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Category: Research

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

  • Global average connection speed grows 2.3% in Q3

    Global average connection speed grows 2.3% in Q3

    The global average connection speed increased 2.3% sequentially and 21% year on year to 6.3 Mbps in the third quarter of 2016, Akamai’s latest State of the Internet report shows.

    South Korea maintained its lead with the highest average connection speed at 26.3 Mbps in the third quarter, but this was down from 27Mbps in Q2, which was itself down 7.2% compared to the first quarter.

    The global average peak connection speed increased 3.4% sequentially and 16% year-on-year to 37.2 Mbps in the third quarter, rising 16% year over year. Singapore continued to have the highest average peak connection speed, at 162 Mbps in the third quarter.

    Meanwhile, global 10 Mbps broadband adoption rose 5.4% quarter over quarter, and 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps broadband adoption rates increased 6.5% and 5.3%, respectively.

    Asia-Pacific region continued to lead the world in average peak connection speeds in the third quarter. Four of the Top 10 countries in average peak connection speeds were from the region.

    Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea all had average peak connection speeds above 100 Mbps again, with Indonesia close behind at 99.3 Mbps.

    Eleven of the 14 qualifying surveyed Asia Pacific countries/regions posted increases in 15 Mbps adoption, ranging from 3.7% in Singapore to 94% in Vietnam.

    Global average mobile connection speeds meanwhile ranged from a high of 23.7 Mbps in the United Kingdom to a low of 2.2 Mbps in Venezuela.

    “The holiday season serves as one of the true tests of internet connectivity as consumers activate slews of connected devices at the same time and more families are at home collectively pushing their broadband capabilities to the limit,” said David Belson, editor of the State of the Internet Report.

    “The good news is those limits are getting higher as we have continued to observe positive long-term trends in both average and average peak connection speeds around the world. While ‘batteries not included’ may still cause unwelcome surprises, we’re optimistic that connection speeds won’t spoil the holidays this year.”

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  • 3 in 4 shoppers demand loyalty rewards from retailers

    3 in 4 shoppers demand loyalty rewards from retailers

    They want more personalised reward programmes, not just the traditional point-based ones. Amidst Singapore’s retail doldrums, more than 75% of Singapore consumers indicate that the will buy more from retailers if they are better rewarded for their loyalty.

    According to a study by ICLP, this is despite the fact that many consumers are currently lukewarm about their relationships with brands and retailers, giving average to low scores in terms of passion, commitment, and intimacy.

    The study noted that only 3% of consumers considered themselves to be devoted to their preferred brands.

    The research suggested that in order for retailers to take their relationships with customers to the next level, they have to go beyond just giving traditional-points based reward programmes.

    “Much like in a relationship with friends and loved ones, they would engage more when they receive genuine gestures that surprise and delight them,” the study explains.

    ICLP country manager Bruno Tay said many Singaporean consumers still relate to brands and retailers at a transactional level, so when times are uncertain, they easily resort to the myriad of choices that are at their disposal.

    “It’s not too late to turn things around, though. In fact, retailers now have a chance to truly stand out if they appeal to the heart too – by approaching communication, reliability, consistency, reward and recognition from a human perspective,” he noted.

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  • Fraudulent transactions hitch for e-commerce growth

    Fraudulent transactions hitch for e-commerce growth

    Interbank network provider Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis says that the popularity of conventional payment methods in e-commerce has made the sector prone to fraudulent transactions, creating potential obstruction to the growth of e-commerce in Indonesia.

    Artajasa information technology (IT) and operation director Bayu Anantasena said in Jakarta on Wednesday that fraudulent transactions happened due to the lack of a payment authentication procedure in conventional payment methods, including bank transfers and cash-on-delivery (COD) payment.

    The company records that 75 percent of Indonesian e-commerce customers make payments through bank transfers, 20 percent through COD and the remaining 5 percent through credit cards and other methods.

    “Fraudulent transactions occur due to a lack of authentication between e-commerce merchants, issuing banks and customers. As e-commerce businesses grow in Indonesia, transaction security becomes more important for their development,” he said.

    The government expects that by 2020, that nation will record US$130 billion in e-commerce transactions, in line with the country’s anticipated digital boom in following years.

    As many as 87 issuing banks are currently using Artajasa’s ATM Bersama network, including Bank Mandiri, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional (BTPN).

