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☆ PayPal Is Growing, but Not the Way It Used To
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PayPal’s changing focus is sending investors for a loop. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesPayPal beat its revenue growth target in the first quarter and raised its forecast for the year. But the changing focus of the company is still sending investors for a loop. The payments company’s growth, which slowed after a surge during the early stages of the pandemic, is now being fueled by a couple standouts. Another major other driver is interest rates, which help the company earn more on the cash that users leave in their PayPal and Venmo accounts.

☆ There's fierce competition in South Korea's e-commerce market, analyst says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThere's fierce competition in South Korea's e-commerce market, analyst saysBokyung Suh of Bernstein says there are 100 e-commerce players and 600,000 merchants providing "cheaper and cheaper deals."

☆ PayPal Is Growing, but Not the Way it Used To
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Telis Demos | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Macy's top retail media exec reveals the company's plan to use The Trade Desk to propel its surging $144 million ad business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Lauren Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Macy's has signed a deal with adtech firm The Trade Desk to sell targeted programmatic ads. Macy's data can also find people who are likely to be luxury shoppers and buy big-ticket products. Advertisers pay for those ads using their trade marketing budgets that brands spend in exchange for selling products at Macy's. That spend is typically handled by ad agencies that purchase ads using digital ad buying platforms like The Trade Desk. The Macy's deal is significant for The Trade Desk as well and shows how the adtech company is expanding its influence within retail media.

May 4 (Reuters) - Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO), posted a surprise first-quarter profit on Thursday and said it would lay off 20% of its workforce in a second round of mass job cuts, sending its U.S.-listed shares more than 18.7% higher in early trade. The layoffs announced on Thursday are expected to result in a severance charge of between $140 million and $150 million in the second quarter. "Combined with the reduction in force, management is showing its commitment to profitability which investors had been concerned about," Luria added. Adjusted profit was 1 cent per share, compared with expectations for a 4 cent loss. Reporting by Chavi Mehta and Akshita Toshniwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shopify divests logistics arm to Flexport in strategic reversal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Shopify Inc (SHOP.TO) has divested the logistics arm it built over the past few years, in a reversal of its strategy of aggressively investing in fulfillment networks, the Canadian e-commerce platform said on Thursday. Flexport was last valued at $8 billion in a $935 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz and MSD Partners in February 2022. The move to expand into logistics services was part of Shopify's ambition to support merchants selling on its platform with one-stop service. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein said the shift in strategy was a result of prioritizing product acceleration. San Francisco-based Flexport will expand into fulfillment and last-mile delivery through the deal as the official logistics partner for merchants on Shopify.

☆ Fintech Finix is now a payments processor. The startup's CEO details how it wants to upend the industry and take on industry giants like Fiserv and FIS.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Finix is now a payments processor, Insider has learned. The financial-technology startup is now a payments processor in addition to being a payments facilitator, Insider has learned. By becoming a payments processor, Finix is reducing the number of third-parties in a given transaction as it looks to compete against legacy processors such as Fiserv and FIS. As a processor, Finix can own yet another portion of the payments' lifecycle. And while a legacy processor can take up to 24 hours to test new code, Finix takes 30 minutes.

☆ Shopify tried to challenge Amazon in logistics. It never came within 100 miles. Was it all a waste?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Shopify is selling most of its logistics business to freight unicorn Flexport in an all stock deal. Though Shopify's logistics journey began in 2019 as Shopify Fulfillment Network, the current iteration is less than a year old, and investors had become wary of the level of investment that getting the outfit into competitive shape would take. The acquisition was previously considered key to Shopify's fulfillment ambitions, and its team has been involved in the company's efforts to develop fulfillment software. Derek Lossing, an Amazon Logistics alum-turned investment advisor with Cirrus Global Advisors, said an acquisition-driven strategy may have been the right course — especially when the alternative involved contracting with legacy logistics players, which can take months. To some, the question of whether Shopify's layover into logistics was a waste of talent, time, and resources, can't be answered until Flexport takes hold and Clark flexes the muscles he gained building Amazon Logistics.

☆ Shopify president says he has never 'felt more sure about the future of this company' in leaked internal audio shared after company conducts layoffs and sells its logistics business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In a two-minute video shared with Shopify employees Thursday morning, company president Harley Finkelstein reiterated his belief that the e-commerce firm is well-positioned for the future. In his video message to employees, Finkelstein said that difficult times are what define "the character of a company." "Making a series of popular decisions makes a popular company," he said. 6 River Systems, a warehouse automation and robotics company Shopify purchased in 2019 for $450 million, is being sold to the UK grocery firm Ocado for an undisclosed sum. Making a series of popular decisions makes a popular company.

