Wednesday One Thing with Maury & Hamza

If you can't find a job, create one. That's the thinking of Gen Z’ers who are hustling to secure their post-covid futures 💸 On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Maury & Hamza ft. special guest Vas, talk about todays teens and young adults utilizing the digital world to make some extra cash through eCommerce stores, freelancing and joining the gig economy. This pandemic has unleashed a wave of entrepreneurialism. But how long will it last? Listen to hear our thoughts.

Dogecoin, CryptoKitties, what’s next? Introducing NBA Top Shot Collectibles On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Maury & Hamza talk about NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and NBA's rise within the industry with their digital trading cards that are collectible "moments" from NBA games. Will the concept of digital collectibles revolutionize the eCommerce industry? Listen to hear our thoughts.

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza & Maury talk about Amazon acquiring Selz, an Australian Shopify competitor that’s in the business of helping SMB merchants start their own e-commerce platforms. As competition heats up, how does this play out for Amazon and Shopify? Listen to hear our thoughts.

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza & Maury talk about how Shopify launches their Shop Pay payments feature on Instagram and Facebook...aka more ways to buy from your favourite shops 🛍️ But how does this affect D2C brands and their relationships with their customers? Have a listen to hear our thoughts. Read more here: https://www.modernretail.co/startups/facebooks-shop-pay-partnership-takes-direct-aim-at-dtc-startups/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza & Maury talk about Uber acquiring Drizly also known as the "Amazon for Liquor" for $1.1 billion dollars. With their pandemic-related plummet Uber decides to expand its portfolio to alcohol but is Uber on its way to becoming a monopoly? Have a listen to hear our thoughts. Read more here:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-02/uber-to-buy-alcohol-delivery-startup-drizly-for-1-1-billion

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza & Maury talk about Apple's new iOS 14 update and how that will affect facebook advertisers and their marketing efforts. Apple's new update will prohibit certain data collection unless users give permission to opt in. So what does this mean for advertisers? Have a listen to hear our thoughts. Read more here: https://www.modernretail.co/platforms/how-apples-ios14-update-will-impact-e-commerce-companies/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing with Maury and Hamza they're discussing how DTC companies are adapting to dry January. Have a listen to how e-commerce companies are pivoting to healthier food trends in 2021 and the rising trend of non-alcoholic beverages. Read more: https://www.modernretail.co/startups/how-mocktail-brands-are-capitalizing-on-dry-january/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza & Maury talk about 2021 predictions for eCommerce. Last year, eCommerce saw unprecedented growth in 5 months that is typically seen in 5 years, and DTC startups were the big winners. So what does this mean for 2021? Was last year's growth inflated or will we see a continued rise in eCommerce numbers? Have a listen to hear our thoughts.

We've officially come full circle. The days of the Home Shopping Network may feel long gone, but there's a new form of shopping that's taking China by storm - and its making its way to North America.  On this week's Wednesday One Thing, Maury and Hamza are joined by our Growth Manager, Liam, to discuss "Shopatainment", or streaming eCommerce. Combining the two addictive behaviours of livestreaming and online shopping, this channel has already brought in over $130 billion in sales, up from $60 billion in 2019. Have a listen to learn about the big winners in this space and what we can expect to see from Shopatainment in 2021.  Read more:  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-09-14/what-is-livestream-shopping-it-s-the-future-of-u-s-e-commerce https://napkinmath.substack.com/p/how-live-streaming-ecommerce-works

On this week's episode of #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza and Vasiliki are *delivering* everything you need to know about post-BFCM returns and eCommerce trends to expect for 2021. After the biggest Black Friday & Cyber Monday in history, how can smaller brands continue to build on this momentum and continue to compete alongside big-box retailers? Listen to find out.

On this week's segment of #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza, Vasiliki and Maury do a deep dive on the results of 2020's Black Friday Cyber Monday.  Due to the pandemic this year, consumers looked to shop online and as organizations urged to #ShopLocal, Clearbanc saw a 106% growth YTD for small businesses. On Friday, $9B+ was spent, up 21% from 2019. So what changed this year besides the obvious and what can online retailers do to keep this momentum? Tune in to find out.

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza and Maury talk all about holiday shipping. This year, shipping will define the winners and losers of this holiday season. Even if you have the perfect product, customers won't be able to experience it if you don't have a proper fulfillment plan in place. Now, brands have to focus on getting customers to buy earlier and ensure their packages arrive on time. So how can you prepare your eCommerce store for this busy time and avoid shipping headaches? Listen to find out. Read more: https://www.retaildive.com/news/delays-surcharges-and-returns-holiday-shipping-headaches-have-just-begun/588487/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, our lovely hosts Maury and Hamza talk all about Morning Brew's guide to referral programs. Have a listen to hear about the benefits of having a referral program in place, and the different types of referrals you can offer. Plus, discover what brands like Italic and Parade are doing to boost exclusivity and virality.  Read more: https://www.morningbrew.com/retail/stories/2020/10/26/build-referral-program-shoppers-will-actually-use-according-dtc-experts

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza and Maury look at the rise of entrepreneurship in America over the past year. The Economist recently reported a "once-in-a-generation surge" in startups, with the US government reporting the highest quarterly level of new business applications on record.  What does this entrepreneurship boom mean for eCommerce and traditional corporations? Have a listen and let us know your thoughts. Read more:  https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/10/10/the-number-of-new-businesses-in-america-is-booming

