Tag Archives: Retail

How to Use Social Media to Boost In-Store Sales

Most retailers will have at the very least set up the main social media profiles. The problem is that not many people use their social media profiles effectively and they generally only update sporadically. This infographic from Colourfast will hopefully help as it looks at how retailers can use social media to boost in-store sales. The reality is that a well-managed social can help to drive your business forward so it really isn’t an area that should be ignored.

Communicating with your customers on social media has become just as important as over email or over the phone so it might be worth hiring a social media manager or at the very least have someone within the company who has experience with social media keeping them updated.

See the full infographic now to learn about how your store can use social media more effectively. Hopefully you will learn a few things from it.

Everything You Need to Know About Social Media Marketing for Retailers

Social media is a major part of today’s world. With Facebook recently announcing that over 2 billion people now have a Facebook profile, there simply is no way to ignore its existence. As a brick and mortar retailer with no online selling option, the lazy view would be that you don’t need a social media presence but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The likelihood is that a portion of the people in your store are likely using social media while in the store (perhaps creating a Snapchat story or an Instagram post) or else they used social media in advance of their visit to your store. Of course it is vital to note that social media requires effort and time and it’s difficult to see the tangible results for the effort you put in.

That’s why it is so important to be measured in your approach to social media and not invest a load of time recklessly creating various platforms. It’s not simply about creating the likes of a Facebook page for example because that page also needs to be maintained and populated and someone has to be assigned the responsibility of doing that. The guys over at Storetraffic have put together this infographic which details everything you need to know about social media to make a start for your brick and mortar store. Check the full details out below!

An open ICT Platform and Ecosystem is Reshaping Business  

 

New Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is slated to disrupt the hi-tech industry and impact many other industries. The future of ICT lies in its ability to enable developers to take advantage the new technologies like Cloud Computing, Big Data, Software Defined Network (SDN), Internet of Thing (IoT) and Mobile Broadband to innovate their products and improve enterprise agility, efficiency and work in a more collaborative environment.

This revolution will only be possible when developers leverage the open platform and ecosystem to build their own solutions and realize their innovations under these technologies.

An ICT ecosystem is a business network that’s aligned among ICT vendor and solution partners to help enterprises work in an efficient manner. The business-driven ecosystem is lead by the enterprises who define their needs and look to solution providers to supply the relevant resources to enable their success.

Take supermarket shopping as an example. In the current system, the supermarket owners attempts to meet the needs of the consumer, often tweaking the solution without a clear vision or focus. The future will bring a personalized consumption model, in which customers choose products, identify purchase and delivery methods, and in real time their optimized shopping experience will be enhanced for future purchases.

Elion Resources Group in China is already testing this model out. The company uses the IoT technologies to bridge a connection between the farmer and the consumer, thereby fostering a collaborative environment that connects various relevant industries. In this new process, customers are transformed to active partners, allowing them to select the type of food that farmers should grow, allows them to track the growth of the produce, and allows the consumer to select the idea e-commerce platform and delivery service.

Similarly, banks are leveraging the new ICT ecosystem. Cloud computing allows omni-channel banking services, which manages customer data to reduce unnecessary steps in the banking process. Rather than going to an ATM or bank to withdraw cash, the connected consumer will be able to search for a vendor and process payments directly to the merchant. The streamlined process reduces any unnecessary steps and fosters direct communication between merchant and consumer.

The banking industry has always depended on data and security. With the new ICT, Big Data becomes an extremely powerful for the larger ecosystems that require responsive analysis of important data. It develops a variety of innovative services and improves the bank’s service accuracy, real-time performance and customer satisfaction. Banks such as the China Merchant Bank are benefiting from upgraded big data platforms, which can provide analysis of detailed queries and offer direct results. This increased accuracy enables a faster investigation of credit history and other important financial data and can provide accurate information in a matter of minutes.

In addition to showing the actual credit score, this data will highlight consumer patterns and behaviors to identify any risk factors. In China, the People’s Bank of China’s credit system uses data from other ecosystems and sources, including carriers and utility companies, to offer a complete overview of consumer behavior. The comprehensive data analysis enables the bank to look across systems and determine an accurate credit rating that is focused and responsive to specific customer trends.

