Global Marketing News – 18th May 2016
Google set to face massive fine for breaking EU antitrust laws
It is strongly believed that Google will face a massive 3 billion Euro fine from the European Commission for breaking antitrust laws.
The search engine company has been accused of boosting the ranking of its own Google Shopping price comparison services, whilst pushing rival services offered by competitors further down the search results.
According to an anonymous source with knowledge of the punishment, the European Commission will formally announce the fine in June.
If the fine is confirmed as being 3 billion Euros, it would be the largest ever fine handed out to a company guilty of antitrust charges.
Google has refused to comment. It has the option of fighting the fine in the European Court of Justice.
The European Commission is also investigating Google for abusing its dominance in the smartphone market with its operating system Android.
Retail shopping becoming omnichannel in France
Research by Ingenico Group has found that retail shopping is becoming increasingly omnichannel in France.
Half of respondents in the study reported using at least 2 internet devices to shop for retail items, with mobile shopping being more common amongst women and desktop online shopping being more common amongst men.
1 in 5 said they regularly researched online and then bought items in a physical store, with 1 in 10 saying they regularly researched in a physical shop and bought online.
French consumers are also coming to expect ecommerce sites to offer multiple delivery options. Almost two-thirds of respondents said they regularly used between two and four different delivery options, such as click-and-collect and home delivery.
France has a digital buyer penetration rate of 72%.
Iranian B2C ecommerce set to grow
The B2C ecommerce market in Iran is set to grow, according to research by yStats.
Iran has the highest number of online shoppers in the Middle East, thanks to its large population, and with internet penetration on the rise, this number is set to grow even larger.
The high penetration of debit cards is another factor in favour of Iran’s ecommerce market, as well as the recent lifting of sanctions from the West.
The most popular ecommerce sites in Iran include Digikala, Bamilo and Esam.
Iran has an internet penetration rate 57%, equivalent to around 47 million people.
Mobile commerce solution launches in South Africa
MobiCash and Boloro have teamed up to launch a mobile commerce solution in several townships in South Africa.
The companies will be offering small-to-medium sized B2C businesses a way to offer mobile payments to their customers.
The two companies have already rolled out the same scheme successfully in the Rwandan market.
MobiCash and Boloro have commented on the launch, saying that they hope their mobile payment solution will not only help small businesses but also help stimulate the South African ecommerce market as a whole.
Indonesia to create smart city to rival Silicon Valley
And finally, Indonesia has announced that it wants to transform the town of Bumi Serpong Damai (also known as BSD) into a digital city to rival Silicon Valley.
Sinar Mas Land, the company in charge of the ambitious project, has explained its plans for the city, saying: “[It goes] beyond just building public utilities and infrastructure, or providing broadband internet access to all BSD City households. Sinar Mas Land is building a network that will help with city planning and city life in every aspect.”
So far, broadband, phonelines, public wifi and a public cloud are all available.
The production of a mobile app to allow residents to make payments, book facilities, order transport and access entertainment and healthcare is still in the pipeline.
Webcertain’s global marketing news bulletins are daily 5-minute videos, providing marketers with the latest international digital marketing news in an easy-to-digest format.
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