Imagine being about to try on clothes without actually needing to physically do it. Imagine not having to struggle to measure furniture sizes for your house.

Artificial Intelligence has been changing the retail industry bits by bit. From self-check out services to chatbots online, its only the beginning. AI is revolutionising the retail industry but making it cost-effective to deliver a completely personalised, immersive and optimised experience for every individual consumer at a massive scale.

Web shops are tailoring their marketing and items based on the customer’s previous purchases, search habits, click and other variables by using self-learning algorithms to make a what could be a once lost customer to a potential customer by making their experience more personalised.

By integrating AI in marketing, retail companies are able to take these big data sets and use them to their benefits. A study has found that AI can boost promotion efficiency by allowing automated ad buying as well as personalising customer’s online experiences and serving users targeted recommendations and in turn, has enhanced customer satisfaction and a reduction in customer complaints. Companies can create far more targeted ads that could differ from store to store and focus on what needs more marketing and what should be removed from the product line.

Retail robots could be the future of retail in-store experience by freeing customers from the discomfort of asking human staff “too many questions” or “dumb questions”! Eventually, these robots will be capable of doing everything a basic human worker does and by using retail data, they could make the experience even more personal!

As amazing as AI is, do you think there will be setbacks? Personally, I don’t think human employees would be too happy about robots replacing them.

What is National Broadband Network?

NBN is a new telecommunications network being rolled out to deliver high speed and more reliable broadband to every home and business in Australia. To install this, NBN uses a range of broadband technologies, including FTTP, FTB, FTTN, HFC, Fixed Wireless and Satellite (for more details on these technologies, click here).

Why is it a disaster?

The NBN began in 2006 and had a simple, yet ambitious goals. Its main goal was the provide top-quality broadband internet access to Australia in a timely fashion, affordable price and at the least cost to the government. It was originally set to be devoured via FTTP to 93% of all premises however , the botched rollout of the NBN affect the public in many ways. The project cost jumped from $29.5 billion before the 2013 federal election, to $45-56 billion afterwards, making this the largest costing infrastructure project in the Australian history.

Today, the problems worsens. Some customer are being forced to pay more for an NBN internet service that is no better with the ADSL service and many consumers are not happy about this. Currently, the multi-technology model has meant to connect 54,000 people however it can’t even reach the guaranteed 25Mbps minimum the government outlined during the election.

High speed internet has become such a critical infrastructure in the 21st century. Home owners don’t have choice when it comes to the type of connection their property receives and with the housing boom in Sydney and Melbourne, many people have started to think rationally about what they will pay for. The type of service you receive is even advertised in some real estate advertisements. Does this mean people may pick and choose where they will depending on the speed on the internet if things don’t get better? Probably more so for those who work from home.

Have you had any troubles with NBN?

There is no doubt that since the introduction of Uber Eats, ordering take away has never been more convenient and it’s safe to say Australians love spending money on taking away, with an estimated figure of $2.6 billion spent on it each year! But what consumers may not know is the dubious contract terms Uber Eats imposes on restaurants if they want to sign up with them.

One of the terms is “You acknowledge … Uber is a technology services provider … [which does not] provide any delivery or logistics services” whilst several posts on their website tells a different story.

“Download the Uber Eats app, find what you’re craving, and we’ll delivery (sic) directly to you.”

And on top of this Uber Eats charges a staggering 30% commission per delivery made whilst their website! Whilst restaurants are looking to gain an edge in their profits, Uber is doing the opposite. It is likely that restaurants would lose money with every order so why are restaurants still signing up with Uber Eats?

Because in an average three-month period, nearly two million Australians uses food delivery services and this means, restaurants that are listed on such food delivery services are exposed to nearly two million Australians! That is a great way to gain exposure especially with the rating system that is used on the app. It is a great way for a small local restaurant to gain exposure by partnering with these food delivery services, therefore, despite how “risky” it is, the exposure is still there.

