By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 12th, 2024
Just as most businesses have slowed their advertisement rates based on the need to cut expenses, Meta Platforms has also done a lot to reduce its overall overhead costs.
American metaverse-focused tech giant, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) has seen its holiday sales come earlier than planned, signaling a shift in the overall consumer behavior in the United States. Speaking at the Reuters’ NEXT Conference, Nicola Mendelsohn, Meta Vice President of Global Business said the holiday season triggered early Black Friday sales for the company.
According to Mendelsohn, this year’s Black Friday sales are undoubtedly the biggest on record for the company, sending the current quarter’s potential revenue spree on a positive trajectory. As she posited, consumers were somewhat worried about supply shortages, a likelihood considering how erratic the global economy has been thus far this year.
She noted that this growth in demand created a need for targeted ads on the part of suppliers and business owners and Meta Platforms saw increased patronage from this class of clients. Mendelsohn noted that the company used its platforms to help business owners target the right customers across various regions.
“We’re seeing that there are more and more deals, and so we’re helping obviously to connect advertisers to be able to reach the people that matter to them,” she said.
The sales boost Meta Platforms is recording is bound to give the company a major revenue boom this year amid slowing advertisement deals as business owners slowed down spending on ads with rising inflation and higher interest rates. Should the company see the ad upsurge toward the end of the year, Meta Platforms may eventually beat analysts’ expectations per its revenue in both the top and bottom lines.
Meta Platforms’ Business and Reduced Headcount
Just as most businesses have slowed their advertisement rates based on the need to cut expenses, Meta Platforms has also done a lot to reduce its overall overhead costs. One of the ways it has done this is by laying off as many as 11,000 employees, or 13% of its global workforce.
Mendelsohn said her team was greatly affected by the lay-offs and that she has always done her bit to be supportive of the staff left on the company’s payroll. With more than half of those retrenched being staff in the business department, she said she often asks about how the team is feeling per the pressure at hand.
“Don’t see the whole thing as a big amorphous mess, kind of break it down,” she said she tells them.
Besides cutting some of its staffers, Meta Platforms has hinted at other innovative avenues to generate new revenue and sustain the business beyond this current economic climate. The company said it will introduce paid features across its family of apps including Facebook and Instagram.
The move, as reported by Coinspeaker at the time, was based on the adjustment to the privacy policies of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) which affected the advertisement patronage on its platforms.