Volt lands white-label mortgage deal with AFG: The neobank’s partnership with the platform, which also includes an equity investment, continues its switch to Banking as a Service—and could grow its loan book before it builds out deposits.
On today's episode, we discuss how advertisers are adjusting as the pandemic eases in the US, whether Facebook Live Shopping can get off the ground, online shopping's deceleration, if faster delivery can really help retailers compete with Amazon, what to make of Snapchat's fourth-generation augmented reality glasses, and how much time we really have to enjoy life. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior analyst Sara M. Watson, analyst Daniel Keyes, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.
Mobile payments have proven their value during the pandemic as a way to limit our risk to exposure instead of paying with cash or card. Last year, per our estimates, smartphone usage in the US surged to an average of 182 minutes daily (from 154 minutes pre-pandemic), which extended to payments.
Visa invested an undisclosed amount into biometric authentication startup LoginID and Amex linked its fraud detection system with platforms from Accertify, Microsoft, and Riskified.
The customer experience landscape has changed dramatically over the last year as pandemic-induced lockdowns and social distancing pushed many consumers to try new technologies and experiences, such as click and collect, proximity payments, and augmented reality.
Discovery and consideration are in a different place than before the pandemic. With less access to in-person touchpoints, consumers started exploring technology like augmented reality for their shopping needs. Brands have since launched new experiences to cater to consumer demands, but preexisting implementations also saw upticks in usage.
Retailers lean into low stock: Some retailers are putting less merchandise in stores to improve margins by avoiding promotions and slowing transitions to new products.
Livestreams and NFTs: Shoppable livestreaming platform Ntwrk is moving into nonfungible transactions (NFTs) as it looks to broaden its digital commerce efforts.
The buy now, pay later firm saw record-breaking volume driven by significant US growth and is positioning itself to keep up this momentum through international expansion and new retail partnerships.
Google lays out tools to navigate its next phase: At its Marketing Livestream, the tech giant announced even more shoppable features, as well as a slew of more privacy-minded ad options.