  • Connected vending machines to pass 10m this year

    Connected vending machines to pass 10m this year

    ABI Research estimates that there will be more than 10 million network connections to vending machines by the end of this year, ABI Research estimates.

    The install base is expected to reach nearly 24 million connections in 2021 for a compound annual growth rate of 17%.

    The research firm said the vending machine ecosystem is evolving and companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and VE Global Vending are looking to expand distribution offerings and connect their machines to the internet to increase operational efficiencies.

    These newly connected machines also allow operators to gain new insight into metrics on inventory management, foot traffic and automatic maintenance requests.

    “The vending machine isn’t dead — it’s just reinventing itself,” said Jeff Orr, Research Director at ABI Research. “There is a point in the near future where the physical and digital worlds will blend to create new experiences. And it’s vendors that optimize their supply chains that will best succeed in this market.”

    VE Global Vending is one company that continuously adapts its strategy to keep pace with evolving technologies, refurbishing used vending machines into digitized versions that include touchscreens, sensor technologies and flexible payment methods.

    ABI Research suggests in a report that there remains room in this market for new players that mirror this methodology and optimize the supply chain to focus on everything from machine manufacturing, placement, and payment solutions to restocking and service.

    “New market entrants have to be creative so that they do not become immediate acquisition targets for brands with broader ecosystem investments,” continued Orr.

    “For instance, the simplest method to connect a vending machine is to use an Ethernet cable to connect it to the building. But new players would be wise to take advantage of the abundance of wireless technology on the market. The question of which party pays for the recurring mobile service costs would still need answering, though.”

    As the connected machines continue to automate services that humans historically addressed, such as key duplication, opportunities will emerge for enterprises to become involved in customized manufacturing and 3D-printing on a small scale.

    “In the coming years, as manufacturers perfect 3D-printing and small-scale machining operations, new services will be possible for producing custom items through a vending and fulfillment experience. The physical and digital worlds are converging—and it’s only a matter of time before their intersection leads to new experiences and opportunities for businesses,” Orr said.

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  • Corporate-issued mobile device adoption still low

    Corporate-issued mobile device adoption still low

    Mobile device adoption in the workplace is not yet mature, research from Gartner indicates. Although 80% of workers surveyed by the analyst company received one or more corporate-issued devices, desktops are still the most popular corporate device among businesses, with more than half of workers receiving corporate-issued desktop PCs.

    The survey findings are based on the 2016 Gartner Personal Technologies Study, which was conducted from June to August 2016 among 9,592 respondents in the US, the UK and Australia.

    Thirty-six percent of workers received laptops, including convertible laptops. Adoption of convertible laptops as a corporate-issued device is still very low, but has been gradually increasing.

    Gartner analysts expect that more employees will receive convertible laptops in the next three years, driven by the Windows 10 refresh that can enhance the user experience with touch-based input. Adding desktops and laptops (including convertible laptops) together, 75% of workers will receive at least one PC-type device in mature countries.

    In contrast to the high numbers of corporate-issued PCs in the workplace, relatively few workers receive mobile devices. The majority of smartphones used in the workplace are personally owned devices — only 23% of employees surveyed are given corporate-issued smartphones.

    “The low adoption of corporate-issued mobile devices underlines the fact that large numbers of personally owned mobile devices are used in the workplace,” said Mikako Kitagawa, principal research analyst at Gartner. “In fact, more than half of employees who used smartphones at work rely solely on their personally owned smartphones.”

    The usage rate of personally owned tablets lags behind that of personally owned smartphones. Only 21% of employees use tablets — regardless of whether they are corporate issued or personally owned.

    “In the era of mobility, it comes as something of a surprise that corporate usage of smartphones and tablets is not as high as PCs, even when the use of personally owned devices is taken into account,” said Kitagawa. “While it’s true that the cost of providing mobile devices can quickly escalate, proper usage of mobile devices can increase productivity, which can easily justify the extra costs.”

    When employees are provided with corporate-issued devices, they are generally happy with the devices that they receive. Less than 20% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with their employer-provided devices. The satisfaction level is higher with tablets and smartphones compared with desktop and laptops.

    “Usage of personally owned devices in the workplace is nothing new, but the survey results confirm that this trend has become a new workplace standard. Two-thirds of survey respondents said that they use a personally owned device or devices for work,” said Kitagawa.

