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27 June 2017 – Expansión
Hispania, at the half-way point of its life, is remaining firm in its commitment to the hotel segment, whilst continuing to divest its office and residential businesses.
As part of this strategy, the company in which George Soros holds a stake, has purchased Hotel Fergus Tobago, located on the island of Mallorca, for €20.2 million, which it has financed entirely using its own funds.
The company plans to invest an additional €10 million on the refurbishment of the hotel, which has 275 rooms and a 3-star ranking. With the repositioning work, the company hopes to increase the category of the establishment and improve its services. The Socimi plans to carry out this renovation once the 2018 season has come to an end.
Hotel Fergus Tobago recorded an average occupancy rate of 88% last year, according to data released by the Socimi.
Following the acquisition, Fergus Hotels will continue as the operator of the hotel, through a lease contract with fixed and variable components.
This purchase comes after the operation that the group undertook a few weeks ago when it acquired a hotel in Benidorm for €15.6 million. It plans to spend between €17 million and €19 million on the complete refurbishment of that asset.
Hispania now owns 11,296 rooms in 39 hotels and has consolidated its position as the largest hotel owner in Spain, ahead of the chain Melia.
Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)
Translation: Carmel Drake


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In a digital-first world, businesses shouldn’t forget the digital non-natives
A small yet significant number of consumers still haven’t joined the online shopping revolution. Any firm that ignores these analogue laggards does so at its peril
One of the most obvious socioeconomic effects of Covid-19 has been the way it has boosted the ascent of ecommerce. Online channels now account for about £3 of every £10 in retail sales in the UK, compared with £2 before the pandemic started, according to the Office for National Statistics. To match this increase in digital spending, retailers have been working to enhance the customer experience they provide online. Yet a laser-like focus on ecommerce can come at the expense of the many consumers who still shop the analogue way.
Research published by Deloitte in August 2021 revealed that 21% of UK consumers don’t have access to a laptop PC and 8% of consumers don’t own a smartphone. Companies that disregard the needs of this group risk alienating many potential customers.
“This could be a problem in the medium term if brands make choices based purely on economics without considering their impact on certain stakeholders,” says Ross Sleight, chief strategy officer at Somo Global, a digital product agency. “Such considerations are particularly important in key areas of the high street. For instance, the closure of a local bank branch can evoke high emotion among those in the community who feel disenfranchised and on the wrong side of the digital divide.”
He continues: “One of the biggest barriers to a company’s successful digital transformation is how to change customers’ behaviour. Consumers who are so accustomed to undertaking certain tasks in a particular way cannot be expected to change them immediately and embrace digital methods.”
Sleight suggests that, to ensure that no one is left behind by the transformation, brands should work with customers to help them develop digital literacy skills.
More than 1,200 of the 2,000 consumers who responded to an online poll by YouGov for Metro Bank in August 2020 agreed that British banks had given up on having a high-street presence. Just over half of those surveyed said that they still liked to speak to someone face to face when making a bank transaction. Among respondents aged over 55, the proportion rose to 62%.
“There’s clearly been a huge acceleration towards digital channels throughout the pandemic,” says Kat Robinson, Metro Bank’s customer experience director. “The digital revolution in services could be felt most profoundly by older people, who tend to be less digitally literate. Falling on the wrong side of this digital divide could be a life-changing worry.”
Dr Angelika Strohmayer is a senior lecturer at Northumbria University’s design school, where she studies interactions between humans and computers. She observes that “the pandemic has taught us that digitalisation can be a huge asset in reaching new people, but also that it leaves many others behind. For the latter group, it’s not only a question of having access to an internet-enabled device such as a smartphone or computer. It’s also about having the ability to use them.”
Katie Thomas, lead at the Kearney Consumer Institute, agrees that the digital divide is not only a function of the “growing income and wealth gaps across the UK”, although these are clearly a strong contributory factor. People who are getting left behind by the online revolution may well be able to afford the latest smart devices and high-speed access to the internet. It’s a matter of choice too, she stresses.
Some people simply shun digital tech, choosing not to participate in online transactions because they prefer a traditional, in-person retail experience, which could include using cash instead of card payments. A brand may take a calculated risk, knowing that these consumers are generally older and will eventually be replaced by a new generation of digital natives. But making the decision to ignore their preferences could damage its standing, Thomas warns.
“Racing towards the future but losing customers’ loyalty on the way is not a sustainable strategy,” she says. “If a business’s motivation to be innovative is making the firm outpace the slow process of consumer change, it’s time for it to slow down.”
