Global Marketing News – 12th February 2016
Amazon steps up global retail domination
The international ecommerce giant Amazon is rumoured to be planning to launch a global distribution network called Dragon Boat.
The scheme would help facilitate cross-border ecommerce on its site.
With Dragon Boat, Amazon would buy space on planes, boats and trucks, allowing merchants to buy this space either online or via an app.
Amazon also allegedly wants to automate the paperwork, thereby making the process simpler, faster and cheaper.
Going into the global distribution market would pitch Amazon into competition with well-established rivals such as UPS and FedEx.
If it is successful, however, the analytics firm Robert W Baird & Co. has predicted that Dragon Boat could earn Amazon 400 billion US dollars a year.
The global cross-border ecommerce market is expected to hit sales of 1 trillion US dollars by 2020, according to research by Accenture and AliResearch.
Google Play Store ends its ban on ad blocking apps
It appears that Google has ended its ban on ad blocking apps in the Google Play Store.
The company had previously removed or slowed down ad blocking apps such as Adblock Fast and Crystal.
It had justified the removals by claiming that such apps violated a part of the Android Developer Distribution Agreement that states that apps must not interfere with the functionality of web browsers or other apps.
However, the release of browsers such as Safari and Samsung with ad blocking APIs forced Google to re-think its position, as these browsers clearly intended that ad blockers should be able to work on them.
Google has now unblocked Adblock Fast and stopped slowing down Crystal.
Google’s new position seems to be that ad blocking apps that use authorised routes such as APIs to integrate with other apps are permitted, whilst apps that try to use non-authorised routes will continue to be blocked.
Ecommerce is on the rise in France
Research by FEVAD has revealed that ecommerce is on the rise in France.
French online shoppers made an average of 22.9 purchases in 2015, up from an average of 20.2 purchases the previous year.
The amount shoppers were spending online also went up. Last year, French online shoppers spent an average of 1,780 Euros, up from 1,640 Euros in 2014.
When looking at the rate of growth throughout the year, the research showed that growth was fastest earlier in the year, but that ecommerce sales were still growing, albeit not so quickly, at the end of the year.
By the end of the year, B2C ecommerce sales were growing at a rate of 6.5%, and B2B ecommerce sales were growing at a rate of 6%.
New Zealand bank ASB opens Weibo account
The New Zealand bank ASB has opened a Weibo account to help connect with the country’s growing Chinese immigrant population.
Weibo is one of the most popular social networks in China, with around 222 million monthly active users, and is a micro-blogging platform similar to Twitter.
A spokesperson from the bank explained the decision to open a Weibo account, saying: “A growing number of ASB’s customers are Chinese or are of Chinese origin and it makes sense to connect with our customers in their own language.”
It will use the account to interact with customers and disseminate news and marketing materials.
ASB is the first bank in New Zealand to have a verified Weibo account.
Website launched for Olympic and Paralympic Games 2020
And finally, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee has launched the website for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2020.
The website is designed to work well on mobiles as well as desktops and is available in English, Japanese and French.
It provides information about the sports, venues and how people can get involved.
The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games will begin on 24th July and 25th August 2020 respectively.
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