers and complete actions without human guidance. This comes as GOOGL is reportedly also working on an AI agent and Anthropic recently launched a computer use function in beta.
- Mahmoud Reza Banki becomes X’s CFO (LINK). Mahmoud Reza Banki has joined X as the company’s CFO. Prior to taking this position, Banki spent six years at Tubi, where he served as CFO and Chief Strategy Officer.
eCommerce
- AMZN to shut down Amazon Fresh delivery service in Germany (LINK). AMZN plans to shut down its Amazon Fresh grocery delivery service in Germany, which is the company’s second largest market. Media reports suggested that the company intends to increase its focus on partnerships with other grocers rather than on its own delivery service.
- AMZN launches low-cost storefront ‘Haul’ (LINK). AMZN has launched a beta for a low-cost storefront called “Haul,” which media reports suggest is being launched in response to growing competition from Temu and other low-priced eCommerce players. The company intends to offer low prices on items shipped directly from China, though with slower shipping times and stricter return policies than the core marketplace.
- AMZN to shut down Freevee streaming platform (LINK). AMZN plans to shut down its free ad-supported streaming platform, Freevee, in the coming weeks. The company plans to move all of the platform’s content into Prime Video to consolidate its video offering around the Prime Video brand.
- Taobao and Tmall Group announce robust GMV growth and record number of active buyers during 11.11 Shopping Festival (LINK). Taobao and Tmall Group announced robust GMV growth, as well as a record number of active buyers during this year’s 11.11 Shopping Festival. The platform shared that 589 brands exceeded ¥100m in GMV in this year’s sale, compared to 402 brands that exceeded this threshold last year.
- JD sees over 20% y/y growth in shoppers for during 11.11 Shopping Festival (LINK). JD announced that it saw more than 20% y/y growth in shoppers during this year’s 11.11 Shopping Festival. Additionally, the company reported that over 17k brands had transaction volume grow over 5x from last year, and that more than 30k small and medium-sized merchants saw transaction volume triple.
- Wonder to acquire GrubHub for $650m (LINK). On Wednesday, Wonder announced that it would be acquiring GrubHub from Just Eat Takeaway for $650m, and that the acquisition is expected to close in 1Q25. Wonder expects the acquisition to make delivery from its food halls more easily available to consumers.
Online Travel & Ridesharing
- BKNG now subject to DMA regulations (LINK). On Thursday, the European Commission stated that BKNG will now have to comply with DMA regulations, given that six months have passed since the company was designated as a gatekeeper. BKNG has submitted a report to the EC detailing how it is complying with the law, which the commission will now review.
- BKNG undergoing organizational review, evaluating potential cut jobs at Booking.com (LINK).BKNG is potentially considering cutting jobs as a part of a review of its organizational structure for Booking.com. The company is in the early stages of the review process, and these potential job cuts would not affect the company’s other brands.
- Waymo now available to everyone in Los Angeles (LINK). Waymo announced that is making its robotaxis available to everyone in Los Angeles, accessible through the Waymo One app. The company went live in LA in March but prior to this announcement, had only been serving a select waitlist of customers.