2PM - Will Others Follow? 👀

View this email in your browser
2pm_email_heading.jpg
Okay, AI is accelerating fast. (No. 1,006). The most recent member letter was read by 45.1% of subscribers. The top links are listed below our partnership feature, one of the bright spots in retail SaaS

Executive Membership: It starts with a click here. You receive invaluable, carefully researched weekly data and analyses. Members receive one to two member letters weekly and access to our new NATSEC Meets Commerce dispatches - a fast-growing vertical with an international audience. 

2pm_email_heading.jpg

UPDATE: Since the beginning of this ad run, several DTC brands have replied to this letter to understand if they would be a good fit for a co-branded payment solution. Click through and see for yourself

2pm_email_heading.jpg

INTRO (🔓): Klarna is making waves again—but this time for something much bigger than installment payments. The Swedish fintech giant has boldly declared that artificial intelligence (AI) is not just an enhancement but the future. This assertion is not merely a marketing ploy; Klarna is actively reshaping its workforce and operations in line with its AI-driven ambitions. With a target to reduce its full-time workforce by more than 50%—from 5,000 to 2,000 employees—CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has made it clear that this shift is central to the company’s strategy for the future. But what does this mean for larger enterprise software companies, particularly in the eCommerce space?

Continue Reading: Lessons

Can AI really replace Salesforce and Workday?

Excerpt / The Information: "Spokespeople for Salesforce and Workday didn’t want to discuss the Klarna CEO’s comments, but executives at other clunky or traditional enterprise apps say they were built to handle the various tax, labor and accounting laws that companies—especially global ones—must follow. Bespoke apps generated by AI can’t easily incorporate those nuances, these people say."

OpenAI's new AI models that can 'think' are here

Excerpt / QZ: The ChatGPT maker is releasing the first of its models that can "reason" through more complex tasks and problems in science, coding, and math.

Re-read: Here is what I wrote on Artificial General Intelligence and its timeline in June. 

How AI could change online product search and discovery

Excerpt / BoF: "Kirsten Green, a founder and partner at Forerunner Ventures, a consumer-focused venture capital firm, argued in a talk in July that consumers today feel overburdened by the amount of information available to them and are prioritising technology that can sift through it for them, driving a shift in services from what she calls “access” to “edit.”"

2pm_email_heading.jpg

SUPPORTED POLL: At 2%, Klarna's advantages in the United States are slim. As Klarna aims further to integrate its BNPL services into the U.S. market and increase market share, it may face competition from Affirm, Afterpay, Sezzle, and Zip. Each has its own, co-branded physical card, but will they adopt Klarna's AI practices to better compete from a profitability standpoint? 

OnlyFans earned $6.6 billion, up 19% YOY

eCommerce / Fortune: The platform notes that cybersecurity concerns are “a top priority.” And being in the spotlight can be fun, but also sweltering. As public and media interest peaks in OnlyFans, the company resolves to “continue to develop its public and government relations strategy to address misconceptions” as stoked by coverage.

Temu now ranks as world's No. 2 eCom site

eCommerce / MPP: Two years after its launch, Temu overtook eBay to become the world's 2nd most visited e-commerce website.

TikTok's Chinese sibling emerges as fast-rising eCom player

eCommerce / SCMP: Douyin has been riding on its strength in videos to boost its e-commerce business. Live commerce, a mode of online shopping that lets users place orders while watching live streams, drew 3.8 billion daily views from August 2023 to July 2024, according to Doyin’s Wei.

The most-read links from the most recent member brief (No. 1,006):
 
🔺
 Gen Z moves on from ‘Googling
🔺 Memo: Active Listening Technology 
🔺 
The real problem with China’s economy
🔺 Hasbro Reports Optimism for Holiday Shopping Demand
🔺 The Top 100 GenAI Consumer Apps

Google: Digital IDs shift digital wallets beyond payments, passes

Excerpt: "Now, as they become more prevalent across end-users’ daily lives, gaining traction as a convenient and secure way to store and use things like event tickets, transit cards and loyalty programs, a new dimension of their utility is beginning to emerge: digital IDs."

Re-read: In August, I wrote "An Emerging Marketing Channel" about this very topic. 

There's no such thing as 'performance branding' marketing

Advertising / Excerpt: Brand marketing drives sales but performance doesn't build brand. Most marketers should separate the two, or they'll risk under-investing in long-term growth.

Folklore Shop relaunches, expanding support for global, independent brands

Marketplace / Excerpt: Founded in 2018, The Folklore has been at the forefront of merging a curation of independent brands with storytelling (hence the name) and fostering a global community.

