Retail News CRM

Tag: asia

  • Costa Coffee enters Japan with three stores planned to open

    Costa Coffee enters Japan with three stores planned to open

    UK coffee chain Costa Coffee has expanded its presence into Japan under a joint venture dubbed Sojitz Royal Cafe between Sojitz Corporation and Royal Holdings.

    The chain’s first location in Japan was launched in the Shibuya district, featuring the brand’s signature design that uses Costa Red and Costa Pink accents. The store opening will be followed by the brand’s second store in Otemachi in September and its flagship store’s launch in Ginza the following month.

    Sojitz Royal Cafe, established in January, acquired the exclusive franchise rights of Costa Coffee in Japan earlier this year.

    Founded in London by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa in 1971, Costa Coffee has more than 4000 stores across 45 countries.

    Further reading, Japan’s % Arabica set for franchised European expansion in next year.

    Lees ook:

  • 100 Tesla Model Y Cars Will Be Introduced in Japan Under Uber Premium Service

    100 Tesla Model Y Cars Will Be Introduced in Japan Under Uber Premium Service

    Uber Japan has announced a strategic partnership with local cab and hire car operator, Hinomaru Kotsu and Tesla Japan to introduce 100 Tesla Model Y vehicles into their Uber Premium fleet.

    As part of the initiative, 30 Tesla Model Y vehicles will be deployed in November 2023 at Hinomaru Kotsu’s offices in Setagaya, Edogawa, and Adachi. The fleet will subsequently expand to include affiliated companies of Hinomaru Automobile’s wireless group, bringing the total number of Model Y vehicles to 100 by the end of 2024. These vehicles will be exclusively available under Uber Premium, and a dedicated menu on the Uber app will enable users to request rides in the Tesla Model Y.

    Uber chose Tesla’s Model Y because of its cruising range, driving performance, serene quietness, and premium interior and exterior, making it an ideal choice for discerning passengers seeking an elevated travel experience.

    Furthermore, to address the concerns of charging infrastructure for long-distance taxi operations, Hinomaru Kotsu plans to implement Tesla charging solutions at their Adachi and Setagaya offices from November 2023.

    Shiro Yamanaka, General Manager Mobility Business, Uber Japan Co., Ltd. said, “I am very pleased to be able to work with Hinomaru Kotsu and Tesla Japan to promote zero-emission vehicles. Uber Premium is a service that allows you to easily and reasonably call a luxury vehicle using the Uber app. It has been very well received in the deployment area. We expect that the demand for Uber Premium will increase further with the introduction of the Tesla Model Y, which is popular as a luxury vehicle, as a dedicated vehicle.”

    Kazutaka Tomita, Representative Director of Hinomaru Kotsu Co., Ltd. said,  “We are very proud to be able to play a role in promoting the introduction of zero-emission vehicles in the taxi and hire industry together with Uber Japan and Tesla Japan. We promise to deliver safe and secure transportation to our customers with a diverse lineup of vehicles that meet the needs of our customers.”

    Ryokusai Inoue, Country Manager, Tesla Motors Japan LLC, said, “We are also focusing on the taxi and hire business, mainly in North America, and we are very pleased to be able to realize an initiative of 100 units in Japan as well. We believe that business owners will also benefit greatly from this, and we will continue to have everyone experience the appeal of Tesla and expand it widely throughout Japan, regardless of whether it is a corporation or an individual.”

    Lees ook:

  • Viber launches two new features for Premium users

    Viber launches two new features for Premium users

    It’s been less than a month since Viber launched its premium service in the United States and several other countries, and the company has just announced it’s now rolling out two new features to those who chose to pay to be Premium users.

    So, if you’re paying for Viber Plus, you should be getting two new important features: Invisible Mode and Read Voice Messages. Both should further enhance privacy and ease of communication on Viber.

    The new Read Voice Message feature turns voice messages into text so any message can be ready anytime, anywhere. Invisible Mode is just as useful since it allows users to read messages and browse on the platform privately.

    Not only that, but users will also be able to see who is online while their own status shows offline. More importantly, thanks to Invisible Mode, you’ll be able to open messages without revealing that it’s been read.

