Ho, ho-hum

Hullo, it’s Alex in London. The online retail and ad markets are bracing for a potentially dour holiday season. But first...Three things you [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hullo, it’s [Alex](mailto:awebb25@bloomberg.net) in London. The online retail and ad markets are bracing for a potentially dour holiday season. But first... Three things you need to know today: • Google’s DeepMind [developed a weather-predicting AI]( • ICBC flew top executives to the [US to contain hack fallout]( • YouTube will require [generative AI disclosures]( Bleak Friday It’s nine days until Black Friday, and the message from Big Tech heading into the holiday season is unequivocal: people want deals. Even as the pace of inflation has slowed – [in the US, at least]( – consumers need that extra incentive to open their wallets over the Christmas period. “Consumer expectations are shifting, especially around price and convenience,” Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler told investors last month. “We've seen four times more deals queries during the holidays versus other periods. 75% of users say they'll shop with those offering free shipping.” It’s a similar story in Asia. Singles’ Day holds a comparable place in the Chinese calendar to Black Friday in the US, heralding a splurge in online spending. Popularized by the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and held on Nov. 11 (the digit 1 represents a single person, so 11/11 is a bunch of single people), Singles Day has since boomed into an almost month-long festival of consumerism adopted by many major e-commerce firms. The kinds of promotions that worked in the past don’t seem to have driven the spending spree platforms had hoped for this year, an indication that consumers seek more aggressive discounting. Alibaba and JD.com Inc., both of whom stopped releasing sales numbers for Singles Day during the pandemic, may even have [seen a slight drop]( this year. “Consumers are becoming more mature and rational as they go after high value for money,” the economist Ren Zeping said. Even Amazon.com Inc. intimated a [note of caution]( for its e-commerce business heading into the end of the year. It’s projecting sales of $160 billion to $167 billion in the quarter ending in December, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $166.6 billion. Which all goes to explain why sluggish growth in the advertising technology industry endures. Yes, Facebook (Meta Platforms Inc.) will grow revenue in the December quarter, but it’s still the company’s so-called Year of Efficiency that’s exciting investors, not stellar growth. Google (Alphabet Inc.) will grow more but then, it’s Google. Anyone who hopes to sell anything online needs to advertise on its properties. The mood elsewhere in the advertising industry remains dour: WPP Plc., the world’s largest advertising agency, cut its full-year [revenue expectations]( last month, with Chief Financial Officer Joanne Wilson citing “more cautious client spending patterns.” In other words, brands aren’t as willing to advertise – a reflection of their own straitened circumstances and those of their customers. People still appear to be focusing their spending on essentials rather than “nice-to-haves.” The big story Top VC firms are signing voluntary contracts to invest in AI startups responsibly, [following President Joe Biden’s executive order](. Get fully charged Google’s CEO testified in court that it’s “apples and oranges” to compare the company’s deals with Apple and Samsung because [one is a fierce competitor]( and another is a partner. Klarna’s former COO was forced to leave [one of Sweden’s largest online savings platforms]( after holding the post for less than a week. Southeast Asia’s biggest internet company, Sea, is losing money again after [competition from Alibaba and ByteDance intensified](. Telecommunications company Veon named former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the [board of its Ukrainian subsidiary](. More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech weeklies in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Q&AI]( for answers to all your questions about AI Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Tech Daily newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](