    “Smartphones and phablets are the most popular personally owned devices used for work, with 39% of employees using them, compared with just 10% who are only using corporate-issued smartphones and phablets.”

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  • Internet freedom shrinks globally in 2016

    Internet freedom shrinks globally in 2016

    Internet freedom around the world declined for the sixth consecutive year, according to the Freedom on the Net 2016 report released recently by Freedom House.

    The US government-funded advocacy group has published Freedom on the Net 2016, which assesses internet freedom in 65 countries, accounting for 88% of internet users worldwide.

    For the second consecutive year, China was the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom, followed by Syria and Iran, the report asserts.

    An amendment to Chinese criminal law added seven-year prison terms for spreading rumors on social media (a charge often used to imprison political activists). Some users in China belonging to minority religious groups were imprisoned for watching religious videos on mobile phones.

    Globally, the study found that two-thirds of all internet users (67 percent) live in countries where criticism of the government, military, or ruling family was subject to censorship. Governments in 24 countries also impeded access to social media and communication tools, up from 15 in the previous year. Moreover, authoritarian countries most frequently blocked access to these tools during political protests.

    “Popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have been subject to growing censorship for several years, but governments are now increasingly going after messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Messaging apps are able to spread information quickly and securely — and some governments find this threatening,” said Sanja Kelly, director for Freedom on the Net.

    “Jailing of internet users led to a significant chilling effect in many countries under study. When authorities sentence users to long prison terms for simply criticizing government policies online, almost everyone becomes much more reluctant to post anything that could get them in similar trouble.”

    Meanwhile, digital petitions or calls for protests were censored in more countries than before, as were the views of political opposition groups and the LGBTI community. Nearly half (47%) of internet users live in countries where alleged insults to religion can lead to censorship or arrest.

    Image-sharing platforms were blocked, and world leaders took strong action when their photos were mocked on social media. In Egypt, a photo depicting President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi with Mickey Mouse ears resulted in a three-year prison term for the 22-year-old student who posted it on Facebook.

    “When faced with humorous memes and cartoons of themselves, some world leaders are thin-skinned and lash out” said Kelly. “Instead of enjoying a good laugh, they try to remove the images and imprison anyone posting them online.”

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  • Digital ads reach across APAC for 18-34 year olds improving

    Digital ads reach across APAC for 18-34 year olds improving

    The success rate of digital advertising campaigns in reaching their intended audiences has lifted significantly within a number of demographic groups across Asia Pacific, in particular for the highly sought-after 18-34 year old segment, as advertisers and their media agencies become more adept with media planning and buying, according to a new benchmarking study of the global digital advertising landscape by Nielsen.

    The Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings Global Benchmarks study, which assessed more than 47,000 digital campaigns across 17 countries in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, found that across Asia Pacific, digital advertising campaigns intended for consumers aged 18 to 34 years had the highest on-target success rate, with 63% of the advertising destined for these consumers hitting the mark, up from 53% in 2015.

    Campaigns aimed at females within the 18- to 34-year-old age group experienced the highest lift in on-target reach, posting a 15-percentage-point improvement to 51%.

    “The Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings benchmark report is shining new light for advertisers on how their digital advertising campaigns are faring in comparison to industry norms,” said Annette Kunst, managing director for Media at Nielsen Singapore.

    “The year-on-year performance improvement shows that an increase in independent measurement can lead to more transparency, and that ultimately improves overall reach and ad spend efficiency,” said Kunst.

    Across platforms, advertising served up via desktop still outperforms mobile advertising when reaching broad audience segments. Desktop advertising intended for people aged 18 to 49 years achieved a 70% on-target success rate, compared to 66% for mobile.

    Conversely, for more niche audiences or narrower segments such as the 18- to 34-year-age group, mobile has a higher success rate – 65% of mobile ads hit their mark, compared to 61% for desktop.

    “Mobile’s success reaching more narrowly defined audiences reinforces that mobile devices provide a highly personalized platform with the potential for more precise connections, and that’s reflected in the rapid increase we’ve seen in mobile advertising, where 45% of the digital advertising campaigns we measure today across Asia Pacific include a mobile component,” said Kunst.

    “With increasing media fragmentation, marketers need to consider all the screens at their disposal when trying to reach their audience,” she said. These benchmarks can help media buyers and sellers better evaluate total digital reach.”

