(Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
Here are five technology things that happened in the past week and how they’re impacting your business. Did you miss them?
1 – WhatsApp has a new standalone Windows version.
Windows users of WhatsApp can now enjoy the application by using their phone or even having their phone available. The company has released a new app that is available in the Windows Store. (Source: The edge).
Why this is important for your business:
This is a big one for me because my company has quite a number of customers and others in our community who use WhatsApp (I also have relatives abroad where WhatsApp is extremely popular). Until now, all calls went through my phone. But using the application directly from my laptop will definitely save time and allow me to better integrate these conversations with my CRM. Download now….!
2 – Small businesses outperform large businesses with the “buy now” button via e-commerce.
A recent study has shown that the new ‘buy now’ button for small and large businesses has been proven to help customers save time when shopping online. In addition, 85 percent of small business owners in the survey prefer this option, compared to just 71 percent of larger business owners. This may be because many small businesses use large payment companies such as PayPal at their online checkouts (Source: PYMNT).
Why this is important for your business:
According to the research, small sellers are more likely to offer one-click checkout with the buy button to increase conversions because it’s actually the most frictionless way to complete a sale. The study found that using buy buttons saves consumers 148 million hours per year during online checkout. The upside is that if you don’t have a “buy now” button on your ecommerce site, you’re lagging behind the trend.
3 – Microsoft makes collaboration worksheets easier to use with their new “@mentions” feature.
Microsoft has received numerous complaints about how difficult it is to create a collaboration worksheet, so they added this new “@mentions” feature to make spreadsheets easier to use. This feature allows users to tag their colleagues so that they can edit, view, or clarify a specific section. These tags can be located both inside and outside the network. These entries can also be added to the Microsoft workbook. This feature is expected to be available to users in October 2022, with only desktop Excel users being able to use the feature for now (Source: Tech Radar).
Why this is important for your business:
A much needed feature. Let’s see how everyone likes it in October.
4 – A Japanese supermarket chain is going to use robotic arms to replenish its shelves.
300 family market locations in cities in Japan will be equipped with AI-powered robotic arms to replenish the shelves. This is to relieve store staff and at the same time combat the labor shortage in Japan. According to teleexistence – a Japanese technology company – each robot unit can replace one to three hours of human work per day. Familymart pays the tech company a monthly fee to use the robots. US tech giants like Microsoft and Nvidia are in talks with Telexistence – a Japanese tech company – about the future of AI-powered bots. (Source: Seattle Times)
Why this is important for your business:
With fewer workers coming to work, companies around the world are compensating for investments in technology to replace them permanently. It’s a great opportunity for the robotics industry and a great way for companies to control their overheads while still delivering their products and services. As for the workers?
5 – Meta introduces AI and automation tools to help advertisers.
Advantage+, Meta’s most advanced AI and automation for advertisers, is a feature previously exclusive to high-end campaigns, but can now help advertisers get more out of their ad spend, even for just one ad. (Source: Search Engine Journal)
Why this is important for your business:
According to meta, small businesses can use this feature to create their own ads directly on Facebook. It also allows the creation of store ads for online and in-person retail. The feature creates a more targeted ad for the consumers who would be more likely to buy from that company. “Meta Advantage+ Shopping campaigns allow us to grow our business by automating our targeting and campaign creatives with less manual setup, freeing up time to focus on other areas of our business,” says one Meta company. “Following the first trial of Advantage+ Shopping campaigns earlier this year, we have allocated more of our budget to these ads as we have seen continued performance and lower CPA.”