Dollar General and Dollar Tree need a 'new playbook' to compete with Walmart and Target

Costs / Excerpt: “They need to make the necessary operational shifts, expand affordable and quality offerings, and enhance the customer experience both in-store and online,” Wells said. When they do, they need to “make consumers aware of their changes,” she said.

2pm_email_heading.jpg

Latest Update (September), presented by Bold Metrics. All brands are updated with the secondary interest poll. The eleventh update of 2024 sees some major movers:

2pm_email_heading.jpg

800+ Brands Measured

Online returns fraud finds a home on Telegram, costing billions

Logistics / Excerpt: "In one popular scheme, customers give the fraudsters their names, email addresses and order confirmation numbers for purchases made online. The fraudsters then go to a targeted retailer’s website and request a return label. They digitally manipulate the label to change the shipping address and apply the modified label to an empty envelope."

How overseas factories took over American eCommerce

Logistics / Excerpt: "Unsurprisingly, the players most frustrated by the shifting marketplace are U.S.–based importers—the companies that built a business on manufacturing in Asia and facilitating the sale stateside."

eCommerce fraud grows in scale and sophistication

Logistics / Excerpt: Other growing fraud trends detected by Signifyd include “fraud-as-a-service” operations through which fraud rings commit return and refund fraud on behalf of consumers for a cut of the profits.

2pm_email_heading.jpg

How ButcherBox "Built a $600M business while focused on impact" (Forbes Contributor). Rowing Blazers launched a collaboration with AfterPay and HBX (RetailDive). Here's how Allbirds avoids greenwashing (Fast Company)
The Executive Membership supports 2PM
We thank you for reading it. 
Copyright ©  2024. 2PM, LLC. All rights reserved.
High Street, Columbus, Ohio · USA
You can update preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

An Advertising Theory Confirmed

Friday, September 6, 2024

You weren't imagining it! View this email in your browser Active Listening Technology (No. 1005). The Tandym-sponsored Letter No. 1004 was read by 41.2% of subscribers. And thank you to this

An Emerging Marketing Channel 💳

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Today's Sections: Forecasted, Enterprise, Industry, Fascinating, and Alternative Credit Risk View this email in your browser Your Wallet (No. 1004). Thank you to this week's sponsor. As a

Snoop Dogg and $DTC

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

A Weekend Edition Featuring The Dogg Father. View this email in your browser Snoop Stove (No. 1002). Thank you to this week's sponsor. As a result of our partnership, we've published some new

The Anti-Zombie Brand

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

A new poll plus many other great resources... View this email in your browser Anti-Zombie Brand (No. 1001). We anonymized a top performing brand on the DTC Power List and explained how brands can

Letter No. 1,000: 2025-2029

Saturday, July 13, 2024

eCommerce: 2025 through 2029 View this email in your browser 2025-2029 (No. 1000). The industry's timing couldn't be better for this week's letter sponsor. New data suggests an eCommerce

You Might Also Like

💸 Weekend Update: AIO Ads Just Dropped

Sunday, October 6, 2024

The Weekend Update... ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

The SaaS Era of 2013-2022 is Over

Sunday, October 6, 2024

And the top SaaStr news of the week To view this email as a web page, click here The SaaS Era of 2013-2022 is Over. Welcome to The World of Hyperfunctional SaaS. So is AI taking over everything? Will

🌍 500m users, 75 languages, $12 billion dollars

Sunday, October 6, 2024

The rise, rise and rise some more of the world's most loveable language app. 🦜 ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The “boring” goldmine everyone's overlooking

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Make bank by ditching “exciting” for “boring”… View in browser ClickBank What if I told you the most exciting opportunity in e-commerce right now is... boring? Yes, you read that right. While everyone

Marketing Weekly #200

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Shifting to Customer-Centric Marketing Saved Our Product • This Is How I Get 5-Star Ratings From Every Client, and How You Can Too • Want to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed? Become a Content Minimalist. • How

Rate cuts can't fix PE valuation issues

Sunday, October 6, 2024

Plus: Sneak peeks of our Q3 PE and VC data, possible follow-ups to vetoed AI bill & more Don't want to receive these emails? Manage your subscription. Log in The Weekend Pitch October 6, 2024

The Profile: The CEO transforming GM & Gen Z’s economic adviser

Sunday, October 6, 2024

“I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said 'yes,' when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to somebody else.” ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Sunday Thinking

Sunday, October 6, 2024

"Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tiptoe if you must, but take the step." ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Brain Food: Seizing the Right Moments

Sunday, October 6, 2024

FS | BRAIN FOOD October 6, 2024 | #597 | read on fs.blog | Free Version Welcome to Sunday Brain Food, your signal in a world full of noise. Tiny Thoughts * 90 percent of success is not getting

🌱 This week in NatureTech #18

Sunday, October 6, 2024

[4-minute read] ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