Zuck mentions A Bad Apple In Q4 Call

eCommerce
Written By Rick Watson

Just off #Facebook Q4 2020 earnings call.

Recap

  • R&D spend up 34% y/y (how is this allocated!). Revenue up 22% in 2020.

  • Ad revenue up 31% in the US in Q4. Good marker for eCommerce.

  • Average revenue per ad up 5%. Ads getting more expensive.

  • 30 minutes of Mark Zuckerberg whining about Apple's iOS 14 tracking changes. Which they expect to hit late Q1 2021.

  • - Zuckerberg paints a target on Apple's back as their top competitor.

  • - Zuckerberg says their super-creepy targeting helps small businesses. Rah rah. No mention that the user should own all this data or alternatives to FB owning it.

  • - Not a lot of direct FB commerce updates (marketplace etc).

  • - Ad revenue headwinds with iOS14? They expect a user prompt for third-party data opt-out, with increasing impact throughout 2021 as adoption rises. How to mitigate? Not many ways. It affects everyone equally. (that doesn't mitigate it but I get what he means)

  • - AR/VR? Working on new hardware like AR glasses.

Rick Watson

Rick Watson founded RMW Commerce Consulting after spending 20+ years as a technology entrepreneur and operator exclusively in the eCommerce industry with companies like ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, Merchantry, and Pitney Bowes.

Watson’s work today is centered on supporting investors and management teams incubating and growing direct-to-consumer businesses. Most recently, in partnership with WHP Global, Rick was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a new turnkey direct to consumer digital e-commerce platform that powers AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com.

Watson also hosts a weekly podcast, Watson Weekly, where he shares an unbiased, unfiltered expert take on the retail sector’s biggest players.

In the past year alone, Rick has spoken at many in-person and virtual events as well as podcasts on topics ranging from retail/ecom to supply chain/logistics and even digital grocery including CommerceNext IRL, ASCM Connect, and Retail Innovation Conference.

https://www.rmwcommerce.com/
Previous

How Amazon Can Revolutionize The Supply Chain
Next

What I Expect From Amazon In 2021