Global Marketing News – 22nd October 2015
Myanmar social network MySquar to integrate online payments
The Myanmar social network MySquar has teamed up with the Myanmar online payments provider MyPay.
MySquar has invested 500,000 US dollars in MyPay to integrate MyPay into its online chat feature.
MySquar and MyPay hope that the deal will help to increase the amount of online transactions taking place in the country. Just 29% of Myanmar’s 51 million people are currently internet users, and less than 5% have bank accounts.
Alternative online payment services such as MyPay therefore have huge potential in this untapped market.
The social network MySquar has 1.5 million registered users, the majority of whom are based in Myanmar.
Blogs a key marketing channel in India
Blogs are a key marketing channel for brands in India, according to research by echoVME.
Questioning the top fashion, beauty, travel and food bloggers in the country, the study found that 85% endorsed brands on their blogs.
64% also admitted to attending blogger meet-ups hosted by brands and 61% said they wrote blog posts sponsored by brands.
The majority also said they amplified their blog posts using social media, with Facebook and Twitter being the most popular social networks for this purpose.
134 million Indians use Facebook at least once a month, making it the most popular social network in the country, according to a recent study by Emarketer.
Google invests in Chinese company Mobvoi
Google has invested an undisclosed amount of money in the Chinese mobile voice technology company Mobvoi.
The two companies have previously worked together, as Mobvoi has previously helped Google to introduce Android Wear in the country.
The investment has sparked a flurry of interest as it is yet another sign that Google may be preparing to re-enter the Chinese market.
Last month, rumours began circulating that Google intends to launch a Chinese version of its Google Play app store which complies with the country’s strict censorship laws.
This is an apparent U-turn on Google’s previous stance to censorship in China, which culminated in the search engine leaving the country in 2010, and being banned by the so-called Great Firewall of China, after refusing to censor its search results.
China’s internet censorship laws ban pornographic and other “offensive” content, including “the spreading of rumours”.
Last year, China made it a criminal offence to broadcast any defamatory content online. A perpetrator can face up to 3 years imprisonment if the information has been viewed by 5,000 people or re-posted 500 times.
New Zealand ecommerce market growing steadily
Research by BNZ and Marketview has revealed that the ecommerce market in New Zealand is growing steadily.
Online retail sales have increased by 9% this year, higher than the 5% growth seen in neighbouring Australia.
A staggering 45% of sales are from overseas retail sites, showing that online shoppers in New Zealand are very open to engaging in cross-border ecommerce.
A spokesperson from Trade Me, the leading New Zealand ecommerce site, has said that local sites need to make serious improvements to attract more users.
Understanding customer behaviours, becoming more customer-centric and engaging with potential customers on social media are the key areas that need improvement, the statement went on to say.
A separate study by Visa revealed that online shoppers in New Zealand were more concerned about product quality than online payment security.
Nigerian ecommerce site Yudala receives investment
And finally, the Nigerian ecommerce site Yudala has received 70 million US dollars in investment.
Yudala, which sells items online as well as offline in 14 physical stores across the country, wants to use the money to become the “Alibaba of Nigeria”.
Nigeria is the leading African nation for ecommerce.
Out of Nigeria’s 50 million internet users, a staggering 90% either shop online currently or plan to do so in the future.
Yudala faces stiff competition in the Nigerian market, with the most popular ecommerce Jumia having several million visitors every month.
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