Contactless payments company Square has seen its clients' online sales jump since the coronavirus pandemic forced small businesses to adapt to social distancing and stay-at-home orders with new technology.
"Moving online became an absolute priority," said David Rusenko, head of e-commerce at Square.
The company not only signed up new clients but also found that existing clients began to rely on more of the fintech's offerings.
Touting his company's ecosystem for small businesses, which encompasses everything from payroll to online sales, Rusenko stated, "A lot of sellers were able to adopt Square's online store as their online ordering solution."
The ongoing crisis has also established the importance for businesses to have an online presence. According to Rusenko, "Everything completely changed, especially for small businesses who were hit extremely hard. It turned into survival mode." Rusenko also said that businesses expanding operations online has become a priority.
"It went from something people were sort of looking to do in the next few years and it really shortened that three-year adoption cycle down to three weeks."
Rusenko presented Macri's Bakery, a family-owned business in South Bend, Indiana that has been operating since 1978, as an example of a small business that was able to shift online when the pandemic hit.
"They were not selling online prior to the pandemic. They were very quickly able to leverage Square's online store to shift all of their sales online," he said. "They implemented grocery sales. They were receiving a huge amount of food from their supply chain and things that may have been difficult to find elsewhere."
"A restaurant used to be just a restaurant, and now people are really adapting and they're doing all kinds of things to weather through the times," he added.
The social video platform's future remains in doubt, as players scramble to profit from the chaos. Plus: Big oil gets bigger, DOGE downsizes, and tariffs!
Ty Young, CEO of Ty J. Young Wealth Management, joins Cheddar to discuss Trump's moves as he returns to Washington D.C. and how it may affect the U.S. economy.
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Chris Ruder, Spikeball Founder and CEO, explains how he and his friends put roundnet on the global map, plus, how Spikeball helps people "find their circle."
J.W. Roth, CEO of Venu Holding Corporation, discusses the company's IPO and plans to redefine live music entertainment with their fan founded, fan-owned model.