Clearly, new ICT technologies are paving the way for new forms of cross system collaboration, agility and efficiency. This innovative approach is only possible when open ICT platforms and ecosystems are formed. Driving the New ICT technology forward is Huawei Enterprise Business. Their mission is to provide an open ICT platform and ecosystem where developers can benefit from building their solution using new ICT technologies. Once a specific industry has developed an application, it can be easily replicated and deployed on a global scale.

This new process is being accelerated by Huawei, who is working on driving innovation forward by creating strategic partnership with relevant companies. The ultimate goal of these strategic alliances is to develop an ecosystem that is sustainable and mutually beneficial to all partners. As the new ecosystem is formed, other industries including government and other complex enterprises will benefit from its success.

Apple Watch To Be Available For In-Store Purchase In Late June

Apple-Watch-stand

When the Apple Watch first gone on sale worldwide, it was only available to buy online. It’s true that potential customers could make appointments to try on the smartwatch at Apple Stores nearby, but the actual purchasing procedure was basically online.

Now the Cupertino giant announces that its legendary piece of wearable watch is finally set to arrive at retail. The official declaration is taking place about two months after the watch has been released online and the company is finally ready to begin selling some variants of the Apple Watch starting in two weeks from now.

Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of operations, says that “all orders placed through May, with the sole exception of Apple Watch 42 mm Space Black Stainless Steel with Space Black Link Bracelet, will ship to customers within two weeks. At that time, we’ll also begin selling some models in our Apple Retail Stores.” And adds that the company is “making great progress with the backlog of Apple Watch orders”

In addition to that, the Apple Watch is coming to seven more countries around the world, including Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan at the end of June. The watch will be offered both in Apple stores and online. Moreover, the company will also be spreading the smartwatch love via high-end fashion boutique retailers in places like Milan, Seoul and Singapore.

[Apple]

 

[Image Credit, Flickr, Shinya Suzuki]

Apple: 1.7 Million iPhone 4 Devices Sold So Far

The hottest news of the day: Apple is reporting that 1.7 million iphone 4 devices already sold in last three days, since official debut. That’s pretty impressive if you have a moment to think about it. And needless to say, a new world record. Apple’s CEO, Steve Jobs said:

“This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history. Even so, we apologize to those customers who were turned away because we did not have enough supply.”

Update1: Read the PR after the break.

Update2: At that note, the guys at iSuppli claim that Apple’s iPhone 4 costs somewhere around $188 to make.

Continue reading Apple: 1.7 Million iPhone 4 Devices Sold So Far

Best Buy Acquires Online Music Service Napster For $121M

Online digital music market is getting warmed up, as US retail giant, Best Buy, announces it will acquire Napser for an astonishing $121 million price tag. The transaction is set to be accomplished in Q4 of this year and we have no doubt it was carried out in order to try snatching a substantial share from iTunes’ market dominance. Napster allows its 708,000 subscribers to access an unlimited library of music or using the “Napster Mobile” platform, on their mobile phones, for a small monthly fee of $15. Having said that, the company has never turned a profit, during its long years of existence.

Best Buy president Brian Dunn confirms the company’s desire to expand Napster services and to use “Napster’s capabilities and digital subscriber base to reach new customers with an enhanced experience for exploring and selecting music and other digital entertainment products over an increasing array of devices.” Be sure it’s just the beginning and we expect more developments to take place in the near future. We do hope this move will increase the competition and at the end of the day, will be profitable for the consumers.

[via ZDNet]

Creative Zen 32GB Goes Live

                   creative-zen-32gb

Finally, after months of expectations, the new Zen 32GB is available for customers, incidentally on Xmas time. This credit card-sized player comes with 2.5″ screen and plays music, videos and photos.

specifications:

  • Display: 2.5″ TFT 16.7 million colors (320 x 240 pixels).
  • Audio: MP3, WMA, WAV, Audible 2/3/4.
  • Video: WMV9, transcode MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX and XviD.
  • Pictures: JPEG, transcode GIF, TIFF, PNG and BMP.
  • Features: SD slot card, FM radio, Voice recorder and more.
  • Battery Life: 30 hours audio, 5 hours video.
  • Size:3.26″ x 2.16″ x 0.44″.

Price: $349.99

[via engadget]