How did Sunday's Meta ad bug affect you?

Author

Stephen Babcock
April 24, 2023

The U.S. consumer is “holding up well,” Procter & Gamble execs said. After the Tide and Bounty maker increased prices 10% in the first quarter, executives said volumes performed better than expected, even as the number of products purchased declined 3%. Despite continued inflationary pressures, the company is seeking to continue to invest in product and packaging innovation, as well as increase efficiency in ad spend in 2023.

After months of last-ditch efforts to right the financial ship and regain inventory, Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy on Sunday. Plans are now in place to close stores across the Bed Bath and buybuy Baby chains. Now, we Monday morning quarterback what went wrong. The early postmortems point to a failure to fully capitalize on ecommerce and find a niche against growing competition from Amazon, Target and home goods-specific marketplaces. – NPR

Speaking of home goods marketplaces, Wayfair is opening up the 2023 deals event season with a spring blowout. Way Day arrives this week, with promises of up to 80% off on top brands. Wayfair is offering free shipping, and has a series of livestream events lined up for the two-day extravaganza.

Shopify is focusing on fintech through a partnership with B2B payments startup Melio. A new bill pay feature will allow merchants to manage finances directly through the platform, right alongside the tools to run an ecommerce store. In turn, the data provided will help Shopify unlock more revenue opportunities. – TechCrunch

Welcome to a new week. The coming days will offer a lot to learn about how the consumer economy is faring so far in 2023. The industry gathers in D.C. for ChargeX. Meanwhile, Amazon and many of the largest CPGs will release earnings for the first quarter, while the U.S. government files its initial look at GDP.

Tweet of the Day 🐦

How did Sunday's Meta ad bug affect you? The above tweet is in reference to a widely reported overspend issue on Meta ads platforms that sent many managers scrambling on Sunday. We want to hear about the impact it had on agencies, brands and retailers. Send a note to The Current Editor Stephen Babcock at [email protected] to share your story.

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