    Looking across categories, Computer & Electronics and Travel marketers had an easier time reaching their desired audience, achieving an on-target success of 68% and 67% respectively. The Automotive and CPG sectors highlight opportunities to optimize reach and maximize return on ad spend, with 47% and 43% of digital ads respectively reaching their intended audience.

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  • Thailand’s green material Industry and the green building trend

    Thailand’s green material Industry and the green building trend

    In the midst of today’s environmental movement, green buildings (buildings designed to be environmentally friendly through more efficient use of resources) are popping up more and more in Thailand.

    Using data from green building credentialing bodies like the U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC), which developed the Leading in Energy & Environment Design (LEED), and the Thai Green Building Institute (TGBI), which developed Thailand’s Rating of Energy and Environment Sustainability (TREES), EIC found that the number of certified green buildings and buildings in the process of accreditation in Thailand has risen substantially, increasing from six buildings in 2007 to 243 buildings in 2015.

    With EIC’s estimate of 294 green buildings in 2016, the average annual growth rate for green buildings in Thailand is 54%. Thailand’s green building area increased from 40 thousand square meters in 2007 to 4.3 million square meters in 2015, and it is estimated that it will reach 5.0 million square meters by the end of 2016, pushing average growth to 71% per year (Figure 1).

    Green buildings in Thailand consist of office buildings (around 40%), retail stores and shops (around 30%), and other structures such as factories, residential buildings, hotels, and schools (around 30%) (Figure 2).

    Although the costs of building green are higher than construction costs for conventional buildings, it is the benefits they offer that are responsible for the expansion of green structures today.

    The average cost of building green in Thailand is 20,700 baht per square meter, which is about 5.2% higher than the average conventional building cost of 19,700 baht per square meter (Figure 3).

    This is because building green involves more restrictions in choosing materials and in designing building systems, as well as additional fees for obtaining LEED or TREES credentials. However, owners can gain both monetary and non-monetary advantages from green buildings. Monetary benefits include a decrease in building management expenses like electricity and water costs that can be reduced by 10% or around 90 baht per square meter per year, and up to about 21% or 180 baht per square meter per year by the fifth year after the completion of the project (Figure 4). These numbers are comparable to the decrease in energy costs of  well-known green building Energy Complex.

    The Energy Complex building contains 192 thousand square meters of utility space and has reduced building management costs per year by about 28 million baht, or about 146 baht per square meter per year.  Another monetary advantage for green building owners is increased rents. Rents for green buildings are around 30% higher than those of conventional buildings in the same area, or about 230 baht per square meter per month (Figure 4). Non-monetary benefits include significantly higher worker productivity in green buildings compared to conventional buildings, deduced from sick day records and illnesses caused by sick building syndrome.

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  • Over half of APAC connected consumers use m-payment

    Over half of APAC connected consumers use m-payment

    The Asia Pacific region is leading the world in mobile payment adoption, with over half of connected consumers in the region using their mobiles to pay for goods or services at point of sale via apps.

    This is among the key findings of a survey of more than 70,000 consumers, conducted by consultancy Kantar TNS. The study pegged mobile payment penetration for Asia Pacific at 53%, compared to 33% in North America and 35% in Europe.

    With smartphone users across Asia Pacific numbering over a billion, one key driver behind this trend would be the significant mobile penetration here. Moreover, the evolution of Asian chat apps to include payment options and the lack of legacy banking structures has only served to accelerate adoption.

    Chat apps such as WeChat and LINE have developed numerous payment services such as WeChat Pay, Line Pay, Alipay and O! ePay to facilitate everything from taxi bookings to e-commerce sales.

    Mobile payment options within these apps allow consumers to complete their purchase journey seamlessly, and also serve to help to establish these behaviors.

    Many mobile-first markets such as India, Malaysia and Indonesia are also taking up the behavior, fueled by the lack of legacy banking structures. The study noted that this makes that mobile payment an especially attractive solution for connected consumers in these countries.

    China, Hong Kong and South Korea are the top three mobile payment markets globally for weekly use, while Singapore is in the fourth position with the use of mobile payment identified as most prevalent among middle-aged consumers.