☆ 10 Boxed Wines That Are Really Good, Seriously
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Eric Asimov | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

For many reasons, boxed wines make an enormous amount of sense. The bag-in-box method is a great way to package easygoing wines that are not intended for aging. It’s sort of a chicken-and-the-egg situation: Consumers have equated boxes with bad wine because for so long, with scattered exceptions, only bad wine was sold in boxes in the United States. And producers wouldn’t put better wines in boxes because they are aware of the fierce stigma. Motivated by the ecological advantages of bag-in-box packaging, a growing number of producers and merchants are opting to box good wine intended for immediate consumption rather than use glass bottles.

☆ Shopify to lay off 20% of workforce, revenue tops expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Known as the e-commerce platform for small businesses, Shopify had ramped up its order fulfillment network, when it expected the pandemic-led e-commerce boom to persist. But by mid-2022, it said it had over overestimated growth levels and laid off 10% of its workforce in July. Revenue was $1.51 billion in the quarter ended March 31, topping analysts' estimates of $1.43 billion, according to Refinitiv data. The company also posted a surprise adjusted profit of 1 cent per share, compared with expectations for a 4 cent loss. Reporting by Chavi Mehta and Akshita Toshniwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Shopify offloads logistics business to Flexport
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Shopify is selling its logistics unit to supply chain technology company Flexport, the companies announced Thursday. The sale marks a reversal for Shopify, which had spent years building out its own logistics and order-fulfillment operations. Shopify and Flexport are deepening their alliance as Shopify seeks to compete with e-commerce rivals such as Amazon and Walmart . Clark said in an interview that the acquisition will allow Flexport to scale the shipping capabilities it can offer for Shopify merchants, and other online businesses. Shopify will also retain its Shopify Fulfillment Network app where merchants manage their logistics process.

Bunge reaffirmed its full-year 2023 outlook of adjusted earnings of $11 per share, citing likely weaker results from its Agribusiness and Milling divisions but improved profits in its Refined and Specialty Oils unit. Bunge and other supply chain middlemen, including Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM.N) and Cargill Inc (CARG.UL), have generally benefited from strong global crop demand and tightening supplies, with record profits last year. The worst drought in decades has slashed grain and soy harvests in Argentina, depriving Bunge of the crops it needs to process. First-quarter adjusted profit in Bunge's Agribusiness unit, its largest in terms of revenue and volumes, dropped 18% on the year. Bunge said results were strong in all regions in its Refined and Specialty Oils division, with notable strength in North America and South America, reflecting favorable food and fuel demand trends.

Nordstrom plans to close its Nordstrom Rack store on Market Street and its mall department store at Westfield San Francisco Centre. Photo: Lea Suzuki/San Francisco Chronicle/Associated PressSAN FRANCISCO— Nordstrom is closing two stores near downtown San Francisco, including one in a prominent indoor shopping mall, the latest blow to the city’s retail landscape. The closures also reflect the challenges that merchants face in key business districts in large cities across the country, as they deal with rising operating costs, concerns about crime, and foot traffic remaining well below prepandemic levels.

☆ Shopify insiders and analysts are bracing for a strategy shift in the company's logistics business
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Madeline Stone | Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Insiders and analysts expect a major shakeup to Shopify's logistics strategy. "The fulfillment investment is sort of the biggest anchor that's keeping the business from being more profitable." That may be a welcome change for investors, who have been voicing increasing concern with the level of investment Shopify had planned. And Shopify Logistics CEO Aaron Brown told Insider in February that 6 River Systems' warehouse automation would be "the machine in the background making everything work." Weiss then asked if Shopify Logistics is intended to turn a profit.

☆ Fintech Finix just became a payments processor as the startup looks to compete with industry giants like Fiserv and FIS
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Since then, the combined net long hit an all-time high near 840,000 futures and options contracts in April 2022. In the July contracts, soybeans and soymeal fell 5%, corn and soyoil shed around 6% and CBOT wheat plunged 8%. The only period in which funds were more bearish toward CBOT wheat was between July 2016 and January 2018. ADDITIONAL PRESSUREThe downturn continued for corn and wheat futures between Wednesday and Friday, likely increasing bears’ recent momentum in the grains. Most-active CBOT wheat fell nearly 3% over the last three sessions and featured a dip on Friday to the lowest levels since July 2021.

