Global marketing news – 18 April 2016
E-commerce giant Rakuten rumoured to enter India soon
The Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten is rumoured to be about to enter the Indian market.
The company opened a development centre in India in 2014, prompting speculation that it may launch in the country in the future.
In recent weeks, it has opened a business office in the country and started hiring managers from e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart, sparking rumours that a launch may be imminent.
Rakuten is extremely popular in its home market of Japan, where it is the country’s most popular e-commerce site.
A spokesperson from the company described India as a “vibrant growth market” but refused to comment on if or when it would launch in the country.
The Indian e-commerce market is currently worth 11 billion US dollars and is growing rapidly, with online sales expected to reach 220 billion US dollars by 2025 according to estimates by Merrill Lynch.
Factors influencing ad clicks in China revealed
A study by iResearch Consulting Group has found which factors entice internet users in China to click on online ads.
It found that internet users were most likely to click on an ad if they were interested in the product it was promoting, with 37% citing this as a factor that enticed them to click on an ad.
Excellent copywriting, relevancy, containing promotional information, and having great visual and sound effects came in second, third, fourth and fifth place respectively, with these factors being cited by between 31% and 34% of respondents.
No other factors were given by more than 30% of respondents.
The study also found which types of websites users were most likely to click ads on.
80% of respondents said they clicked on ads on e-commerce sites, 51% said they clicked on ads on search engines and portal sites, and 47% said they clicked on ads on digital video sites.
Beauty e-commerce on the rise in Europe
E-commerce sales of beauty and personal care products in Europe are predicted to increase by around 8% year-on-year between now and 2019, according to research by AT Kearny.
Cheaper prices are the main reason given for the rise in beauty e-commerce, with convenience and looking for inspiration also being touted as popular reasons.
Women are more likely than men to buy beauty products online, with 53% of women and 34% of men buying such products online. However, the study found that men and women typically spend the same amount of money.
H&M to launch Canadian e-commerce site
The fashion retailer H&M has announced that it is going to launch an e-commerce site targeting Canada later this year.
The site will have the “whole range of fashion basics and the latest trends” and will deliver items to customers’ homes.
H&M currently has a digital presence in 61 countries across 6 continents, with e-commerce being enabled on 23 of those websites.
It saw its sales grow by a healthy 19% last year.
The Canadian e-commerce market is worth 31 billion US dollars and has a digital buyer penetration rate of 69%.
Facebook satellite to beam down internet to Africa
And finally, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the company is going to launch a satellite into space to beam down the internet to Sub-Saharan Africa.
The launch is due to take place in the “next few months” although an exact launch date is yet to be announced.
Zuckerberg hopes that it will help millions of Africans who do not currently have any way to get online to access the internet.
It is not the first time an internet giant has embarked on a wacky-sounding project to help boost internet coverage. Google is in talks with telecoms operators in Africa regarding its plan (dubbed Project Loon) to beam down the internet using giant floating balloons.
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