Got a minute? Check out our quick update on what's happening in the industry.

Facebook
Facebook recently published a report on how people use social tools in the purchasing process. It surveyed the top 5 reasons why people use Facebook while in a store. The answers included:

1. Browsed because I was bored
2. Communicated about a topic not related to shopping
3. Read product reviews
4. Compared prices
5. Shared photos/videos taken in the store

The report noted the increasing amount of time that people spend browsing on mobile devices, even during in-store shopping experiences.

Our Take:

• The fact that people are on their mobile devices while in a store reinforces the importance of providing an engaging experience for consumers, both in-person and online.
• The reasons why people open their Facebook app while in-store is interesting -- particularly #1. The fact that most people are browsing the platform because they're bored means there's an opportunity for brands to pique consumers' interests with engaging and relevant content as they're browsing.

Instagram
Instagram and GIPHY have partnered together to offer new ways for users to spice up their Stories. Users can now add GIFs to their images and videos on the platform. The GIFs are custom-made for the app with transparent backgrounds so they can be applied to any part of your photo. In addition, Instagram is rolling out the ability to upload photos and videos of any size and dimension - square, portrait or landscape - to your Story.

Our Take:

• The addition of GIFs in Stories is a fun, eye-catching way to add a little flair to your Stories. Most notably, it's a feature that Instagram's rival, Snapchat, does not have which could further boost the popularity of Stories over Snapchat.
• The ability to add photos and videos in their original dimensions is a great move for Stories since this has been a much-requested feature by users. We like that it gives users more creative and presentation options that previously weren't available on the app.

Snapchat
Snapcaht has updated their app to remove the white border that used to appear around older content when posted from your camera roll. Originally, the white border differentiated older content from content that had just been posted, but now all posts appear full-screen sans border.  This change seems to be another way in shich Snapchat is moving away from its focus on immediacy and disappearing content and, instead, competing with similar interfaces on Facebook and Instagram.

Our Take:

• While this may be a shift away from Snapchat's original appeal, we can't help but think it's a good move - especially for brands who want a little more flexibility in the content they can share.
• Reports still show that Snapchat is leading the way in terms of teen usage, so new capabilities within the app is great for brands who are trying to reach that target demographic.

Twitter
Twitter also made adjustments to their image presentation by improving their cropping process. Previously, any photo included in a tweet were automatically cropped into a preview image to improve display consistency, but there were several flaws with the system. Twitter users are surely familiar with the frustration of posting a photo, only to have the platform crop it to focus on the wrong area. Twitter says their new system will use neural networks to predict the most interesting part of the image to show. 

Our Take:

• This is a change that marketers have been waiting for! Nothing is more frustrating than spending time creating a graphic, only to have it presented badly. 
• It is a small improvement but one that can go a long way when it comes to presenting your brand in the best possible way on Twitter.