Coming off a record Q4, Walmart executives cited “aggressive” plans for e-commerce growth during a Thursday virtual investor event. CEO Doug McMillon noted it wasn’t the first place to go to buy products online, and the retailer “has to earn that” role: It requires the right assortment, price, service and on-time delivery, and “it takes some time to build those kinds of capabilities.” Revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $152.1 billion, up 7.3% from the year-ago quarter, the company reported (and see here). U.S. e-commerce sales jumped 69%. Revenue growth was below analyst expectations. “We know less than we typically do in a normal year,” Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs said, citing the economy, COVID-19, government stimulus and vaccines. The stock closed 6.5% lower at $137.66.
President Joe Biden should take executive action to impose a federal moratorium on face scanning and other forms of biometric technology, wrote the American Civil Liberties Union and more than 40 organizations Wednesday. He should block states and local governments from using federal funds on the technology and support legislation codifying a federal moratorium, the ACLU wrote with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amnesty International and others. The technology “disproportionately misidentifies people of color, women, trans people, and other marginalized groups, but its ability to track our movements across space and time would be dangerous even if it worked perfectly,” said ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane. The White House didn’t comment.
Stay-at-home orders sent U.S. consumer spending on PC gaming hardware and accessories skyrocketing 62% last year over 2019 to $4.5 billion, more than double the total 2017 sales, reported NPD Tuesday. PC gaming accessories revenue growth exceeded that of PC gaming hardware, 81% to 57%, it said. “Consumers looked for ways to stay entertained while spending more time at home,” said Stephen Baker, vice president-industry analysis. NPD forecasts 3% revenue growth for PC gaming hardware and accessories in 2021 to follow the “historic” 2020, he said. “We do not expect ongoing incremental dollar increases, but rather a plateauing of demand at these new elevated levels.”
Consumers use Google by choice, not because “they are forced to or because they cannot easily find alternative ways to search for information on the Internet,” Google argued (in Pacer) Monday in response to Colorado’s complaint at U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (see 2101290063). Google asked Judge Amit Mehta to dismiss the complaint and denied that its agreements with Apple, browser providers and mobile carriers are anti-competitive.
Facebook’s oversight board should permanently ban former President Donald Trump from the platform, advocates commented this week (see 2101280055). A permanent ban would “show others that this kind of hateful and harmful speech will not be tolerated on Facebook,” said Common Sense CEO Jim Steyer. Ending the ban would be “an invitation to violence, hate and disinformation that will cost lives and undermine democracy,” said Common Sense in an open letter to the board. Eight other advocacy groups commented with Common Sense on the case, questioning whether the board has “the authority to reinstate” the suspended account. The groups included the Anti-Defamation League, the Asian American Organizing Project, Free Press, MediaJustice and the National Hispanic Media Coalition. The board “must act in the public interest and prioritize the health and safety of our communities,” they wrote. “If the Board believes that Facebook’s insufficient protocols prevent it from affirming Trump’s suspension, then the Board should decline to resolve this matter until Facebook’s house is in order.” Access Now agreed with Trump’s removal but criticized the platform’s lack of transparency and “the uneven application of the company’s Terms of Service globally,” while drawing attention to “the platform’s powerful position in determining public discourse.” The most “important questions to ask are: How do platforms moderate content? And how do their rules regulate freedom of expression?" said Access Now Europe Policy Analyst Eliska Pirkova.
The U.S. should follow Australia’s example and require tech platforms to share revenue with local, independent news organizations, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote Thursday. The company endorsed the Australian proposal last week after Google said it would end search services in the country if the Australian Parliament approved the proposal. The U.S. “should not object to a creative Australian proposal that strengthens democracy by requiring tech companies to support a free press,” Smith said now. “It should copy it instead.”
Direct-to-consumer selling is a “highly influential” U.S. trend, up 24% last year to $17.8 billion, the National Retail Federation reported Wednesday. Google is one of the most important channels for reaching consumers online, as consumers move from "I found it on Google" to "I bought it on Google," NRF said. Mid-2020, 45% spent more time on Amazon, up from 39% when the pandemic was in early stages. Now, half of online shoppers rely on Amazon more than pre-pandemic, the association said. Facebook’s role in consumer shopping rose, with 34% of surveyed consumers saying they use it to research products. More than half of consumers say they bought more online due to seeing Facebook advertisements; 18% use the platform to make purchases.
Akamai experienced “continued high levels” of internet traffic in Q4 for over-the-top video services and downloads of e-gaming software, CEO Tom Leighton told a quarterly call Tuesday. The platform's traffic reached a record of 181 Tbps Nov. 10, 50% higher than any 2019 peak, he said. “As life returns to a more normalized pre-pandemic state, we do not expect to see our traffic on our platform decrease,” said Chief Financial Officer Ed McGowan. “The pandemic has accelerated consumer usage of the internet in areas like OTT video, gaming and e-commerce, and we believe this usage pattern will likely persist.” Akamai expects traffic to continue to grow in 2021 “at a rate more in line with pre-2020 historical levels,” he said. The stock closed 10.9% lower Wednesday at $105.10.
Qualcomm's 5G X65 modem includes Globalstar's band n53, Globalstar said Tuesday. It's "a significant milestone in our efforts to commercialize our spectrum in the U.S. and all other countries where we have or expect to obtain terrestrial authority," said Globalstar Vice President-Strategy Kyle Pickens.
T-Mobile wants “simple, streamlined rules” for the emergency broadband benefit program, it said in a call with an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “T-Mobile is uniquely positioned to help those in need because it is one of the largest Lifeline providers in the country and offers a variety of cost-effective pre- and post-paid broadband plans, including in-home broadband, that rival wireline offerings,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-445.