Global Marketing News – 13th May 2016
Amazon launches online video service to rival YouTube
YouTube has just got some new global competition, after Amazon has announced the launch of its own online video service.
Whilst Amazon currently has its Prime Video service to rival Netflix, the new Amazon Video Direct will allow users to post their own videos online and receive royalties for successful content.
To start with, the service will only be available in the UK, the US, Japan, Germany and Austria, however it is expected to be expanded worldwide eventually.
Jim Freeman, Vice President of Amazon Video, said that the company was “excited to make it even easier for content creators to find an audience, and for that audience to find great content”.
Viewers will only be able to watch videos without adverts if they are Amazon Prime members, but all viewers will be able to rent or even buy content from the site.
PayPal to reimburse return shipping costs for Canadians
Canadian PayPal customers will have any return shipping costs reimbursed, from now on.
According to the online payment company, a survey in April found that 40% of Canadians do not make online purchases because they worry about having return it and pay for the shipping costs.
PayPal has since begun offering its new ‘Return Shipping On Us’ programme, in a push to increase sales, with the idea that people will feel more confident about ordering online.
The new programme will allow any of PayPal’s 6.4 million Canadian customers up to 10 reimbursed return deliveries per year, with an amount of anything up to 30 Canadian Dollars available.
Kerry Reynolds, the Head of Consumer Marketing for PayPal Canada, called the new service a “competitive differentiator”, and said it would also offer “a potential revenue driver for smaller online sellers who can’t afford to offer free returns to their customers”.
Almost half of UK online transactions via mobile
A report by the digital marketing company Criteo has revealed that up to half of all the online transactions made in the United Kingdom are made on mobile devices.
The survey, which took into account purchases through the first quarter of 2016, showed that with 49% of all e-commerce transactions being made through mobile, UK consumers are becoming increasing reliant on their phones and tablets for researching and purchasing items.
Another key statistic that came from the recent study was that of the transactions made on mobile, 65% of them took place through an app, as opposed to a web browser.
It is noted by Business Insider that the availability of new click-and-collect services in larger cities could be a factor that is pushing the growth of m-commerce in the country.
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in Brazil
A study has revealed that the most popular messaging app in Brazil is WhatsApp.
Research conducted by Ilumeo and NovaSB, showed that over 95% of Brazilian internet users used the app.
This was followed closely by Facebook on 87% before a fall to 50% of people using Skype.
Nearly 76% of Brazilians use mobile messaging apps, meaning that around 60 million people are expected to be using WhatsApp this year.
However, there is more good news for advertisers, after a report last month showed that over half of messaging app users in Brazil said that they would be open to receiving adverts in exchange for keeping the cost of using the apps, free.
Dutch payment company iDeal processes its 1 billionth payment
And finally, the Dutch payment company iDeal has announced that the one billionth payment has been made on its system.
The announcement was made during the King’s Day national holiday in the Netherlands, which marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander.
With all banks in the country now offering customers the option to pay with iDeal, the 53% increase of mobile payments in the past year have lead experts to believe that the country can expect to see a strong growth in the payment method.
Since being launched in 2005, iDeal has earned a 56% market share, making it the most used online payment system in the Netherlands.
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