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Category: Living

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Living news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Diesel price hikes

    Diesel price hikes

    Vietnam on Wednesday adjusted diesel price up while keeping gasoline prices unchanged for the second time in a row.

    Diesel went up 0.83% to VND18,170 ($0.77) per liter.

    Gasoline prices were kept stable at VND22,010 for RON95 and 20,870 for E5 RON92.

    Global prices in the last 10 days increased slight due to a reduced supply from OPEC+ countries, rising exports and production of Iran despite U.S.’s restrictions.

    RON92 price rose 0.2% to $88.09 per barrel, while RON95 went up 0.2% to $93.31.

    Diesel gained 1.7% to $91.71.

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  • Instagram enables download of public Reels in the US

    Instagram enables download of public Reels in the US

    Instagram introduced Reels in 2020, and since then, this feature’s popularity has grown, reaching over 2.35 billion monthly active users. Now, Instagram is rolling out a new feature for its users in the US.

    Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, announced on his broadcast channel that the company will allow users to download Reels to their camera roll. The process is simple: just tap the share button and select the download option.

    It’s important to note that only Reels from public accounts can be downloaded, and even if you have a public account, you can choose to turn off the Reel download option.

    Mosseri did not mention whether the downloaded Reels would have watermarks, but based on the picture he uploaded, it is safe to assume that downloaded Reels will indeed bear watermarks, much like they do right now.

    Currently, every Instagram user can download and share their own Reels on different platforms. However, with this new feature, users will also be able to share other people’s Reels on platforms like TikTok, for example.

    TikTok has had this feature for years, and videos with the TikTok logo are now prevalent on various social platforms, contributing to the Chinese video-sharing app’s increasing popularity.

    It’s worth noting that although videos with TikTok’s logo are no longer promoted by Instagram’s algorithms, their number on the platform remains substantial. With this new update, there is a chance for Instagram’s logo to appear frequently on its rival platforms as well.

    While it is likely that this feature will eventually be available for users worldwide, the exact timeline for its global release remains unknown. We will have to wait and see when that happens.

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  • Spotify owes a $5.4 million fine to the EU

    Spotify owes a $5.4 million fine to the EU

    Spotify is one of the top-choice apps when it comes to music streaming. The company has had a ton of experience and it has just begun to expand its feature-set. Podcasts and ebook support are just two of the new reasons the platform gives you to install it on some of the best phones out there.

    But then it mishandled user data, so the EU had to fine it for $5.4 million.

    The European Union spent a long time arranging the specifics of how companies of all shapes and sizes are to handle user data. We won’t bore you with the specifics, but the requirements are hefty and ranging from where the data should be handled to how it should be stored.

    This, of course, is regarding the type of data that can be associated with an individual in order to recognise them as a person. When not handled correctly, this GDPR data may be used for nasty things like mass marketing or scams, so it is actually an important topic.

    The fine in question comes from the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection and is based on a complaint from way back in 2019. Talk about a blast from the past! It turns out that at one point, Spotify failed to provide customer data upon request, which is part of a user’s rights as per EU regulations.

    But then it gets even better worse: Spotify failed to explain how they were using the data in question, which raised tons of concerns. And for context: this isn’t anything weird for the EU. When a company fails to give a good reason why it needs a certain type of data, a lot of EU citizens will be eager to pursue their rights.

    In addition to the fine, Spotify is expected to present the complete set of requested data to the individual who submitted the complaint — even though at this point years have passed — along with the written process for data handling.

    The Swedish PDA’s investigation concluded on the bright side, as it found that Spotify is doing things properly. That, however, won’t save the company from the aforementioned fine, so Spotify responded with intent to appeal this decision in the future.

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  • Portable power stations sought after amid load shedding

    Portable power stations sought after amid load shedding

    Portable power stations have become sought-after items in northern Vietnam as unpredictable power cuts urged residents to store electricity in advance.

    Quang Minh in Hai Phong has been looking to buy a portable power station for his household, which has been experiencing load shedding of up to several hours at a time in recent weeks.

    The product that he plans to buy is made in China and sold at VND2.3 million (US$98). It can be used for many devices his family use regularly such as Wi-Fi routers, fans, rice cookers, and lamps.

    In contrast to power generators, the portable stations operate without noise and can be easily operated by both adults and children, he said.

    Users say that a station can meet a household’s basic requirement within a day.

    Vu Xuan Tung, an electronic store owner in Hanoi, said that in the past portable power stations are only bought campers, but recently many people buy them as a backup power source in case of power cuts.

    His store has been running out of power stations recently and sometimes customers have to order up to seven days in advance.

    Most stations are made in China, including some that are advertised to have a German brand. Their prices are around several million Vietnamese dong. Some high-end products can be priced more than VND10 million.

    A Facebook group of 10,000 members, which often sold battery-powered fans in the past, has changed its focus to portable power stations in recent weeks.

