Good morning, what are your summer plans? According to a Deloitte survey, 74% of Canadians aren’t travelling this summer to save money and 35% can’t even afford to travel. Here’s what’s up:

• WestJet is offering a cheaper fare, but carry-on isn’t included.

• Loblaws and Sobeys don’t want competition.

• Canva is taking design to the next level.

• TikTok announced new AI tools.

• And more biz-tech stuff.

TRAVEL

🎒 WestJet offering cheaper fares, but carry-on isn’t included

At this rate, we might soon be paying a fee to breathe on the plane.

What’s happening: WestJet is adopting a new pricing model, which keeps the base fares low and travellers can customize everything else as an add-on.

You want a seat? - pay for it.
You want to get your bags checked? - pay for it.
You want food on the plane? - pay for it.

But what’s the point? Canada doesn’t have a bunch of budget airlines like Europe. Since everything is going up in prices, Canadians are cutting back on travelling. WestJet plans to remove the cost barrier by adopting this new pricing model and offer more options for travellers.

RETAIL

🧐 Loblaws and Sobeys don’t want competition

Canada's Competition Bureau has initiated investigations into the parent companies of major grocery chains Loblaws and Sobeys for alleged anti-competitive practices. Sobeys' owner, Empire Co. Ltd., has labeled the inquiry "unlawful."

The Action:

• The House of Commons recommended the government to revise policies and strengthen competition law to tackle high profits and mergers in the food industry.

• Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is seeking to introduce a foreign grocer to enhance competition in the Canadian market.

What are grocers saying? The grocers argue they do not hold a dominant market position and that the use of property controls is standard across various sectors.

DESIGN

🎨 Canva takes design to the next level

Canva is revolutionizing the design industry. The $40 billion design empire just had their biggest event Canva Create.

Here are 5 new updates you NEED to know:

1. Magic Media: Text to Graphics to transform your words into beautiful graphics using AI

2. Magic Grab: Effortlessly select any element in your photo to move, reposition or resize.

3. Integrate apps: Connect your most-used apps like Asana, Monday, or Hubspot.

4. Course creation: Set up learning materials from onboarding to upskilling, assign them to your team, and track their progress.

5. Highlights: Instantly generate snappy clips from your footage when editing videos.

And so much more!

Canva is single handedly carrying the design game.

Check it out

APPS

📱TikTok announces new AI tools

TikTok wants to make content creation so easy that anyone would be able to create high quality content within minutes.

3 New AI tools TikTok released:

1. Symphony: an AI assistant for advertisers.

2. TikTok One: marketing hub with AI-powered feature to improve performance.

3. AI video generator: create a high quality video with a simple prompt.

The Big picture: As TikTok continues to fight its ban in the US, they are launching new products and business is booming. The recent release of TikTok shop feature has completely changed the E-commerce game. TikTok claims 61% of users have made a purchase on the app after seeing an ad.

• 👨🏼‍💼 New KPMG CEO of Canadian division.

• ✈️ Lynx Air is selling life jackets and oxygen mask to neutralize their losses.

PRODUCTIVITY

5 Tools to Boost Your Productivity

1. 🔥 Framer AI Generate a website in minutes from prompts.

2. 📆 Vimcal Calendar app on steroids. Assists users in scheduling and organizing events efficiently.

3. 🌀Descript A powerful all-in-one video and podcast editing tool using AI.

4. 📧 Superhuman The fastest email experience with AI-powered features.

5. ⚡️Copy AI Generate content, such as blog headlines, emails, and social media posts using AI.

FEEDBACK

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