☆ Adtech giant The Trade Desk strikes deal to solve one of marketers' biggest challenges in the $80 billion retail media space
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Trade Desk wants to take a bigger slice of the $80 billion retail media market. Adtech giant The Trade Desk has landed a partnership that aims to solve one of advertising's biggest challenges in the $80 billion retail media space: getting timely data on how their ads are driving sales across multiple retailer sites and stores. Attain, which will charge advertisers on a CPM, or cost-per-thousand-impressions basis, will offer The Trade Desk advertisers metrics including sales, return on ad spend, and conversion rates. The Trade Desk is the largest independent adtech firm, and the company's moves typically indicate where the industry is investing. The Trade Desk is set to release its latest earnings report on May 10.

MarriottThe Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card has increased its welcome bonus to 125,000 bonus Marriott Bonvoy Points after spending $5,000 in purchases within the first three months of card membership (offer ends 5/3/23). With an annual fee of $125, the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card is a little pricier than similar hotel credit cards. 6x Marriott Bonvoy Points on each dollar of eligible purchases at hotels participating in the Marriott Bonvoy® program. Awards can be used for one night (redemption level at or under 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy® points) at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy®. But even without the elevated welcome bonus offer, the Marriott Bonvoy Business Amex is well worth the annual fee.

☆ Sudanese fleeing north face arduous crossing into Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Maggie Michael | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A satellite view shows buses as they wait at the Argeen border between Egypt and Sudan, April 28, 2023. Her plight reflects that of thousands of others who have paid high prices to journey north to Egypt on buses and trucks, only to get stuck at crossings for days. He raced to Khartoum to pick up his mother, wife and four children and bring them to the border. 'MERCHANTS OF WAR'As numbers surged and fuel became scarce, prices of buses to Egypt rose to about $500 per person. An Egyptian border guard said staff were working around the clock to deal with the influx.

☆ You'll soon be able to see which restaurants jack up their prices on DoorDash
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The app will also designate restaurants that keep prices the same, Restaurant Business reported. Restaurants have tried to make delivery more profitable, but delivery services have pushed back. DoorDash is also adding a specification on its app when a restaurant's prices are the same through DoorDash and in-person, according to Restaurant Business. We understand that there may be many reasons why restaurants choose to raise their prices, but in our mission to improve the customer and merchant experience, we encourage restaurants to set prices on DoorDash that more closely reflect in-store menu prices." Restaurants have often raised prices on orders made through DoorDash and other delivery services to reclaim some of what they pay in commissions to these apps.

☆ What Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys ‘R’ Us and RadioShack have in common
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Staples is “a classic ‘category killer,’ like Toys R Us,” Mitt Romney, then Bain & Co.’s managing general partner, said in 1989. Another category killer fell this week, when Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy. Once the go-to stop for everything in customers’ homes, Bed Bath & Beyond was brought down by shopping changes, competition and its own missteps. Founded in 1971 as Bed ‘n Bath as a small linen and bath store, the company changed its name to Bed Bath & Beyond in 1987 to reflect its expanded merchandise selection and built larger superstores. It’s somewhat ironic that there is now nostalgia for Bed Bath & Beyond and other once dominant chains that drove mom-and-pops out of business.

Students with a limited credit history are unlikely to be approved for the best credit cards, and even some student credit cards require good to excellent credit. Step is a secured credit card that has a dynamic credit limit that is attached to the bank account balance -- it operates like a debit card but it is a credit card, which is what enables the unique credit building feature. Best Credit Cards for Students With No Credit of 2023Methodology: How we chose the best credit cards for students with no creditInsider's credit cards team looked at dozens of student credit cards, secured credit cards, and starter credit cards and narrowed down the list by choosing only those that students with limited or no credit have a good chance of qualifying for. Credit Cards for Students With No Credit Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)Which credit card is best for students with no credit? US Bank Altitude Go Secured Credit Card ReviewBest for Students Under 18Step Secured Visa CardWhile credit card accounts are only available to those aged 18 and over, the Step Secured Visa Card offers a solution for students looking to build credit who haven't yet reached legal adulthood.

☆ Fintech giants Klarna and Block slam 'outdated' UK buy now, pay later regulation proposals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Alex Marsh, Klarna's head of U.K., said the proposals would lead to lengthened application times and result in "disproportionate friction" for consumers. In a consultation paper published in February, the U.K. government suggested applying parts of existing regulation – namely, the Consumer Credit Act – to buy now, pay later plans. The currently unregulated buy now, pay later model would be supervised by the Financial Conduct Authority. Buy now, pay later loans allow shoppers to defer payment by a month or to split the cost of their purchases over a period of equal monthly instalments. Based on Klarna modelling, that could increase to five minutes under the new U.K. rules, Marsh said.

☆ New bipartisan Senate bill would push ticket sellers to disclose fees upfront
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNew bipartisan Senate bill would push ticket sellers to disclose fees upfrontSen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the details of Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act, which would require ticketing merchants to disclose upfront full ticket prices and more.

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