It’s no secret that Missguided is a spitting image of Gen-Z: growing up in the age where social media is prevalent and no escaping of it. However, Missguided has managed to become an online sensation among young female consumers.

Firstly, Missguided has been able to maximize SEO benefits and sending their customers into a frenzy with one simple tweet.

And that’s exactly what they did. Missguided has over 400,000 followers on Twitters with typically only 0.015% of their following likes their tweets and even fewer retreats. However, after “jeans and a nice top” was added into their category, twitter users has described this to be “revolutionary” and “the answer to all our problems”. What’s even better is that if you googled “jeans and a nice top” Missguided would not only appear as a top result but also articles from The Sun and Cosmo to name a few!

Recently, Missguided sales have spiked after partnering with Love Island by 40% around 7pm and midnight when the show airs, making it the most effective way to target its core 16 to 29-year-old female audience! Missguided has taken product placement to the next level by allowing viewers to shop for them via the show’s official app.  

To say the least, Missguided has definitely listened to their audience, delivered on it, employed a successful marketing plan and reaped PR, SEO and most probably, sales benefits.

What’s better than tap and go nowadays? Afterpay, where you can shop now, enjoy now, pay later.

Afterpay is an Australian financial technology company that allows its consumers to pay for their purchases over four simple instalments. It’s pretty much an online credit card for consumers where if you make repayments on time, you’ll only ever pay the price of the item you’ve purchased.  Afterpay has soared in popularity with 2.2 million people making transaction on the platform as of July 2018.

However, new research from Mozo has discovered some worrying figures surrounding the spending behaviour of Afterpay users. 30% of Mozo survey respondents has admitted to have missed at least one Afterpay payment whilst 65% said the ability to make smaller payments has influenced them to make purchases they wouldn’t mormally make. This evidently shows the impulse buying behaviour that Afterpay causes, which may ultimately end up in overspending, leading to debts. In August 2018, the company reported a 365 percent surge in the money it earns from late fees, fees that are charged when customers miss payment, amounting to $28.4 million! Whilst the company has emphasized the “vast majority” of its revenue was derived from other retailers and merchants, the late fee charges still amounts for 24 per cent of its income!

Personally, I think I would be a victim of late charges which is why I refuse to get an Afterpay account. But what are your thoughts?

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization is a method to optimise a website’s organic traffic from the search engine results page. The aim of SEO is to attract relevant visitors to your website that are interested in your products or services by 1) optimising SEO to receive organic traffic and 2) getting this traffic in higher quantity by targeting relevant keywords.

Pros:

• Delivers continuous free and targeted traffic flow
• Gives business exposure to people looking for a solution
• Help business growth

Cons:

• Timely
• SEO will require a big investment for competitive niche
• Does not guarantee results

What is SEM?

Search Engine Marketing is promoting an organisation through search engines to drive relevant traffic by buying paid or sponsored ad listings. The aim of SEM is to promote awareness of the brand in search engines by driving the relevant traffic without having to wait for it. However, for SEM to be successful, it must be implemented correctly.

Pros:

• Provides a rapid boost to website by buying keywords to appear for
• Google Adwords appear at the top of the search results page

Cons:

• Competing with others using Google Ads
• Once you stop paying for SEM, your visitors will immediately drop
• Those using ad blocks can hide your advertisements

Both SEO and SEM should be an important part of every business’ online marketing strategy. SEO is a powerful way to drive traffic to the top of the SERPS page, while SEM are a highly cost-effective way to drive relevant traffic in.

The first time I notice I was being stalked by ads was noticing the littlebanners on the side on Facebook to be exactly the online stores I recently browsed from.

This is called ad re-targeting and its becoming an issue. But what is it? Ad re-targeting is a cookie-based technology that uses a simple Javascript code toanonymously “follow” site’s audience all over the internet, (aka a tracking technology). Marketers and ad tech companies will then collect the data so thatit can target us across our devices. The trackers have become so sophisticatedthat they can see when you are thinking about buying something but has notfollow through- the ads will chase you around to lure you into making thepurchase.