    “With such a wide user base, we want to continue expanding our services to offer seamless and easy-to-use communication tools that work for our global users. Additionally, anonymity and privacy is what makes Viber a leading super app. These features add new value to Viber Plus and boost the overall experience for our users,” said Ofir Eyal, CEO of Rakuten Viber.

    And if you don’t have Viber Plus yet, perhaps these two new features will make you start paying for it. To go premium, you’ll have to pay just $1.99 per month, and you’ll be getting not just new features but also stop seeing ads.

    The new features will be rolled out to the premium service for iOS in the US, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Switzerland, Kuwait, Australia, Tuvalu, Israel, Sweden, Austria, India, and Italy, with additional regions added on a rolling basis.

    According to Viber, Android users where Viber Plus is available will have access to the two new features sometime in September.

    Lees ook:

  • Apple is working on an AirTag 2

    Apple is working on an AirTag 2

    Commercially released more than two years ago, the AirTag tracking device is probably the least discussed product in Apple’s current portfolio, especially if you choose to ignore news stories and reports tackling various security issues and privacy concerns among both existing users and prospective buyers waiting for some “fix.”

    While it’s unclear if the AirTag stalking problem will ever be resolved (or even if it can be resolved satisfactorily), Apple is believed to be working on a sequel to the original 2021 edition that could see daylight as early as late 2024.
    That’s… still pretty distant, leaving a lot of room for a change of plans (or ten), and of course, today’s AirTag 2 information doesn’t come from an official source either. Ming-Chi Kuo’s new “prediction” of a “4Q24” mass production start doesn’t even seem particularly firm, and although the reputable analyst’s inside sources are more often than not right on the money, this rumor feels like a guesstimate first and foremost based on the OG AirTag’s sales figures so far.

    These are obviously not part of the public domain, but Kuo has reason to believe they’ve proven strong enough over the last year or so to justify the development of a second generation.

    Because the AirTag 2 is likely to go on sale either during the final calendar quarter of next year or sometime in the opening quarter of 2025, it’s virtually impossible to make any confident predictions regarding its specific features, capabilities, and potential upgrades over the first generation.
    For what it’s worth, Ming-Chi Kuo also “believes” (which sounds like another hunch rather than concrete info gathered from supply chain insiders) that the AirTag 2 will be used (alongside other devices) by Apple to create a new spatial computing “ecosystem” with the Vision Pro headset at its center.
    No, we’re not entirely sure exactly what that means either, but it’s safe to assume that the AirTag 2 will be deeply “integrated” and closely coordinated with the Vision Pro… whenever both products actually become available for the masses.
    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore, Japan to collaborate on green air lanes

    Singapore, Japan to collaborate on green air lanes

    A recent dialogue saw a mutual agreement between Singapore and Japan’s aviation authorities to work together towards initiating greener air lanes between the two countries.

    At the 2nd Singapore-Japan Dialogue on Aviation Collaboration, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) shared the same view that the concept of an ‘aviation green lane’ should encompass airline operations, airport processes and air traffic management (ATM).

    The two are planning green ATM measures on all flights between Singapore and Tokyo, which will save fuel, cut carbon emissions, and reduce flight times. This follows a successful one-month trial in June 2023 whereby CAAS and JCAB implemented green ATM for one daily passenger service.

    Another initiative proposed for greener air traffic management is expanding the multi-regional trajectory-based operations (TBO) project to more air navigation service providers (ANSPs). Last month, ANSPs of Singapore, Japan, Thailand, the United States and Boeing saw the first successful multi-regional TBO demonstration flight, part of a 3-year collaboration to advance the concept and bring about significant benefits for airspace users, including greater flight efficiencies and reductions in carbon emissions.

    CAAS said these ATM concepts would complement the current push for SAF, which it considers he key element to achieve carbon neutrality for aviation, but the two warned that there would have to be sufficient supply and competitive pricing in the Asia Pacific region.

    Mr Han Kok Juan, Director-General of the CAAS, explained that the collaboration on green ATM establishes tangible measures that can be immediately implemented and translate to immediate fuel and carbon emission savings.

    “These measures can be scaled up to cover more flights and serve as a pathfinder for wider adoption by more countries. With the successful conclusion of the green ATM trial and the extension of green ATM measures to all flights between Singapore and Tokyo, Singapore and Japan show that green ATM can complement sustainable aviation fuel as a key feature of an aviation green lane.”