    In Singapore, 57% of connected consumers have used mobile payment, with more than a quarter (27%) doing so on a weekly basis. This number rises among younger Singaporeans ages 16-30, where 31% use mobile payment weekly, but is highest (33%) amongst middle-aged consumers in the 31-45 age group.

    Only 11% of those ages 46-65 use mobile payment on a weekly basis, however, 37% have tried it in the past, showing that they are open to sampling this kind of new technology.

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  • Global Threat Index shows rise in malware attacks

    Global Threat Index shows rise in malware attacks

    The number of malware attacks increased in October, according to Check Point Software’s monthly Global Threat Index.

    Check Point’s Threat Intelligence Research Team found that both the number of active malware families and number of attacks increased by 5% during the period, pushing the number of attacks on business networks to near peak levels, as seen earlier this year.

    Locky ransomware attacks continued to rise, moving it up from third to second place, while the Zeus banking trojan moved up two spots, returning it to the top three.

    The reason for Locky’s continued growth is the constant variation and expansion of its distribution mechanism, which is primarily through spams emails. Its creators are continually changing the type of files used for downloading the ransomware, including doc, xls and wsf files, as well as making significant structural changes to the spam emails.

    The actual ransomware itself is nothing exceptional, but cyber criminals are investing a lot of time into maximizing the number of machines that become infected by it.

    For the seventh consecutive month, HummingBad, an android malware that establishes a persistent rootkit to carry out an array of malicious purposes, remained the most common malware used to attack mobile devices.

    Once again Conficker retained its first place position as the world’s most prevalent malware, responsible for 17% of recognized attacks. Both second placed Locky, which only started its distribution in February of this year, and third placed Zeus, were responsible for 5% of known attacks.

    “With the number of attacks and malware families increasing, the scale of the challenge organizations face in ensuring their networks remain secure is tremendous,” Check Point head of threat protection Nathan Shuchami said.

    “It is particularly concerning that a malware family as established and well known as Conficker is so effective, suggesting that organizations aren’t using the latest, multi-layered defenses.”

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  • Digital payments fueling FinTech investments in APAC

    Digital payments fueling FinTech investments in APAC

    The APAC FinTech landscape is witnessing unprecedented growth, with FinTech solutions and services expected to gross more than $70 billion in revenue by 2020.

    Market research firm Frost & Sullivan believes the market is on track to record a CAGR of 72.5% over this period.

    “Asia-Pacific FinTech investment increased exponentially in 2015. There was a four-fold increase of investments in APAC FinTech companies from 2014 to 2015 which shows growing investor confidence in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile 42% of the investment deals concentrated on digital payments,” Frost & Sullivan VP for digital transformation Ajay Sunder said.

    Innovation hubs have formed around Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney riding on the back of favorable government regulations, strong start-up ecosystems and heavy consumer demand among the 18-34 demographic group in particular.

    The emergence of new business models is enabling players to innovate and invest in technologies such as Blockchain, digital payments, cloud services, cyber security, product lines and solutions. Players must rethink strategies and align their business vision with technology goals to define their value proposition to customers and survive in the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.

    “Digital payment will remain the largest segment, primarily driven by mobile payment solutions, while Blockchain will not remain limited to financial services; there will be new use cases for Blockchain, and traditional ICT vendors will start offering Blockchain-as-a-Service,” noted Sunder.

    Frost points to innovative services providers such as BitSE, Canopy, Coinsecure, DxMarkets, Freecharge, HedgeSPA, MOLPay, Otonomos and TranServ as addressing unmet needs, embracing new technologies and gaining a disruptive advantage by leveraging diverse opportunities.

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  • China becomes top iOS App Store market in Q3

    China becomes top iOS App Store market in Q3

    China set new record in the third quarter for the highest iOS App Store revenue to date for any country, according to App Annie’s Market Index Report for the period.

    With total revenues of $1.7 billion, China overtook the United States by over 15% and its growth is projected to climb further by 2020.

    The Q3 2016 Market Index Report also showed that China maintained its spot as No. 1 for Games category as it accounted for the majority of the generated revenue.

    Other prominent categories making strides are Entertainment and Social Networking, which have more than tripled in the past year. Video streaming apps (like iQIYI, Tencent Video and Youku) in China have had a major impact on the Entertainment category as a whole.

    Pokemon Go was cited as the stand-out app of the year, racking up $600 million in customer spend faster than any app to date. It also outpaced the extremely successful Clash of Clans by more than 6.2 times in under three months.