These stalker ads have raised privacy concerned. A survey
conducted in 2012 by Pew Research Centre has found that almost three-quarters
of search are not okay with a search engine keeping track of their searches and
using that information to personalise their future search results.

So if you hate these stalker ads as much as I do, here are some easy ways to
sidestep stalker ads:

• • Periodically, clear your cookies so that the ad trackers will have a tougher time to follow you around
  • Periodically purge your Google Ad history with the My Activity Tool, so that you can take a deep look at the data Google has stored about you https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity
  • Install an ad blocker
  • On mobile devices, use a private browser

We hear the term social media influencers everywhere. We see them as we patiently scroll through our Instagram feeds, we see them on posters but who are they?

The term “influencer marketing” has increased by 325% in Google searches over 2017 with no evident of it slowing down. Even Instagram saw a whopping 12.9 million brand sponsored influencer post in 2017! 

But who exactly are they? Well, they’re normal everyday people like me and you. They are people who have built a reputation of their knowledge and passions and are not afraid to share it with the world on their favourite social media platform. Companies love working with influences because they are a brand themselves and they know how to deliver their message in a way that is most effective to their mass audiences.

In return, influencers are paid to participate in these campaigns, usually with free promotional materials or even just to simply talk about the products or to create a post with either the brand name or product.

Here’s a quick video if you wanted to learn a little more:

On Friday 15th May, an act of terrorism took place in two Christchurch mosques which left 50 people dead. The gunman with a semiautomatic refile took it upon himself to livestream the massacre online.

Now Facebook is facing immense pressure from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden to remove all graphic footages of the Christchurch massacre from its platform. The uncensored footage of the massacre continues to be shared in online forums despite attempts by authorities to have it taken down. Facebook has also responded to this matter by saying it has removed 1.5 million videos from its platforms within the first 24 hours of the shooting whilst removing all edited versions of the video, despite containing graphic content or not. However, despite those assurance, the “graphic” version is still available online.

Consequently, many New Zealand companies are debating whether to pull their advertisements on social media or not. Businesses such as ASB Bank, one of the largest banks in the country, questions whether they wish to be associated with media platforms that are unable or unwilling to take responsibility for content on those sites. Internet providers in New Zealand have also started blocking access to websites that are not responding or refusing to comply to their requests to remove re-uploads of the shooter’s original livestream.

But the question is: “if the site owners can target consumers with advertising in microseconds, why can’t the same technology be applied to prevent this kind of content being streamed live?”

Smartphones, tablets, laptops have dominated modern childhood. Nowadays, children often only sit still at the dinner table if a smartphone or tablet is sitting in front of them. What happened to disciplining children without relying on a digital device? Have digital devices ruined this generation of children and their reliance on digital devices?

A recent piece published by the New York post by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras argues that the amount of screen time young children are exposed to amounts to the risk of developing an addiction “harder to kick than drugs”. In January 2018, a survey was conducted with 1,024 parents, of that, 47 percent of parents feel their child is “addicted” to their mobile device. Some parents have even experienced violent behaviours from their children when denied their digital device. One parent even had to call the police and shockingly, they asked if the nine-year-old was on drugs. He was, only his drugs were digital. This has created a sense of urgency and fear amongst anxious parents as they watch their children slip slowly into the black hole.

Social interaction, creative imaginative play and an engagement with the real, natural world is essential in a child’s health development. This means playing lego instead of Minecraft, reading instead of watching movies on devices. Children are known to be more prone to addictive escape when feeling alone, purposeless or even bored. Thus, the solution to help children are to spend quality time with them, immersing them in meaningful real-life experiences

So, what do you think?
Are digital devices becoming a “heroin” for modern children?