    On other important areas, the two civil aviation authorities will share best practices on fostering a positive safety culture and leveraging technology to overcome manpower shortage and raise productivity.

    The two have also agreed on the necessity to resume flights and city links to meet strong demand with plans to restore direct flights between Singapore and Okinawa from November 2023.

    The two sides first signed a strategic framework agreement in December 2022 to advance their civil aviation collaboration. As of July 2023, the number of weekly flights between Singapore and Japan has recovered to over 65 percent of pre-Covid level in 2019, with 122 weekly passenger services operated by six air carriers on city links to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo.

  • Instagram might label AI-generated content

    Instagram might label AI-generated content

    Recently, Meta, in collaboration with Microsoft, introduced the new Llama 2 – a next-generation large language AI model. This new technology enables companies to customize AI for their needs, like creating chatbots and image generators. It seems that consumer-facing generative AI tools based on this model are already on the horizon.

    It looks like Meta is developing several new generative AI features for Instagram. These features include labels that will help users to identify images “generated by Meta AI.”

    If you wonder what reverse engineers do, they are sort of detectives for technology. They take apart things like software or devices to figure out how they work, even if they were not the ones who originally made them. It’s like solving a puzzle to understand the hidden secrets behind the technology.

    The screenshot shared by Paluzzi shows an in-app message explaining that posts created using Meta’s generative AI tools may soon be labeled within Instagram. This suggests that the company could be interested in helping users identify AI-generated content.

    There have been concerns about the safety and impact of free consumer-facing AI tools on our online presence. Some worry that they could aid the spread of misinformation or mislead people. To address these concerns, some AI companies, including Meta, have pledged to adopt AI safety measures, like using watermarks for AI-generated content. The introduction of labels for AI-generated content on Instagram might be part of these measures.

    Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI stand at the forefront of the artificial intelligence sector in the US. Last month, following a call to action from the White House, they made commitments to incorporate safeguards into their AI technology. Additionally, these industry leaders have joined hands to establish the Frontier Model Forum, an association focused on advancing AI, of which Meta is also a part. The forum’s primary goal is to ensure frontier AI models’ secure and ethical advancement.

    As AI continues to advance at a rapid pace, social media platforms should pay more attention to AI-generated content and clearly label it, even if the content is generated from third-party apps or software. Instagram already has many AI-generated human-like models posing as influencers, which can lead to confusion and misperception of reality.
    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • SeABank names new acting CEO

    SeABank names new acting CEO

    Le Quoc Long, for the last 18 years the deputy CEO of SeABank, has been named its new acting CEO with effect from Tuesday.

    He replaces Loic Faussier, who resigned for personal reasons after being with the bank for three years as CEO and in other key positions.

    Long, 58, has accounting and law diplomas from two Hanoi universities and been working in finance-banking for 30 years.

    He joined SeABank in 2005 as deputy CEO in charge of credit and risks management.

    The executive board of SeABank now has nine members.

    SeABank was established in 1994 and has 181 branches across the country.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Cart Abandonment: Reducing Friction at the Point of Conversion

    Cart Abandonment: Reducing Friction at the Point of Conversion

    In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, cart abandonment has become a significant challenge for retailers. With the rise of omnichannel fulfillment and the increasing demand for fast and convenient delivery options, the complexity of the fulfillment process has escalated. As consumers’ expectations continue to soar, the importance of delivery and pickup experiences has transitioned from afterthoughts to critical factors influencing buying decisions.

    Shoppers now expect immediate access to delivery and pickup options while browsing for products, making collection convenience as crucial as other product attributes. Unfortunately, traditional order management and ecommerce systems were not designed to handle the intricacies of omnichannel fulfillment across multiple locations. Relying on dependable yet slow relational databases, retailers are limited to offering generic fulfillment timeframes, which lack accurate information during the checkout process.

    This unfortunate reality leads to poor customer experiences, resulting in approximately 7 out of every 10 online shoppers abandoning their cart. To address this pressing problem, retailers must reevaluate their fulfillment strategies and invest in technologies capable of providing real-time, accurate information. There are three key areas retailers should focus efforts to reduce friction at the point of conversion and start making successful transitions.