    Group admin Vien Duong said that power stations can be used for many devices, not just a fan, and therefore is preferred amid power cuts.

    A survey of nearly 400 readers on June 12-13 showed that around 53% were looking into buying a portable power station, while 7% had bought one.

    Northern Vientam has been experiencing frequent load shedding these days as hydropower plants were shut down due to low water levels.

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  • SEA driving $20 bn in e-commerce revenue for TikTok

    SEA driving $20 bn in e-commerce revenue for TikTok

    ByteDance-owned TikTok hopes to more than quadruple the size of its worldwide e-commerce operations to as much as $20 billion in merchandise sales this year, relying on growth in Southeast Asia, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

    The increase compares to last year’s $4.4 billion in gross merchandise value, representing the worth of total goods sold through its online marketplace TikTok Shop, the report said, adding that the company is betting on markets such as Indonesia.

    TikTok’s e-commerce platform lets customers purchase goods through links on the app during live broadcasts.

    The development comes as the Chinese-owned company faces scrutiny from governments and regulators because of concerns that China could use the app to harvest user data or advance its interests.

    The report said the company is also working to expand its sales in the US and Europe.

    Financial Times had last year reported that TikTok is due to enter a partnership with Los Angeles-based TalkShopLive to launch its live shopping platform in North America by outsourcing its operations.

  • YouTube TV shares upcoming updates to address existing playback sync and other issues

    YouTube TV shares upcoming updates to address existing playback sync and other issues

    YouTube TV is rolling out a few updates to address some recent issues that were present with the streaming service throughout the month of May. These were announced today via the YouTube Reddit community and follow the updates that were announced back in April for Apple TV, although this new round is for all the different platforms where YouTube TV is available.

    First on the list is to address the audio and video synchronization problems during Live playback. This was already addressed on Apple TV, but in the coming weeks, we should see the implementation of several solutions for this everywhere else. YouTube TV is encouraging its users to submit feedback once these are rolled out and for the community to provide screenshots or a picture of the “Stats for Nerds” page along with device information right on the Reddit thread where the update was announced.
    Additionally, YouTube says that they are developing a separate solution for similar audio/video sync issues for Video on Demand (VOD) content. No rollout date was provided for this particular solution, only that the team is currently working on it.

    Speaking of Apple TV fixes, the post also addressed that the issue last month with the first generation 4k Apple TV crashing during extended playback sessions has already been resolved. Additionally, the company fixed the issue with the DVR functionality being temporarily affected by an outage last month, resulting in some transient delays.

    As fixes to the service continue to be rolled out, new issues continue to be pointed out by users via their feedback. The Library, for example, is undergoing changes and fixes will be pushed to improve the relevancy of the “Catch Up on your Favorites” feature, as well as correcting badging errors and the order of recently recorded content.

    YouTube TV also shared that, thanks to customer feedback, it now grants access to unlimited NFL Sunday Ticket streams inside the home and two additional streams outside the household. This is a welcome change that I’m sure Football fans will appreciate.

    Finally, the company asked us to stay tuned for more updates on the promised multiview feature and more improvements to video quality, which should be coming up next month. As YouTube TV’s price tag continues to increase, it is somehow comforting that the service continues to address pressing issues and hasn’t stopped rolling out new features to make it better.
  • Gasoline prices rise

    Gasoline prices rise

    Gasoline prices rose by around 2.4% while diesel prices dropped marginally on Thursday afternoon.

    The popular gasoline RON95 went up 2.42% to VND22,010 ($0.94) per liter.

    Biofuel RON92 gained 1.90% to VND20,870 per liter.

    Diesel dropped 0.06% to VND17,940 per liter.

    The government said that fuel prices have been fluctuating globally due to OPEC+’s production cuts, concerns of the U.S. public debt, stagnant industrial activity and high interest rates.x

    Prices of gasoline products increased by 2.7-3.1% globally in the last 10 days, while oil fell 0.14-2.5%.

    RON92 increased by 2.7% to $87.44 per barrel, while RON95 rose 3.1% to $92.43. Diesel fell 0.14% to $89.06.

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  • Cooking gas prices fall in June

    Cooking gas prices fall in June

    Cooking gas prices have decreased on June 1 following the falling prices in world market.

    The retail prices of Petrolimex gas (including VAT) in June in Hanoi is VND371,600 ($15.82) per 12 kg cylinder; down VND33,640.

    Nghiem Xuan Cuong, head of the Commercial and Civil Gas Sales Department under Petrolimex Gas JSC said that the average contract gas price in the world in June is at $445 per tonnes, down $110 per tonnes compared to May.

    From the beginning of the year, the retail gas prices in the domestic market have declined four times in January, March, April, and June and increased twice in February and May.

