Twitter's CEO unveiled the social network's new logo; a white X on a black background, which will replace the familiar little blue bird.

In a tweet published this Monday morning, Linda Yaccarino expressed that "Here's the X! Let's do this.

The tweets or trills will also be replaced, according to platform owner Elon Musk, and the posts will be called "x's".

The billionaire entrepreneur changed the photo on his profile with the new logo and added "X.com" to his Twitter bio.

Musk plan is to create a "super app" called "X." It's his vision for a new kind of social networking platform that he's been mentioning for months. This “super apps” are a common thing in Asia and Musk sees them as the evolution of Twitter and a future global standard. 

Twitter super app

Elon’s so-called super-app will be something akin to China's WeChat. For now, there's no American or European equivalent to such an app, but industry experts imagine an app that encompasses basically anything a person wants to do online: from chatting, to geolocalization, to games, shopping, and even payments. 

Twitter already lets users engage in live audio conversations, send longer text messages and broadcast video, such as the new show former Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently launched on the platform. If Twitter's push into paid subscriptions is successful, it could eventually expand into sharing some subscription revenue with users.

"In theory, they can become a more mainstream version of Patreon or other similar platforms," Ahene said. "Whether they succeed remains to be seen. It's not the reason people go to Twitter today, so to reposition the company … would take significant investment and time with what's really a skeleton team."

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Canada’s adoption of a more restrictive threshold during its efforts last month to salvage a trilateral deal prompted Mexican negotiators to follow Canada’s lead, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday. The final version of the trade agreement will insulate retailers in both countries from facing greater competition from e-commerce companies like Amazon.com Inc and eBay Inc. The change was coming last-minute that it was not written into the agreement published last weekend. The new deal, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), was meant by U.S. President Donald Trump to create more jobs in the United States.

U.S. negotiators originally pushed Mexico and Canada to raise import limits to the U.S. level of $800 from current thresholds of $50 and C$20, respectively. Traditional retailers in Mexico opposed such a big hike, fearing online companies would sell cheaper imports from Asia through the United States. Even so, Mexico initially agreed in August to raise the threshold on customs duties and taxes to $100 in its bilateral deal with the United States.

The Retail Council of Canada said the deal will protect retailers against a “massive change in the competitive landscape.” Mexico decided to follow suit, Guajardo said, favoring local clothing, footwear and textile industries, as well as the finance ministry that collects duties and taxes.

The post Final tweaks in North American trade deal keep lid on e-commerce appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

“Pickup from Whole Foods Market is a perfect option for customers who want to grab healthy and organic groceries at their convenience,” said Stephenie Landry, Vice President of Prime Now, AmazonFresh and Amazon Restaurants. “Customers can order at 5:00 p.m., pick up at 5:30 p.m., and we’ll have their groceries loaded into their car just minutes after arrival. For an even faster experience, customers can tell us they are on their way using the Prime Now app and groceries will be ready as they arrive.” To use this service, Prime members place their order via the Prime Now app and choose the pickup option at checkout.

In addition to the grocery pickup service, American Prime members in dozens of cities can use the new grocery delivery service from Whole Foods Market.

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The collaboration between Rakuten and Walmart includes the launch of a new online grocery delivery service in Japan beginning in Q3 of 2018. Rakuten and Seiyu GK, a subsidiary of Walmart, have reached a basic agreement to establish a joint venture with the aim of launching a new online grocery delivery service in Japan, to be known as “Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper.” The new service is planned to be launched in the latter half of 2018. Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper will aim to increase fulfillment capacity, enrich the merchandise offering and improve convenience for the customer. The service will aim to increase capacity in 2018 with the establishment of a dedicated fulfillment center, in addition to offering deliveries from Seiyu stores. The service will include not only fresh produce and daily consumables but also a rich lineup of convenient items such as cut vegetables, partially-prepared foods, and ready-meal kits, as well as popular local gourmet products from merchants on the Rakuten Ichiba marketplace.

Additionally, the eBooks and audiobooks service will be formed with an exclusive alliance between the two companies enabling Walmart to begin selling eBooks and audiobooks as well as offer Rakuten Kobo eReaders in Walmart stores and online in the United States. This project will start later this year. All eBook content will be accessible through a Walmart/Kobo co-branded app available on all iOS and Android devices, a desktop app and Kobo e-Readers, which will also be sold at Walmart later this year.

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This turnover is 17.9% higher compared to last year. Adobe expects that American consumers will buy products worth 6,6 billion dollars during Cyber Monday. This would be 16.5% higher compared to last year.

Currently, it is unclear how many turnover has been realized in brick stores. A rise in sales is expected due to a more positive consumer confidence rate.

The post Online records on Black Friday appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

Up to a third of North American retailers accept PayPal. Within next year, more than half of all North American retailers plan to accept PayPal, according to the report. Apple Pay’s acceptance rate is predicted to approach 60% this year.

Apple will likely launch in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates in the coming month(s). Aside from these numbers, it is important to remind yourself that PayPal’s core field isn’t retail. It’s winning elsewhere as recent results display.

The post Apple Pay is leading in in-store retail in the USA appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.

May 25, 2017 – Los Angeles, CA – Newegg, the leading tech-focused e-retailer in North America and a growing force in global e-commerce, today unveiled details of its forthcoming Newegg Seller Day (June 15 from 10am until 6pm at The Crystal, One Siemens Brothers Way, Royal Victoria Docks, London, E16 1GB). Newegg will welcome aspiring and seasoned e-commerce sellers to this day-long event to equip them with the knowledge and tools necessary to take their businesses to the North American market and beyond. The event coincides with London Tech Week, which is expected to draw 40,000 attendees from 70+ countries.

“London Tech Week gives us the perfect platform to reach a diverse cross-section of e-commerce sellers from around the world,” said Danny Lee, CEO of Newegg. “Newegg Seller Day is a great opportunity for these businesses to embrace the concept of selling to customers in other parts of the world, and Newegg is the ideal partner to help them cross borders and expand their customer base.”

Newegg’s online retail platform has helped thousands of sellers expand their businesses into North America and other key markets. Newegg Seller Day is a free networking event for e-commerce sellers to learn about current cross-border and exporting opportunities, as well as trends driving the global e-commerce market. More than 200 UK/EU retailers and other brands are expected to attend.

Newegg Seller Day will feature a panel discussion at 3:25pm, Cross-border eCommerce Opportunities for UK Companies Looking to Maximize International Channels. Moderated by World First, the panel will feature e-commerce experts including Russ Shaw of Tech London Advocates and Pru Ashby of London & Partners. The panelists will share their experience and perspectives on cross-border e-commerce, offering a multi-faceted view into one of the most dynamic aspects of global e-commerce.

Retailers interested in attending Newegg Seller Day can learn more and register by visiting http://www.newegg.com/newegg-seller-day.

Like Newegg on Facebook and follow Newegg on Twitter to stay up to date on the company’s latest news.

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