E-Commerce

Sea to Boost E-Commerce Investments; X Kills $100m Promoted Accounts Ad Business

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Sea plans to boost investments in its e-commerce business; X pulls the plug on its promoted accounts ad business; and Tencent to "drive innovation" after reporting growth throughout Q2 2023.

Sea to invest as e-commerce business grows

Southeast Asian tech giant Sea has indicated it will bolster investments in its core e-commerce business, which may result in some losses. Shopee, which contributes around two-thirds of Sea’s top-line growth, had seen some growth in Q2 2023. The almost 21% increase to USD$2.1bn (~£1.6bn), however, fell short of predictions.

X winds down promoted accounts business

Advertisers on X (FKA Twitter) will no longer have the option to promote their accounts within the site’s timeline to gain new followers. Promoted accounts – also referred to as “Follower Objective” ads – are one of the oldest ad formats offered on the platform and are reported to generate revenue of over USD$100m (~£78.6m). According to an email from X to advertisers, the move “comes as part of a larger effort to optimise the X experience by prioritising content formats.” 

Tencent eyes more growth following Q2 results

Tencent has reported revenue growth of 11% for Q2 2023, falling shy of expectations. The conglomerate also reported a 41% increase in profit, although the reported ¥26.6bn (~£2.8bn) fell short of Bloomberg’s consensus estimate of ¥32.2bn (~£3.4bn). Pony Ma Huateng, co-founder and chief executive of Tencent, indicated the tech giant would use its growth to “drive innovation” , placing emphasis on its planned use of generative AI.

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Fact of the Day

Online advertising – Tencent's fastest-growing segment in Q2 2023.

Source: South China Morning Post
Hannah Dillon

Hannah joined ExchangeWire as staff writer in 2022, having previously worked in marketing, communications, and social media. Hannah graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA in Drama and English Literature.

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