    Pokemon Go has also converted a massive amount of a user’s non-mobile time to mobile time as its innovative AO gameplay and iconic IP were compelling enough to convince users to spend more time overall on their mobile devices. It has altered the playing field as it introduced augmented reality to the masses and paved the way for future AR and VR opportunities in the app stores.

    The revenue of Entertainment apps strengthened in the third quarter and it has grown substantially in both iOS App Store and Google Play. This is largely due to the popularization of in-app subscriptions as a monetization method driven by video streaming.

    With revenue more than tripling since the third quarter of 2014, people are not only using their mobile devices to stream content but also as a common form of payment.

    This represents a significant shift from traditional broadcasting and television structures where users typically enter into a contract with a cable provider.

  • Best seats in business class: Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER

    Best seats in business class: Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ER

    Business class on Singapore Airlines’ refitted Boeing 777-200ERs proves almost identical to what you’ll get aboard the airline’s flagship Airbus A380s, but with a few tweaks and touches to maximise your space for sleeping and working.

    Now gracing Australian skies on overnight flights from Brisbane to Singapore – and planned also for flights between Sydney and Jakarta – here are our top seating picks in business class, whether you’re aiming to work through the flight, catch some shut-eye or chat with your partner.

    Singapore Airlines refitted Boeing 777-200ER business class: the basics

    Singapore Airlines spreads 26 business class seats across the first seven rows of its refitted Boeing 777-200ERs, configured in a 1-2-1 layout that places the ‘A’ and ‘K’ seats by the windows and the ‘D’ and ‘F’ seats in the centre:

    Even though there’s no first class cabin, business class begins at row 11 and also skips the ‘unlucky’ row 13, with all seats found together within a single ‘zone’ of the aircraft.

    Note that Singapore Airlines’ other, non-refitted Boeing 777-200ERs instead feature a different type of business class seat and use a different layout also, for which this guide does not apply.

    Singapore Airlines refitted Boeing 777-200ER business class: best seats

    For sleeping – 11A, 11K: While every business class seat here transforms into a fully-flat bed, the window seats in the first row provide considerably more space both beside and in front of you, as there’s no narrow ‘foot cubby’ to contend with.

    Instead, you can spread out as you wish, which taller travellers will particularly appreciate:

    If 11A and 11K are already taken or otherwise unavailable, look to 11D or 11F instead – also with extra foot space, but not as roomy:

    Also note that 11A & 11K double as bassinet seats, so if there’s a baby-toting traveller on your flight and you’ve perched yourself here, there’s a chance you may be moved to accommodate them.

    For productivity – other A, K seats: Those bulkhead seats above certainly are spacious, although they lack many of the storage nooks afforded to passengers in the other rows.

    On daytime flights when you’re planning to work, we’re sure you’ll appreciate this extra storage bin – handily located near the USB and power outlets for convenient charging of your devices…

    … as opposed to your only at-seat storage option in those bulkhead seats: a literature pocket that already comes filled with literature:

    For couples – the D + F pairs: When travelling with your significant other, aim for one of the seven centre pairs.

    You’ll need to lean forward slightly to see each other when sitting upright, although with each seat measuring 30 inches wide, one traveller could certainly visit the other’s seat while enjoying a movie – there’s even a second headphone outlet at these seats to make this easy.

    If you’re a solo traveller and can’t snag a window seat, don’t fret – there are two sturdy privacy dividers which can be opened in between, so that even if one passenger retracts theirs, the other can remain in place.

    Avoid 18D, 18F: Found in the very back row of business class, these seats are practically next to the main aircraft door used for boarding economy passengers (18D even more so than 18F), and what’s more, the two business class restrooms are located directly behind.

    That severely limits your privacy both on the ground and in the air with so many passengers passing by these seats, not to mention the extra noise from the lavatories.

    Instead, as there are no restrooms ahead of business class – only rearward, behind these seats – you’ll find greater privacy in a row further forward instead.

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  • Smartphones can help India’s drive for cashless economy

    Smartphones can help India’s drive for cashless economy

    India is currently the largest growing market for smartphones and it is estimated that the number of smartphones sold in the country is very likely to be greater than 100 million in 2017.BEIJING: As India embarked on cashless economy with demonetisation of high value notes, smartphones could help in the country’s de-cashing drive like in China where online payment through phones have become order of the day, Chinese media said today.

