Global Marketing News – 29th September 2015
Microsoft teams up with Baidu to take on China
Microsoft has entered into a partnership with Baidu to help boost its Windows software in China.
In a softening of relations between the US tech giant and China, the Chinese President also visited Microsoft’s headquarters in Seattle earlier this month.
The mutually beneficial partnership with Baidu will mean that Baidu will be the default search engine on Microsoft’s Edge browser in the country.
In return, when users search for “Windows 10” on Baidu, a large banner will display at the top of the search results, which will take users to Microsoft’s Windows 10 download page when clicked.
A spokesperson from Search Engine Land said Microsoft was making a smart move by pushing its Windows technology rather than its Bing search engine in the country, commenting: “If Google can’t win the search market in China, then Microsoft can’t. But there’s a lot to gain by pushing the Windows adoption.”
Social media is most popular online activity for Vietnamese smartphone users
Research from DI Marketing has revealed that social media use is the most popular activity for Vietnam’s smartphone users.
80% of Vietnamese smartphone users said they visited social networks on their phones, more than any other activity.
Listening to music and watching videos came in second place with 72% saying they used their smartphones to do this, and taking selfies and other photos came in third place at 70%.
Making phone calls and sending text messages surprisingly came in fourth, with just two thirds saying they did this.
The least popular activities were internet banking and making purchases online, with only around a quarter doing these activites.
The vast majority, over 90%, of Vietnam’s internet users access the web using a smartphone, and the number of smartphone users is growing fast.
The country is the world’s third fastest growing smartphone market, coming behind only India and Turkey.
Last year, the Vietnamese smartphone market grew by 24%, and with only around a third of people currently having a smartphone in the country, there is still plenty of room for future growth.
Thailand to conduct mass online censorship
Thailand appears to be preparing a “Great Firewall” akin to China’s to conduct mass online censorship.
Documents published by the government reveal that they have instructed the ICT, justice and police departments “to set up a single internet gateway in order to control inappropriate websites and to control the flow of information into the country from overseas via the internet”.
The Thai government has a history of censoring politically sensitive or embarrassing news, as well as negative news related to the country’s royal family.
The new censorship laws, which some have compared to the so-called “Great Firewall of China”, would make it easier for the government to censor larger swathes of the internet.
H&M to launch ecommerce site in Switzerland
And finally, the retail store H&M is expected to launch an online store for Switzerland this week.
H&M already has a Swiss website that lists its stock, but currently it is not possible to buy items from the site.
It is one of the last major fashion brands to launch an ecommerce site in the country, mainly because Swiss consumers are “demanding” and generally expected items to be delivered within 3 days.
It is unclear how H&M will meet this tight delivery deadline, with the nearest distribution centre being located in Germany, but it may well utilise its network of 90 or so physical stores in the country.
The Swiss fashion retail market is worth an estimated 9 billion Euros, with online sales accounting for around 10% of all sales.
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Cal O'Connell
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