Ep. 16 of Localogy’s “This Week in Local” explores Adobe’s rollout of Firefly and Apple’s Pay later.
Big AI Move for Creators
This week’s first topic is Adobe’s rollout of Firefly, bringing generative AI to the Creative Cloud. The analysts wondered if AI would soon be in the driver’s seat for all content creation tools.
“This will become pervasive. It will be table stakes,” Mike said on the episode, referring to the integration of generative AI into creative suites like those offered by Adobe, Apple, Canva, and others.
“And whether it’s the monolithic Creative Cloud or just some of these standalone tools, I think it’s going to become a competitive necessity pretty soon for the creation of anything, whether it be video or podcasts.”
Really, Apple?
The second topic is Apple Pay Later. The hardware giant announced recently that it is finally rolling out its buy now, pay later offer after word leaked out nearly two years ago that the hardware and payments giant would partner with Goldman Sachs to launch a BNPL solution.
Apparently, it will still be a while before Apple Pay Later is widely available. For now, participation is by invitation only. The full rollout is still months away.
One question the analysts kicked around on this week’s episode is whether Apple really needs the reputation risk that comes with getting into the dicey BNPL business.
Buy now, pay later has become controversial for several reasons. The biggest among these is the perception that BNPL, which is a form of consumer debt, is contributing to a debt bubble, particularly among younger consumers. It has also come under fire as a shaky business model, as interest rates have climbed.
Mike asserted that Apple’s most likely motive for entering the BNPL arena is the same as it has for nearly everything it does. To sell more iPhones. The only other possible motive discussed was revenue diversification, a challenge all large companies face. Apple Pay Later, which will be embedded in Apple Wallet, is most likely a key part of Apple’s broader fintech strategy.
Still, Charles raised the question of whether Apple stands to lose more in reputational damage than it stands to gain in additional iPhone sales or other benefits.
“Buy Now pay later has become rather toxic. In fact, last week, we wrote about Klarna introducing Chat-GPT into its platform, basically to give shopping recommendations. Part of that write-up involved the way that they’re changing the language they use to describe themselves,” Charles said on the episode.
“In my mind, it’s always a signal that somebody realizes they have a PR problem. When they try to change the language. And the BNPL industry is trying to change the language. They are referring to themselves as ‘we’re an online bank’ or something like that. Instead of ‘We’re a buy now pay later platform,’ which is what they are. So Apple is wading into a toxic pool.”
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