    “While India is implementing the government-led de-cashing via demonetisation, China is experiencing a rapid market based de-cashing process via the digitalisation of transactions on the online or mobile payment platforms,” an article in the state-run Global Times said today.

    In the most recent 11/11 (Singles Day) online shopping day, consumers spent 120.7 billion yuan (USD 18 billion) on Tmall, the largest business-to-customer shopping website in China, with all transactions settled via Alipay, the online payment platform set up by Alibaba Group, the article said.

    “Meanwhile, Alipay and WeChat Pay (the online payment platform of WeChat by Tencent) are widely accepted by restaurants, shops and even grocers throughout the country,” it said.

    The high ownership rate of smartphones in China may explain this rapid digitalisation in transactions, it said, citing a recent survey by Pew Research Centre, which said smartphone ownership rate is 58 per cent in China, 37 per cent in Japan and 17 per cent in India.

    “This high ownership rate plus a relatively slow growth rate in credit card ownership has led to the ‘leapfrog development’ of de-cashing in China,” the article said.

    “Compared to traditional bank transfers, online payment systems are usually more convenient and user friendly. Hence, market-based de-cashing faces much less resistance than other types of de-cashing,” it said.

    “India is currently the largest growing market for smartphones and it is estimated that the number of smartphones sold in the country is very likely to be greater than 100 million in 2017,” it said, pointing to high sales witnessed by Chinese phone makers like Xiaomi.

    “If India would like to try the Chinese style of de-cashing through online/smartphone payment, it is very likely to be beneficial to both countries,” it said.

  • Starbucks in Cambodia: From Coffee Beans to Housing Dreams?

    Starbucks in Cambodia: From Coffee Beans to Housing Dreams?

    There’s nothing particularly new with coffee places opening in Phnom Penh. There is a different brand of coffee shop at just about every corner.

    But the recent launching of the Starbucks Reserve brand in Phnom Penh seems to mean something significantly more for both the international F&B franchise sector, and local urbanite Phnom Penh citizens.

    Been There, Done That

    With 45 years of experience in the coffee industry, Starbucks has managed to open around 22,519 stores worldwide (as of June 28, 2015). The brand has become one of the world’s most recognized, through intensive advertising campaigns and aggressive product placement.

    Fast-forward to October of 2016, another branch just opened to serve the Cambodian public in Phnom Penh’s BKK1 district. It was launched under the high-end “Reserve” brand of the company.

    If the market can prove profitable for Starbucks, other international F&B and consumer goods franchises may look to enter the Cambodian market place as well

    The new branch features two floors and 650 square meters filled with local craftsmanship, including a mural centerpiece depicting the Cambodian Folklore of Sovann Maccha.

    Starbucks Cambodia has partnered up with a local NGO – Cambodian Children’s Fund – as part of its long-term community investment. They said, “We take a thoughtful, disciplined approach to growth in Cambodia that is locally relevant and in line with our company’s values. Our growth story is not just about expanding our store count in the market.”

    Something Brewing:

    Yet Starbucks’ opening of another high-end coffee place doesn’t only signal a positive outlook for the F&B industry…

    It also transcends into real estate. A few months back, the World Bank declared Cambodia a lower-middle income country – where Cambodians currently have an average yearly income of between $1,026 and $4,035.

    So, locals are now able to afford items that have a higher price tag, according to the Bank.

    With this rise in consumers’ expendable incomes, Starbucks isn’t worried about the huge difference in price of their coffee compared to local ones. The local coffee costs about $0.74 (and sometimes as cheap as $0.25), while a small latte from Starbucks is $2.95.

    If a cup of coffee is any indication of rising incomes, then sectors like real estate might follow a similar trend. Investors may be getting closer to a market in which the local population can afford resale units and higher rental rates. The current lack of a secondary market, resale and rental, for new development units is proving one of the biggest risks of the Cambodian market for pure investors.

    Furthermore, if the market can prove profitable for Starbucks, other international F&B and consumer goods franchises may look to enter the Cambodian market place as well – spurred by this signal of consumer confidence and affluence.

    So while Starbucks opening in BKK1 has been warmly welcomed by local cafe enthusiasts keen to try an international flavor, its significance for investors may have longer lasting influence.

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