PayPal's New AI Innovations Promise Seamless, Personalized eCommerce

PayPal is taking a major leap in eCommerce innovation with its latest pilot of AI-powered features. These updates focus on enhancing the user experience and streamlining transactions, reflecting PayPal's commitment to leveraging AI for better consumer and merchant experiences. All of these new experiences will begin rolling out in the United States throughout 2024.

During the PayPal First Look keynote, PayPal resident and CEO Alex Chriss introduced six major developments:

1. ???????????????????????? ????????????????: PayPal upgraded its checkout experience, using AI to remove friction points like password prompts and lagging response times.
2. ???????????????? ???? ????????????: one-click checkout experience that merchants can offer. It will remove the need for a username or password.
3. ?????????? ????????????????: giving customers AI-personalized recommendations from merchants to keep them coming back. The receipts also will let users track their purchases.
4. ???????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ????????????????: allowing merchants to provide relevant, personalised, real-time offers to consumers and drive more sales.
5. ????????????????: giving shoppers new ways to earn cashback with partners include Walmart, eBay and Ticketmaster.
6. ???????????????? ?????????? ???????????????? ????????????????: the change will help small businesses improve their discovery by adding subscribe options, profile rankings, and the ability to offer promotions in their profiles.

By leveraging its vast user base, PayPal endeavors to facilitate seamless transactions and provide valuable insights to both merchants and consumers. These innovative AI-powered updates from PayPal promise a more efficient, personalized, and engaging eCommerce experience for all users & merchants, both present and future.

Delivery Hero Sells Deliveroo Stake for ￡82M

In a big move, Delivery Hero has divested its stake in Deliveroo, marking a decisive step in its capital allocation strategy. The Berlin-based food delivery giant said it had sold around 68 million shares at ￡1.13 each, culminating in a deal worth approximately ￡82 million. This transaction not only demonstrates Delivery Hero's focus on disciplined financial management but also highlights the evolving dynamics within the food delivery sector, as companies navigate through consolidation and market adjustments post-pandemic.

The sale represents 4.5% of Deliveroo's total shares, with expectations for the deal to settle early February. This divestiture follows Delivery Hero's 2021 investment in Deliveroo, signaling a recalibration of its investment portfolio amid the industry's shifting landscape. The broader context includes Delivery Hero's operational restructuring and the food delivery market's response to challenging economic conditions, underscoring the importance of strategic flexibility in today's unpredictable environment.

As the food delivery industry consolidates, Delivery Hero's recent action may signal upcoming strategic shifts, prompting stakeholders and market observers to closely monitor its impact on competitive dynamics and operational strategies in the sector.

TikTok is Testing a Feature to Bring TikTok Shops Links to More Videos

TikTok is experimenting with a feature that has the ability to make all posts on the app shoppable. The move is part of the company’s plans to turn TikTok Shop into a multibillion-dollar eCommerce business in the United States. TikTok confirmed that the feature is currently in limited testing, but did not provide any further details. The new test feature automatically identifies items in videos and directs viewers to “find similar items on TikTok Shop.” In the past, only approved influencers and brands had the ability to tag products. The new feature would bring e-commerce links into more videos on the app.

The news comes as Bloomberg reported earlier this month that TikTok is looking to grow the size of its TikTok Shop U.S. business tenfold to as much as $17.5 billion this year. With this goal, TikTok would not only be looking to take on Amazon, but also fellow Chinese-owned companies Temu and Shein, both of which have become popular in the U.S. But, TikTok has something these other companies don’t, which is an extremely popular social media network that has the potential to reach millions of buyers. During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season in November, more than 5 million new U.S. customers purchased something via TikTok Shop. For context, the social media app currently has around 150 million users in the U.S.

TikTok Shop, which officially launched in the U.S. in September 2023, lets creators tag products to allow users to buy products from in-feed videos and live videos. The new feature would bring TikTok Shop links to regular content on the app, which may not be a welcome change for some. New data reveals that TikTok’s growth has started to slow, raising the question of whether the app’s TikTok Shop e-commerce efforts could be to blame. In 2022, TikTok’s monthly active users grew an average of 12% year-over-year per quarter, but this figure fell to 3% year-over-year per quarter in 2023. The slowdown comes on the heels of the launch of TikTok Shop in the U.S.

People have been debating online whether TikTok Shop has “ruined” the app, with some lamenting that TikTok Shop was turning the app into an “ad-filled wasteland.” In addition to bringing TikTok Shop links to more videos on the platform, TikTok is also exploring other ways to boost its eCommerce business. The Information reported today that TikTok is planning to open studios in Los Angeles where creators can livestream and sell products. Creators currently record promotional videos at their setups at home, but some of them will soon have the option to film and broadcast content from TikTok-operated studios.