Spooky season is here.  On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Maury and Hamza dive into goMoxie and Retail Dive's study on cart abandonment. A recent survey shows that 62% of shoppers that struggle with their purchase will simply abandon their cart. If that doesn't scare you as a business owner, it should. Have a listen to hear new findings about consumer behaviour and how you can simplify your purchasing journey to avoid cart abandonment.  Read more about the study here: https://www.retaildive.com/news/study-62-of-shoppers-that-struggle-to-complete-purchases-abandon-their-ca/586749/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza, Maury, and Vasiliki talk all about Amazon Prime Day and their predictions for this year's holiday shopping season.    Have a listen to learn about:  why this year's Prime Day is different how other retailers including Walmart and Target are competing with Prime Day  what eCommerce brands can do to take advantage of the huge shift to online shopping  how traditional Black Friday is over Read more:  Prime Day: https://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-sets-october-prime-day-dates-after-months-long-delay/585973/ Target: https://www.retaildive.com/news/target-is-throwing-its-own-sale-party-on-amazons-prime-day/586042/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Maury and Hamza take a look at the changing trends in the fashion industry. Have a listen to learn about: Rent the Runway's discontinuation of their clothing rental platform, and what this means for high fashion How premium basics from brands like Kotn are differentiating themselves amongst competitors How Walmart is diversifying even further with their new fashion line, Free Assembly Read more: Office clothing brands face a bleak future where nobody goes to offices With new fashion line, Walmart’s private label apparel strategy emerges

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza and Vasiliki take a look at Amazon's live-streaming video platform: Amazon Live. Have a listen to learn more about how sellers and influencers are using these informercial style streams to promote their product (and why you may want to give it a try). Read more: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/355642

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza and Maury look at PayPal's new installment program. With Pay in 4, shoppers can make purchases over four interest-free payments. What does this mean for merchants and how will this help with eCommerce's continued growth? Read more:  https://www.retaildive.com/news/paypal-introduces-pay-in-4-installment-payment-service/584575/

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing, Maury and special guest Vasiliki dive into TikTok's latest venture into eCommerce: a partnership with Teespring allowing TikTok influencers to create and sell their own merchandise directly on the app.  Find out what this partnership means for TikTok and how social media influencers are benefiting from eCommerce.   Learn more here.

On this week’s #WednesdayOneThing, Hamza and Maury give us the deets on how the beauty and skincare industries have been affected by the pandemic. Plus, makeup brands with brick-and-mortar stores are shifting online - is this the right move? Read more:  Does makeup have a place in the pandemic?

On this week's #WednesdayOneThing episode, our hosts Maury and Hamza share everything you need to know about BuzzFeed and Bonsai's new eCommerce partnership. Listen to their hot takes on their new DTC model, and learn more here: BuzzFeed goes DTC with content-driven eCommerce deal BuzzFeed Taps Bonsai to Drive Revenue through Content-driven Commerce

Joined by one of our resident eCommerce experts, Vasiliki, our hosts Hamza and Maury dive into two flaming hot topics this week. First, Buy on Google announces they're going commission-free. What does this mean for founders and competitors? Second, how has COVID-19 impacted digital transformation for mid-market companies? Have a listen, and read more about the topics: Buy on Google Digital Transformation for Mid-Sized Companies

This week for #WednesdayOneThing, our hosts Maury and Hamza share all about Instagram's new eCommerce hub: Instagram Shop. Have a listen to learn about this new launch and how Instagram differentiates themselves from Facebook & Shopify. Read more: Instagram Shop launches with Facebook Pay at checkout Instagram Shop: Discover and Buy Products You Love, All In One Place

For our #WednesdayOneThing series, we will have hosts, Maury & Hamza, to keep you in the know with a weekly podcast on one interesting current event in the industry. This week, they're looking at Walmart's announcement of their new subscription service and what this means for Amazon Prime. Read more: Walmart+

This week for #WednesdayOneThing, Maury goes in detail on hardware acquisitions in DTC companies, namely Lululemon's acquisition of "Mirror" and Google's acquisition of AR glasses "North".  And the hot takes for this week? eCommerce platform Elliot's shutdown :(, Kanye West x Gap and India's ban on TikTok amidst political turmoil.  Read more: Lululemon buys "Mirror" Google buys "North" Elliot's Shutdown Kanye West x Gap India bans TikTok

For our #WednesdayOneThing series, we will have hosts, Maury & Hamza to keep you in the know with a weekly podcast on one interesting current event in the industry. Today, the main topic is the partnership between Shopify and Walmart and what this means for merchants. BONUS! Maury & Hamza will also cover 3 additional stories: Hey's incident with Apple on the App Store, eCommerce spikes 93% in May, and our portfolio company truLOCAL's launch of the Equal Opportunity Grant. Learn more: Shopify x Walmart Hey vs Apple eCommerce May Data Tru Local Equity Grant

Major brands have boycotted the use of Facebook ads this week... This week for Clearbanc's #WednesdayOneThing, we have Associates Hamza & Maury lead the discussion on the recent boycotting of Facebook ads. Additional topics for this week are: 1. Spotify's development of in-app ads for podcasts. 2. Shoppers in the UK are feeling comfortable with visiting stores again as the economy reopens. Thoughts on the boycotting on Facebook ads? Good? Bad? Too complicated?