Moreover, while companies may have a strong desire to race ahead with their digital transformations, cheered on by their most tech-literate customers, they need to remember that the laggards whose needs they’re ignoring are being left a long way behind. According to research published in September 2021 by Comdata, 29% of Britons “have very low digital engagement”. People in this group aren’t necessarily lacking an internet connection. Many of them have online access and digital skills, but they simply don’t want to use them. They’re the type of high-street shoppers who, when asked at the till if they want to be sent a digital receipt rather than a paper one for environmental reasons, will decline to share their email address.
An independent poll of more than 2,100 UK adults by YouGov in January 2021 found that 8% had shopped solely at bricks-and-mortar stores over the previous 90 days. While that was half of the number who’d shopped exclusively online during that period, this finding indicates that a significant number of consumers remain tied to a non-digital world.
The study found that consumers’ inability to interact physically with products was the second-highest barrier, after their unwillingness to pay delivery charges, dissuading them from shopping online: 45% of respondents said this was a deterrent, compared with only 5% citing a lack of internet access. In the medium term, the emergence of tech such as virtual and augmented reality offers a potential solution. But, as businesses look forward and start adopting these new technologies, they also risk widening the gap between the digital natives and the analogue holdouts, further alienating a significant cohort of potential customers.
“At Metro Bank, we see a lot of people who want to use both channels – and there are certain customer experiences that I’d still rather have in person,” Robinson says. Keeping that in mind is crucial, as is not getting carried away by the endless promise of technology.
“In this business, we always start with our customers. What kinds of customers might come through the journeys we offer? Can we put ourselves in their shoes? We need to know how these journeys look from their perspective,” she says, adding that the online and offline experiences offered by the bank ideally offer the same quality. “This is about how organisations stand up their capability and ensure consistency across their different channels.”


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Facebook And Instagram Set To Impose Ban On All Age-Restricted Content
Social media giants Facebook have recently announced a crackdown on the sale of age-restricted items, including tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarettes and nicotine-containing e-liquids.
The ban prohibits not only the sale of such items, but also the act of swapping or gifting of any items of this nature within groups or on marketplace pages.
Although this move might spell disappointment for many Facebook groups, it does mean that regulations which should have been in place from the beginning have now implemented to keep underage Facebook users from purchasing or receiving age-restricted goods.
The new regulations have been mirrored by social media platform Instagram, who have unequivocally called a halt to all activity relating to the trading or selling of age-restricted products, including second-hand vape goods.
Pros and Cons
The ban could also signal the end of any competitions or giveaways which involve prizes of a controlled nature. However, its fairly likely that the ban could prompt people to turn to dedicated vaping forums in order to continue with the practice of selling, swapping and gifting vape products online. This is both a positive and a negative, as although it provides a platform for discussion, education and experimentation with different products, it is still an unregulated environment in which underage persons could gain access to products associated with or containing nicotine.
Who does this affect?
We firmly believe that any reputable vape company operating legally and ethically should already be putting these measures in place across their social media platforms to avoid such instances of underage use of age-restricted products. Although Facebook groups and Instagram pages have undeniably helped to grow the industry, the biggest impact of the ban will be to the groups themselves, rather than to the vape industry as a whole.
Vapestore will continue to implement a strict over-18 policy for the sale of all vape devices, e-liquids and related accessories, just as we always have, to ensure the safety of our customers. This applies not only to our website, but across all our social media platforms.
Safety should of course be of paramount importance in any industry, and you can never be too careful when dealing with second-hand electrical items of any nature. That’s why we’re right behind this legislation with the promise of upholding our own health and safety rules to the high standards we always have.
Visit our Facebook and Instagram pages to find amazing e-cigarette kits, sub ohm devices, all-in-one pod kits, e-liquids and vaping accessories – all covered by our strict over-18s policy and stringent safety checks for your complete peace of mind.


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007 Legends will launch on October 16, according to a leaked Amazon listing.
The upcoming James Bond release will also feature Kinect support, reports Eurogamer.
If the listing, which has since been removed, is accurate, the game launches the week before new James Bond movie Skyfall is released in cinemas.
Announced earlier this week, 007 Legends features missions spanning six different movies from the franchise's history, including upcoming release Skyfall.
007 Legends will tie together the famous movie missions with a brand new overarching story.
The game will feature numerous weapons and vehicles, as well as notorious villains and Bond girls.
It also contains four-person, split-screen multiplayer, and sees the return of the Mi6 Ops missions, which made their debut in Goldeneye 007: Reloaded.
Combining stealth and all-out action, players can tackle the Mi6 Ops missions as both James Bond and the game's villains.