    On the world market, at 8 am on May 31, the price of gas futures contracts delivered in July 2023 is at $2,319 per mmBTU, down $0.004 per mmBTU due to falling demand for natural gas in Europe as the winter is over and demand for electricity in summer peak has not yet begun. Gas consumption by industries also weakened.

    According to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe, as of May 24, natural gas storage sites in the EU was 66.71% full.

  • Job cuts continue in embattled property sector

    Job cuts continue in embattled property sector

    The mass layoffs that began last year amid a market decline continue in the struggling property sector, with major developers and brokerages downsizing their sales teams to survive.

    Property developer Dat Xanh Group laid off 1,384 people in the first quarter after letting go 3,191 in the previous one.

    Its brokerage subsidiary, Dat Xanh Services, sacked 1,245 employees last quarter after letting go 3,000 in the final quarter of 2022.

    The company expects more cuts in the remaining months of this year amid the continuing market slump.

    Giant developer Novaland has been downsizing since last year and only had 1,362 employees on its payrolls at the end of March, a stark contrast to 2021 when it sought to hire 2,000 new workers.

    It posted its first quarterly loss — of VND410 billion (US$17.45 million) — since listing its shares on the stock market in 2016, while revenues fell by 70% year-on-year.

    Many brokerages partnering with Novaland have either cut 70-80% of their payroll or closed down as of May.

    Other developers such as Danh Khoi, Hung Thinh, An Gia, Thu Duc House, Hoang Quan, Phat Dat, and LDG have also been laying off staff.

    The marketing head of a Ho Chi Minh City brokerage said since March he has been doing multiple jobs, including as a secretary and customer service officer, after 80% of the staff were sacked.

    The company has been owing salaries since the beginning of this year, which means people are likely quit in the coming months, he said.

    “I have been working in the industry for 18 years, but never seen a layoff wave this big.”

    Data from the Vietnam Association of Realtors shows that 40-50% of property transaction platforms shut down in the first quarter, and the number of brokers was 70% down since the beginning of 2022.

    What property firms are struggling with most are the drying up of cash flows due to plunging sales and inability to repay debts.

    Companies in the construction, architecture and design segments are also struggling, according to the association.

    The number of companies in the property sector registering in the first quarter fell by 63% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

    The number shutting down temporarily was up 60.7% at 1,816, while 341 closed for good, a 30.2% increase.

    Tran Xuan Ngoc, CEO of developer Nam Long Group, said 2023 would be a challenging year for the sector with the difficulties being even more severe than during the 2013 crisis.

    They would persist in 2024, he said.

    “This is a severe and inevitable crisis. Property companies must restructure completely to survive.”

    Nguyen Mac Hoai Nam, CEO of property consultancy Nam Phat, said the 2016-20 boom caused prices go out of control, and the challenges mushrooming now are a result of that.

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  • TIDAL launches new hub dedicated to artists

    TIDAL launches new hub dedicated to artists

    TIDAL, one of the major music streaming services in the US, has just announced a new feature dedicated to artists. Artist Home is a new hub for TIDAL that’s meant to help make it easier for artists to focus on their content. Artists can manage how fans see their TIDAL profile and get early access to the latest products and resources specifically designed for them.

    If you’re an artist and plan to use TIDAL, now you’ll have direct control over the content your fans see on your profile. Additional features available for artists in the hub include the ability to update social media links and the option to request content updates to media like albums, Eps, and Singles directly to TIDAL’s Content Operations.

    Here are the main functionalities of the new Artist Home hub that artists on TIDAL will be getting beginning today:

    • Manage the content that fans see on their TIDAL profile
    • Get early access to the latest products and resources built for artists
    • Self-serve edit access to their profile content
    • Update social media links to help their TIDAL listeners become followers
    • Request content updates to media like albums, EPs, and Singles directly to TIDAL’s Content Operations team
    • Extend access to their TIDAL Artist Home account to their team (managers, labels, bandmates, or publicists)

    TIDAL’s core of new features aims to better accommodate artists who have a massive following or want to build one using the music streaming service and the well-known social networks. It’s an interesting approach that will eventually attract many artists fans as well, which is also what TIDAL probably wants.