    Establish a unified basket

    The biggest point of friction in today’s retail customer experience is due to the loss of context when transiting between the physical and the digital. A unified cart or basket is a foundational capability that bridges this gap, providing critical connectivity across channels. Shoppers don’t see “channels” the way retailers do – they simply shop. Therefore, retailers are increasingly under pressure to ensure seamless continuity, particularly during transitions between carts and wish lists, alleviating customers from the burden of starting afresh. For brands, embracing a digital first ethos doesn’t mean giving up on physical retail, but amplifying the two, fusing them together seamlessly.

    Manhattan Associates’ 2023 Unified Benchmark for Speciality Retail report found that retailers making the most progress in minimising cart abandonment through connecting in-store and online experiences are offering increased visibility of the following in their cart view:

    1. Inventory visibility: Visibility of real-time available stock across all channels, providing product status by store. If a particular item is unavailable, customers can opt for alternative options or be notified when it becomes available again.
    2. Available promo codes: Automatically applying available promotional codes to the cart view or ensuring applicable promotions visible for shoppers to easily ‘opt in’ when viewing their cart.
    3. Integration with loyalty programs: Displaying the customer’s loyalty points and rewards within the cart provides them with the easily accessible option to redeem rewards directly at the cart stage.

    The report also found that while the majority of retailers are offering basic capabilities such as inventory visibility on a product detail page (PDP), many are yet to extend this offering to across the board, lacking visibility across the entire shopping journey.

    Add value with flexibility

    A truly frictionless shopping experience is not just about the convenience of prefilling a customer’s payment details for future transactions, but it’s also about providing customers with a variety of payment options. More often than not, customers have a preferred payment method. By offering a wide range of payment types, both online and in store, retailers are providing that extra bit of flexibility, making a consumer’s purchase decision easier. This process should be simple and convenient for shoppers to pay however they prefer, including through gift cards, loyalty points, store credit, mobile wallets, pay-later apps, store credit cards, and any combination therein. The report also revealed that 40% of shoppers prefer payment flexibility, including the ability to use a combination of modes to make a purchase.

    However, offering additional payment options has the potential to make things more complicated, therefore it’s important that retailers have the right technology in place to support a seamless checkout experience. Shoppers look for fast and convenient checkout options, with a majority of cart abandonment occurring due to less-than-ideal shopper experiences at checkout, like a multi-step process. If shoppers can quickly and easily buy what they need, when they need it, and do so using their preferred payment method, not only are they more likely to complete the purchase, but they’re more likely to keep coming back.

    Offer fast, accurate delivery promises

    If retailers can assist shoppers with important ordering and delivery-related information across the shopping journey, they increase their probability of conversion. What is the earliest I could get this item, and how? Can I order an item for in-store pick-up and another for delivery as part of the same order? Leading retailers offer shoppers a comprehensive set of delivery and pick-up options, focusing not just on speed but on flexibility to fit busy lifestyles, with 77% of shoppers reporting they prefer to have options when selecting their delivery method. They accommodate ordering complexity without compromising checkout convenience, allowing shoppers to select different delivery options for products within the same order.

    While only 15% of retailers provide the option to change fulfillment method post order confirmation, Sephora is one retailer who is enabling shoppers to get Buy Online, Pick Up in Store (BOPIS) purchases shipped home in case they are unable to pick it up from the store. With 45% of shoppers prepared to abandon a cart if they’re unhappy with the delivery methods on offer, it’s crucial for retailers to ensure the product pick-up or delivery experience is as good as their shopping journey.

    Deliver exceptional experiences

    While consumer expectations of purchasing and delivery expand, customer service and experience are arguably the most important elements to get right. Retailers must invest in technologies capable of providing real-time, accurate information to offer a seamless and efficient fulfillment process. By embracing innovation and prioritising customer-centric approaches, retailers can position themselves for long-term success in this rapidly evolving industry.

    For more information on how your retail business can reduce instances of cart abandonment, please visit: www.manh.com/en-sg

    Written by Richard Wright, Managing Director, SEA, at Manhattan Associates

  • Vietnam food association official says no immediate plan to curb rice exports

    Vietnam food association official says no immediate plan to curb rice exports

    Vietnam has no immediate plans to restrict rice exports, a senior official of the country’s food association said on Monday, after India’s export curbs sparked worries about global supplies of the staple.

