Lots of news this week in the eComm world. Join Manuel and David as they cover Facebook’s new Shops announcement, Shopify’s Reunite News and Joe Rogan’s huge move to Spotify.

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Facebook & Shopify are going to bring it to Amazon like no platform ever has.  There is now a serious competitor in town, and platform competition always benefits the merchants.

We read through the announcements and listened in to Mark Zuckerburg and Tobi Lutke’s call, here are the highlights: 

  • Shops will be US only for now.
  • Facebook Shops are live today, Instagram coming in the next few months, WhatsApp and Messenger coming down the road.
  • Directly integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and other platforms. Simply import your inventory database with a few clicks and everything will be synced.
  • Shops will be free forever (no 15% fee like Amazon), they just want to use them to grow ad revenue.
  • Facebook will store customer payment info allowing for 1-click checkouts and payments.
  • There will be a new “Shop” tab on Instagram where users can scroll through and discover new products and brands.
  • Brands can now sell products directly through Facebook and Instagram Live with one click.
  • Loyalty programs can be seamlessly added in, cutomers can see their points and rewards from Facebook & Instagram.
  • Once launched on all platforms it will be a unified experience. Ex: Add to cart on Instagram, ask a the brand a question through Messenger and buy within it it without having to go back to Instagram.
  • Open ecosystem for 3rd party apps, similar to Shopify.
Shopify news & updates:  
  •  Shopify Balance Debit Card: Shopify Balance is a merchant account with no fees and no minimum balances
  • Shop Pay Installments: Buy Now, Pay Later FeatureS
  • Shopify Launches Local Delivery
Spotify keeps growing: 
Joe Rogan exclusive contract, including all past library and video streaming.Food Delivery Wars: 
GrubHub, Uber Eats, Door Dash, Postmates: Who will survive and who will disappear?

What do you think?  Take a listen and let us know your thoughts.

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This episode is brought to you by MGR Agency. Scaling marketing for leading digital brands.

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