  • Town asks Waze to stop sending traffic to its residential roads

    Town asks Waze to stop sending traffic to its residential roads

     Crowd-sourced navigation app Waze has been asked by authorities in Southern Shores, North Carolina to stop sending traffic through residential streets which it does to help users avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic on the main roads. The problem with doing this is that it leaves the local, residential roads overcrowded. In these quiet neighborhoods, the additional traffic causes pollution, and noise, and can lead to accidents.
    While the officials in Southern Shores, North Carolina tried to find a solution including closing some roads, this led to drivers getting stuck on some other streets which caused major congestion. But the local council in Southern Shores feels that it has taken back control by passing a resolution that asks Waze to stop directing traffic to residential streets by removing these streets from the Waze routing system. This would essentially keep traffic on the main roads.
    Elizabeth Morey, the mayor of Southern Shores, had a Zoom meeting with two Waze employees and they agreed to make the changes once the aforementioned resolution is adopted. While all of the details are unknown, Waze has agreed to stop drivers from “seeing where it’s faster to go through town streets.” This will probably lead Waze to remove residential areas from its routing models leading drivers to stay on the main roads. This could lead to more traffic congestion as cars would stay on the same road.
    Mayor Morey also says that transitioning to residential streets does not make driving any faster although she did not cite any data that would prove this statement. The report suggests that the mayor was pointing out that the speed limits on residential streets are typically lower than the ones allowed on major roads. As a result, drivers usually are forced to drive slower on residential streets.
    While the resolution in Southern Shores, North Carolina appears to focus on Waze, it is unclear whether it will eventually be amended to include other navigation apps such as Google Maps and Apple Maps.
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  • Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing has just begun in the US

    Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing has just begun in the US

    Netflix promised to take drastic measures to prevent customers from sharing their passwords. Today, the first step toward making people pay extra if they want to share their Netfix subscription with others has been made.

    If you have a Netflix subscription and live in the US, you should get an email containing updates on sharing between households. The streaming service announced Netflix customers in the US will receive emails informing them that if they want to share their account outside of their household, they must pay for it.

    Basically, Netflix tells you what options you have if you’re already sharing your account with someone outside your household and how much it will cost you to continue doing it.

    • Transfer a profile. Anyone on your account can transfer a profile to a new membership that they pay for.
    • Buy an extra member. You can share your Netflix account with someone who doesn’t live with you for $7.99/month more.

    After encouraging its customers to share their passwords with friends and family outside their household, Netflix backtracks on its initial statements and now says in a blog post that “an account is for use by one household.”

    We’re not sure what’s going to happen if you don’t start paying for extra membership if you’re sharing your password, but chances are that the people you’re sharing your service with won’t be able to access it. It’s probably just a matter of time before Netflix will start cutting access to these accounts (if that’s even technically possible).

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  • Fuel prices rise after 6-week decline

    Fuel prices rise after 6-week decline

    Gasoline and diesel prices on Monday gained for the first time since April 11.

    The popular gasoline RON95 went up 2.33% to VND21,490 per liter.

    Biofuel E5 RON92 rose 1.74% to VND20,480. Diesel increased by 1.70% to VND17,950.

    Fuel prices globally have been rising by 0.73-3% in the last 10 days due to a production cut by OPEC+, concerns of the U.S. public debt, stalled manufacturing and high interest rates which could lead to an economic recession.

    RON95 price went up 2.6% to $89.63 per barrel, and diesel rose 2.2% to $89.18.

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  • Fuel prices drop for third straight time

    Fuel prices drop for third straight time

    Gasoline and diesel prices in Vietnam fell for the third straight time Thursday afternoon.

    RON95 gasoline price dropped 5.91% to VND21,000 per liter, lowest since December 21.

    Biofuel E5 RON92 fell 6.07% to VND20,130. Diesel declined by 3.29% to VND17,650.

    Gasoline and diesel prices have been going down non-stop since mid-April.

    Fuel prices globally dropped by 4-7% in the last 10 days as OPEC+ reduced its production by over 1.1 million barrels a day, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Finance.

    RON92 gasoline dropped by over 7% to $83 per barrle.

    RON95 fell 6.4% to $87.37 per barrel.

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  • Hundreds queue to buy social housing in Hanoi

    Hundreds queue to buy social housing in Hanoi

    At a building in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District on Wednesday evening, many queued up outside to register to buy an apartment at NHS Trung Van, a new social housing project that has been available since the end of March.

    The project is being built on a 2,700-square-meter area in Nam Tu Liem. When completed it will have 32 floors and two underground levels, with 275 apartments, in which 225 are social housing units

    The developer of the project, NHS, has received over 1,000 registrations since March 28. It had been accepting only 40 registrations each day, with the figure rising to 70 in the last few days due to high demand.

    Nguyen Tuan Long from Ha Dong District said: “I have been waiting for four days but still I have not been called to submit documents. I don’t know if I will be on the buyers’ list.”

    A NHS employee calls out the names of the people who register once every three hours to check if anyone has left. If someone does not respond after three calls they are removed from the list.

    Some people came to register after finishing their work day. Lien in Hoang Mai District said: “I have been coming here every day for the last four days. Some days I was not quick enough to be in the queue and had to leave.”

    A social housing apartment is legally required to only be sold to those on low incomes, though there have been reports of the middle-classes buying them.

    At NHS Trung Van, apartments are sold from VND19.5 million ($831) per square meter, substantially lower than an average project in Hanoi. The smallest apartment is priced at VND1.39 billion (nearly US$60,000).