    “At the moment, Vietnamese companies are exporting rice normally,” said Nguyen Ngoc Nam, chairman of the Vietnam Food Association, which represents the country’s rice processors and exporters and works closely with the government.

    India, which accounts for 40% of world rice exports, ordered a halt to its largest export category more than a week ago to calm domestic prices, which have climbed to multi-year highs in recent weeks as erratic weather threatened production.

    Nam said prices of Vietnamese rice had soared since India’s move on July 20, adding that the harvest of the summer-autumn crop was ongoing in Vietnam, which is the world’s third largest rice exporter after India and Thailand.

    Vietnam’s 5% broken rice prices rose to $550-$575 per metric ton on Monday, traders said, their highest since 2011, from a range of $515-$525 before India’s move.

    A day after India’s export curb announcement, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade called on the association to ensure sufficient domestic rice supplies and food security, and asked traders to balance between exports and domestic sales to stabilize domestic prices.

    Rice shipments from Vietnam in the first seven months of this year were estimated to have risen about 18.7% from a year earlier to 4.84 million tonnes, according to the government’s preliminary data. Revenue from rice exports in the period was seen up 29.6% at $2.58 billion.

    On Friday, the United Arab Emirates announced it would ban rice exports and re-exports for four months, including rice of Indian origin.

    Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Saturday the country must boost its rice stocks and that he may seek a supply deal with India, worried about the potential impact of El Nino dry weather on the local harvest and about other suppliers.

    The Philippines is Vietnam’s largest rice buyer.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Czech Skoda cars available in Vietnam this September

    Czech Skoda cars available in Vietnam this September

    Skoda cars have been imported into Vietnam from the Czech Republic and will go on sale here in September, according to Skoda’s Vietnamese partner TC Motor.

    The imported models include the CUV Karoq in the C-segment and the SUV Kodiaq in the D-segment, which will compete with Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, Kia Sorento, Hyundai Santa Fe, Mazda CX-8, and Toyota Fortuner, said TC Motor, a distributor and assembler of South Korean Hyundai vehicles.

    The 7-seat Kodiaq has gasoline and diesel engine versions and costs some US$52,870 on the European market.

    The Karoq also includes gasoline and diesel engine versions and has a list price of some $31,390 in Germany and around $33,000 in China.

    TC Motor will sell Skoda cars imported from Europe and then vehicles assembled in Vietnam.

    In late February Skoda and TC Motor began building a plant with an annual capacity of 120,000 Skoda cars at Viet Hung Industrial Park in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

    Vietnam is the first Southeast Asian country in which Skoda has put up a factory, from which it also plans to export vehicles to other countries in the region.

    Skoda has three plants in the Czech Republic and facilities in China, Russia, Slovakia, India and Ukraine.
    The company sold 731,300 vehicles in some 100 markets around the world, with Germany, the Czech Republic, India, the UK, and Poland being the biggest.

    In 2021, it sold nearly 900,000 cars in the markets with Germany and Russia being the biggest.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • IT talents sought after amid frozen labor market

    IT talents sought after amid frozen labor market

    Amid a season of low recruitment demand due to economic challenges, companies are still headhunting for experienced and high-skilled IT staff to speed up their digital transformation.

    Although many companies are scaling down their payroll, demand for IT experts remains high with the most popular recruitment positions being business administration, software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, digital platform development and data analysis.

    Quang Trung Software City, a hub for IT businesses, has seen several companies such as Larion, TMA, Rakus, and SPS recruiting staff in recent weeks.

    An experienced manager at a business there said that companies were overpaying staff to ensure positions were filled even though it was not ideal.

    The gross income of programmers with more than three years of experience in Vietnam ranges from $2,100 to $6,000 per month, according to a survey by recruitment company IT TopDev last year.

    Recruiters say that the price range is the same this year as staff shortages remain.

    Companies expect IT experts to have design and analysis skills, along with team management and expertise in a particular sector such as finance or e-commerce. They are also required to have good communication and language skills.

    Truong Thien Kiem, a deputy director at recruitment firm Adecco Vietnam, said that the decline in orders this year had urged factories to increase automation and therefore hike their needs for high-skilled IT staff.

