Salesforce acquires Slack for over $27 billion, Google releases December 2020 Core Update, Stripe announces Stripe Treasury, and more

On Tuesday, Salesforce announced that it will make the largest acquisition in its 21-year history. For just over $27 billion dollars, Salesforce is set to purchase Slack, making this one of the largest purchases ever for the software industry. Salesforce plans to buy Slack through a combination of cash and stock at about $45.86 per share. This deal values Slack at over 24-times the estimated revenue for next year. With this acquisition, Salesforce is beefing up its portfolio of enterprise applications in the hopes of further growth in both revenue and its broader software suite. This purchase will also position Salesforce as a stronger competitor against Microsoft, whose chat-service Teams competed as Slack’s biggest rival

.Google releases December 2020 Core Update

After seven months, Google has released a new core update, making the December 2020 update the third algorithm update released this year. This new update, according to Search Engine Land, began to roll out at 1 PM ET on December 3rd, and it will take roughly two weeks to fully roll out. While these updates are developed to make the search experience easier for users, these updates can impact the visibility of a large number of websites. Google has offered a list of things to consider and some advice on what to do if you are negatively impacted by a core update here.

Stripe announces Stripe Treasury

On Thursday, Fintech startup Stripe announced a new product: a banking-as-a-service API called Stripe Treasury. Stripe will expand its partnership with Shopify and Evolve Bank & Trust to build Shopify Balance, designed for indie businesses and entrepreneurs to allocate their finances in one location to better manage cash flow and business spend. Essentially, Shopify merchants can open a bank account through Stripe Treasury to pay bills or spend money directly in Shopify Balance without having to open a traditional bank account. This installation comes as the embedded finance trend gains traction. Stripe itself does not want to become a bank, but rather they will partner with banks, such as Goldman Sachs, to power Stripe Treasury. For now, Stripe is limited to United States customers, but they plan to roll out the service to other countries shortly.

Walmart drops shipping minimum to better compete with Amazon Prime

Starting Friday, December 4th, Walmart has removed the $35 free shipping minimum for its Walmart Plus service to compete with Amazon Prime in the upcoming holiday season. Walmart Plus shoppers will now receive free next-day and two-day shipping on items regardless of the size of the order. The $35 free shipping minimum used to be a sizeable drawback for the retail giant, but with this amendment, Walmart sets itself up to be a fierce e-commerce competitor against Amazon in the United States. “Customers have been clear — they want this benefit,” Walmart’s Chief Customer Officer Janey Whiteside said in a news release. “Being able to toss an item into your cart, regardless the total, and check out right away lets them knock little things off their to-do list in no time.” This move could prove not only beneficial to customers but third-party sellers as well with the rise in potential shoppers on Walmart Plus.