Shopify continues to expand its functionality for one-stop-shop appeal, and to broaden its addressable market of SMBs. The latest move in this effort comes Shopify Bill Pay, helping SMBs manage vendor payments.
You can now add Yelp to the growing list of companies integrating AI to boost its user experience. And like much of the AI advancement and excitement over the past few months, this involves conversational AI and large language models.
Conversational AI is all the buzz in tech & media circles. But unlike hype cycles without substance (we’re looking at you metaverse), AI is finding real traction. We examine the evidence.
The creator economy continues to emerge as a subset of the SMB universe. Instagram has recently advanced this segment with its creator marketplace API that lets creators and brands find each other.
Paypal has announced that it’s adding Apple Pay to its payment options for eCommerce-enabled SMBs. We dive into the details and strategic implications.
Web.com has launched a new SMB appointment scheduling tool. Known as MySchedulr, it streamlines the process of booking and managing appointments for appointment-based SMBs like home services and salons.
Location intelligence specialist Gravy Analytics is now one of the fastest-growing companies in the Americas. The Financial Times gave the company the nod (coming in at #332) in its 2023 list.
Amazon has announced that Panera Bread will integrate Amazon One. It will be the first food-based establishment to do so as it was previously used in grocery and event ticketing. We examine drivers and dynamics.
Adobe has launched Firefly, bringing generative AI to the Creative Cloud. The headline here is Adobe’s ability to scale generative AI by integrating it across the ubiquitous Creative Cloud – from Photoshop to Illustrator.
Though TikTok faces an uncertain future in the U.S., that’s not stopping it from rolling out new products. This week it launched a new platform designed for brands and SMBs to build and customize interactive lenses (or effects, as TikTok calls them).
Snap’s new AR Enterprise Services (ARES) launched today to empower consumer-facing companies to turn their products into interactive lenses. And they can do so in a hosted and supported SaaS product.
Yext this week has made another power move by launching a no-code page builder. This effectively deepens Yext’s presence in the website builder competitive space and makes its next move into adjacent features.
The latest AR commerce play has come to light from Denny’s. The chain restaurant has integrated an AR-powered menu that lets diners visualize dishes in 3D before ordering. This works towards a more informed customer and “craveability.”
We discussed SVB with Progress Partners’ David Arslanian this week. Prior to the episode dropping on Monday, we also got the chance to gather insights from Arslanian’s colleagues on the SVB fallout in the marketing world.
SoLoMo pioneer GoWalla is re-launching. And what better venue than its birthplace at SXSW. 14 years later, the product will contain a mix of its original formula, features to address today’s demand signals, and other learnings from its first run.
NextDoor has unveiled the latest phase of its product road map: free SMB marketing tools. Including event listings, user polls, video, and unlimited business posts, the multi-format suite is meant to appeal to a wide range of SMB personas.
Does presence on Yelp help or hurt SMBs’ customer acquisition and operational success? A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that establishing a Yelp presence leads to revenue boosts of 5 percent on average.
SOCi has announced that it raised $120 million to support and propel several orbiting and existing initiatives, including product development, mergers and acquisitions, and international expansion.
Toyota’s new AR campaign lets users activate their smartphone camera to drop a car model in their immediate space for a 360-degree virtual tour. That tour includes the exterior, interior, and “educational hotspots” anchored to various parts of the car.
Snap and Meta both announced AI-fueled chat features this week. For Meta, that takes place within WhatsApp and Messenger. For Snap, it involves a new chatbot altogether. We dive into both.