    Domestic companies must race with foreign enterprises who are also looking for the best IT experts.

    Thailand’s Kasikorn Business-Technology Group (KBTG) last month opened its Vietnam unit in Ho Chi Minh City, its third in Asia, to attract IT talent.

    The group plans to recruit 200 developers this year and will be partnering with universities to find suitable candidates.

    In May, representatives of seven Japanese companies in Hanoi showed up at a job fair at Hanoi University of Science and Technology to find graduate IT candidates.

    Recruitment demand is forecast to be high as Vietnam is estimated to need 600,000 developers this year and 800,000 next year, but the shortage could be between 175,000 and 195,000, according to TopDev.

    This is because only 35% of the 57,000 annual IT graduates meet business demand, it said, adding that beginners in the industry outnumbered seniors.

     

    Lees ook:

  • YouTube deletes over 3,000 Vietnames videos

    YouTube deletes over 3,000 Vietnames videos

    YouTube has deleted over 3,000 videos about a cartoon character name Wolfoo due to alleged copyright violations even as the Vietnam-based producer Sconnect continues to deny all accusations.

    The videos, which had billions of views, were asked to be removed by U.K. company Entertainment One, which claimed that Wolfoo was based on its creation “Peppa Pig”, Sconnect said in a report to Vietnamese authorities at the end of July.

    Entertainment One reported the videos to YouTube in April, claiming that the scenes used in Wolfoo videos were copied from Peppa Pig.

    The company in July again reported the videos, claiming that the Wolfoo videos were also copying some of the audio and sound effects from Peppa.

    But Sconnect said that in both cases, Entertainment One and YouTube were not able to provide any clear evidence to show that copyright regulations were infringed.

    Sconnect said that the scenes and sounds mentioned are popular in everyday life.

    There is no legal ground for the claims, the studio argued, adding that its requests to YouTube since June have received no response even though the number of removed videos is increasing.

    Wolfoo Family, one of the YouTube channels that provides the videos, has lost around 2.4 billion views due the removed videos since May.

    Sconnect is now asking Vietnamese authorities to convince Google and YouTube to stop accepting copyright claims from Entertainment One.

    YouTube and Entertainment One have not commented on the issue.

    Sconnect, established in 2014, has 19 Wolfoo-related YouTube channels.

    “Wolfoo” is an English-language YouTube preschool animated web series about a young wolf and his anthropomorphic family.

    British preschool TV show “Peppa Pig” features an anthropomorphic piglet and her family. The show first aired in 2004.

    Entertainment One last year had sued Sconnect in Russian and British courts over intellectual property infringement, claiming Wolfoo is a “reworked” version of the Peppa Pig characters.

    Following an independent review, in July Russian experts rejected this claim and the Moscow City Court terminated Entertainment One’s suit against Sconnect.

    Entertainment One then immediately withdrew all claims.

    YouTube said earlier it never acts as an intermediary to resolve conflicts between two parties and only provides tools for users to protect themselves.

    Lees ook:

  • South Korea e-commerce market to surpass $160 billion mark in 2027

    South Korea e-commerce market to surpass $160 billion mark in 2027

    South Korea continues to evolve as a major e-commerce market and is expected to register a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.7% between 2023 and 2027 to reach KRW202.6 trillion ($160.4 billion) in 2027, forecasts GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    GlobalData’s E-Commerce Analytics reveals that South Korea e-commerce market has been on growth trajectory, registering a CAGR of 17.4% between 2018 and 2022 to reach KRW136.6 trillion ($108.2 billion) in 2022. This trend is expected to continue in 2023, with e-commerce sales expected to grow by 10.0%.

    Shivani Gupta, Senior Analyst Banking and Payments at GlobalData, comments: “South Korea has a well-developed e-commerce market supported by high-speed internet, rising smartphone penetration, availability of secure online payment systems and increasing consumer confidence in online shopping.”

    South Koreans are frequent online shoppers with over 80% of the consumers reported to have shopped online in the past six months, while only 10% indicated that they never shopped online, according to GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey*.

