Zuckerberg says WhatsApp business chat will drive sales sooner than metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc, told staff on Thursday that WhatsApp and Messenger would drive the company’s next wave of sales growth as he sought to allay fears about the company’s finances in the wake of its first round of mass layoffs.Information Guide Nigeria

Zuckerberg, responding to probing questions at a company-wide conference a week after Meta announced it would lay off 11,000 employees, described the pair of messaging applications as “quite early in monetising” compared to Facebook and Instagram, according to remarks heard by Reuters.

“We talk a lot about the very long-term opportunities like the metaverse, but the reality is that business messaging is probably going to be the next major pillar of our business as we work to monetize WhatsApp and Messenger more,” he said.

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Meta lets some consumers communicate and interact with retailers via chat apps, including a new feature unveiled in Brazil on Thursday.

The business did not immediately react to a request for comment on the internal forum held on Thursday.\

Zuckerberg’s remarks signal a shift in tone and emphasis after focusing extensively on extended reality hardware and software investments since last year’s announcement of a long-term goal to create an immersive metaverse. Investors have questioned the appropriateness of this choice as Meta’s primary advertising business has faltered this year, causing its stock price to decline by more than half.

In his address to staff, Zuckerberg minimized the company’s expenditures on Reality Labs, the division responsible for its investments in the metaverse.

People were Meta’s largest expense, followed by capital expenditures, the great majority of which supported its portfolio of social media applications, he said. Approximately 20% of Meta’s funding was allocated to Reality Labs.

Within Reality Labs, the unit was spending over half of its budget on augmented reality (AR), with smart glasses products continuing to emerge “over the next few years” and some “truly great” AR glasses later in the decade, Zuckerberg said.

“This is in some ways the most challenging work … but I also think it’s the most valuable potential part of the work over time,” he said.

Approximately 40% of Reality Labs’ budget was allocated to virtual reality, while 10% was allocated to futuristic social platforms such as Horizon, the company’s virtual world.

Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who leads Reality Labs, stated that augmented reality glasses must be more helpful than mobile phones in order to appeal to potential customers and reach a higher standard of desirability.

Bosworth stated that he was hesitant to explore “industrial applications” for the devices, calling them as “niche,” and that he wished to maintain his focus on designing for a large audience.JAMB Result

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