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Black Friday online buying hit record $70.9B: Black Friday online buying hit a record $9.8B in the US, and $70.9B globally. US sales were up by 7.5% compared to last week, with drivers including the growth of flexible payment options. A record 79% of all shopping traffic was carried out on mobile handsets.

Other news

Snapchat Tests New Ad-Free Subscription Tier: Snapchat tests a new, more expensive Snapchat+ tier that will remove most ads for users in-app experiences. Snapchat notes that subscribers may still see sponsored ads and paid promotions within My AI responses, but Story and Lens ads will be removed.

TikTok’s conversational UI for custom feed: TikTok adds a new conversational UI to help users guide its algorithm. The new “Customize Feed” option within the For You page provides guidance on what users want to see more or less of in-stream.

Pepsi collaborates with Shaquille O’Neil: Pepsi teams up with Shaquille O’Neil for a new commercial to promote Pepsi Mini cans. For a chance to win a signed basketball O’Neal, consumers can share a photo of their favorite food and a Pepsi Mini can on social media.

Instagram enables Reels downloads: Instagram will now enable all users to download publicly posted Reels, after initially rolling out the option to U.S. users in June. Publicly posted Reels are downloadable by default; however creators can turn this feature off.