    The availability of new and innovative mode of online shopping such as video live streaming is also encouraging shoppers to go online. South Korean e-commerce giant Naver leads this space by enabling merchants to live stream their products on its “Naver Shopping Live” platform. Customers can view the product details, interact with the seller and buy from the platform on real-time.

    International brands are also venturing into this space, contributing to the e-commerce growth in the country. In June 2023, YouTube launched its first official online shopping channel in South Korea, live-streaming products in Korean language.

    Gupta adds: “Koreans increasingly prefer shopping online even for day-to-day products, a trend that continued post COVID-19. GlobalData’s survey revealed that everyday essentials such as food and drinks account for nearly one fourth of the e-commerce purchases by value in 2023, while clothing and footwear account for 12.2%.

    Gupta concludes: “South Korea’s e-commerce market registered sustainable growth during the last five years. The uptrend in e-commerce sales is likely to continue over the next few years supported by the growing consumer preference, improving payment infrastructure, and growing popularity of innovative online shopping modes.”

    *GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey was carried out in Q2 2023. Approximately 50,000 respondents aged 18+ were surveyed across 40 countries.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Cebu Pacific upgrades aircraft fleet this year

    Cebu Pacific upgrades aircraft fleet this year

    Philippine carrier Cebu Pacific has increased its aircraft deliveries for 2023 to a record high of 21 to further improve its operational resiliency amidst growing demand for air travel.  

    The airline originally had plans to add 15 aircraft to its fleet, and now expects six more to be added to its fleet. It welcomed its ninth aircraft this year on 27 July, a brand-new Airbus A321neo, which was delivered from the Airbus centre in Hamburg, Germany using blended sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on its flight. 

    Cebu Pacific is expecting 21 individual aircraft delivered this year, of which 17 are NEOs and four are CEOs (current engine option) on short-term lease. It aims to shift to an all-NEO fleet by 2028. 

    Earlier in June, Cebu Pacific received a brand new A320neo aircraft from Airbus’ final assembly line in Tianjin, China, powered by SAF with 41 percent blend, marking a major milestone for its sustainable aviation initiatives.   

    “This aircraft delivery allows us to increase our operational resilience while continuing to provide safe, reliable, and affordable air travel to our passengers. Our ongoing re-fleeting with new-generation, fuel-efficient aircraft and our continued use of sustainable aviation fuel will also help our decarbonization efforts in making the aviation industry more sustainable,” said Alex Reyes, chief strategy officer.  

    Lees ook:

  • OPPO to exit France as distributor ceases operation

    OPPO to exit France as distributor ceases operation

    2023 has been a steep slalom for OPPO in Europe. In late March there were rumors that OPPO will leave four EU states, then the company denied this. Some four months later, OPPO might be leaving France for real.

    A report from SamMobile references an article from French outlet Frandroid: Yang Technology, the exclusive distributor of OPPO in France, announced that “it will cease its activities”.

    Earlier this year tipster Max Jambor tweeted that both OPPO and OnePlus are to withdraw from the following European countries: Netherlands, France, UK and Germany. An immediately issued statement by a OnePlus official refuted the tipster’s info and noted that “OPPO and OnePlus are committed to all the existing European markets”.

    Then came May, when it was reported that the German OPPO website was still live, but had turned into a ‘ghost town’ with no new posts, information or updates. That’s on par with the fact that the OnePlus 11 did not launch in Germany because of a patent dispute between Nokia and OnePlus.

    The beef between OPPO and Nokia was taken to court, where the Chinese brand actually won. A judge in the Paris Court of Justice has ruled that Nokia’s patents are considered “invalid” due to a “lack of novelty”. The trial at first instance has been won by OPPO, but most probably Nokia will appeal this Paris decision. Nevertheless, OPPO has decided to take a step back and apparently cut ties with France, while staying ‘on hold’ in Germany.

    It’s been awfully quiet on OPPO’s social media in France and their Instagram account. The brand used to share a minimum of three posts per week, but for the last 9 weeks, the sum is… zero. Social media activity is not a serious activity criterion, but it’s not to be underestimated in light of recent events

    This new state of affairs means that it will soon no longer be possible for people in France to buy OPPO smartphones straight from the official distributor, but instead will have to rely on resellers. However, there’s a statement from OPPO that their users in France will be able to access after-sales services and receive future OS updates.

    Lees ook: