With Instagram’s new shop-in-chat feature, social commerce has entered a new dimension of convenience. Users can now connect directly with small businesses on Instagram’s platform to ask questions, get product details, and make purchases all without having to close their DMs. The feature already exists on WhatsApp, a different Meta-owned chat platform that is highly popular in other parts of the world. As a result, it was only a matter of time before Instagram brought the practice to mainstream U.S. users. Unsurprisingly, the checkout feature operates in-house via Meta Pay.
In other news, experts are viewing global supply chain woes with cautious optimism as capabilities slowly catch up with demand. A research report conducted by a group of Citi economists said: “Pressures in the global goods sectors, which have been a central driver of inflation, may finally be easing.” Moreover, China, the most important cog in the global transportation system, has just released data showing June was the country’s second best month for exports in the past two decades, after a strict COVID lockdown silenced many of the country’s ports.
However, the situation is still very fragile and can be easily disrupted by the slightest of hiccups. Just yesterday, we reported on burnout and overworking among the nation’s railyard workers. At the moment, Gene Seroka, the executive director of LA’s port, has reported that the port has a rail container backlog of 29,000 containers, or seven and a half days. Despite these lingering challenges Seroka went on to say that “even though some retailers have high inventories and may look to discount goods, I expect imports to remain strong — though tapered — versus last year.”
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