007 Legends is being developed by Eurocom, the team behind the recent Goldeneye 007: Reloaded release.
A remake of the popular N64 game, Goldeneye 007: Reloaded first appeared on the Wii, before launching on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
A Skyfall video game tie-in was rumoured earlier this year, alongside a number of additional celebrations to mark the movie franchise's 50th anniversary.
Watch a trailer for Goldeneye 007: Reloaded below:


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Frankfurt: Germany’s Adidas said it would cut the number of its Reebok stores in India by about one-third as it restructures operations in the country after discovering “irregularities” at Reebok India.
While the Adidas group as a whole surpassed expectations for first-quarter results, Reebok saw sales in the first three months down 7 percent on a currency neutral basis, Chief Executive Herbert Hainer said in a speech.
German sportswear maker Adidas reported a strong rise in first-quarter profits but warned full-year earnings would be hit by the discovery of irregularities in its Indian business. Looking ahead to the whole of 2012, however, the company said "commercial irregularities" had been discovered at the Indian branch of its Reebok subsidiary which would likely affect its full-year results. AFP
“Although Reebok has some challenges to overcome in Western Europe this year and as retailers currently focus on the major sporting events, we nevertheless continue to see good progress in most other regions,” Hainer said.
Adidas, the world’s second largest sporting goods company behind Nike, announced the irregularities at Reebok India on Monday, also releasing first quarter earnings ahead of schedule.
It surpassed expectations with sales of 3.8 billion euros and operating profit of 409 million and also increased its outlook for 2012.
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Lamborgini, one of the most expensive sports car around the globe has become the ultimatum for all the people involved in the crypto-space. The car has become so famous that people have started to value Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies according to its price.
According to the official media page of Lamborghini, the company has seen seven years of consistent growth. The Italian automobile company has seen a growth of almost 10% worldwide in 2017 when compared to 2016. The sale has tripled since the fame of Bitcoin started roaring in the market.
The term ‘Lambo’ is almost used on an everyday basis. Charlie Lee, Founder of Litecoin used the term quite often as well to keep the crypto-enthusiasts motivated. He is noted for using terms like ‘Lambo-lite’.
Lamborghini became famous in the crypto-space ever since Costa Mesa store started accepting Bitcoin as payments in September 2017. This led to a lot of people and crypto-influencers buying Lamborghini with Bitcoin.
Mike Laurent, a crypto-evangelist says,
“I’m going to have so many Lambo’s soon that I will be in history known for having a lot of Lambo’s. Bitcoin is going to be in history for a lot of reasons and Lambo is going to be one among them.”
Alex Richardson, a crypto-investor says,
“This has become so common in the space. People don’t seem to ever get over it. They fail to understand that cryptocurrency is not just about Lambo or the moon, it’s about revolution, about being a part of something huge.”
BeurreDePinotee, a Reddit user says,
“So Lambos are the classic memes here and we all heard the stories of people who want to get one. Realistically, unless you bought many BTC very early, Bitcoin isn’t going to make you rich enough to drop 250K on a fucking car. Still, it sure can make you wealthy/comfortable enough to treat yourself a bit ;-)”
The coin has become a common slang in the crypto-space just like HODL, FUD, FOMO and more. The trend ‘whats your Lambo’ went viral and has been taken the space by storm ever since. The word Lambo has become has a motivational word for all the investors and is used to urge all the investors to HODL whenever the market is falling. Up until yesterday, even CoinMarketCap started to value the prices in terms of how many Lamborgini’s can be brought with the cryptocurrency.
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Google is not expecting a cake walk when it comes to having their native Maps application in iOS devices. As per the company sources they are not optimistic on Apple giving a nod so quickly on launching their native maps application.
In one of the interviews posted to the Guardian, Google informed that though their application will be ready by this year end, they are not expecting it to give live soon. If this news is true, iOS users are likely to wait longer to get their hands on a Google Maps application.
Google sources while justifying their doubt said that Apple currently doesn’t display any application with Google maps app integrated if users use the ‘Find Maps for your iPhone’ option. It may be recalled that Google allows third party app developers also to use their Maps application at hefty license fee for heavy usage.
With Apple adopting such an attitude towards the third party applications, it seems justified that there is nothing wrong in Google assuming that their native app won’t be allowed by Apple any time soon to be a part of their iOS devices.
Google believes that Apple has purposefully omitted such apps from their app store to not promote their much advanced Maps application to their users. Apple got hit badly because of their Maps application which had many flaws that made even their CEO to apologize in public for launching an application with so many bugs.
He also promised that Apple will soon come with a new Maps application. This could also be another reason why Apple doesn’t want to promote Google’s native Map app or any other third party app with build in Google Maps to its users.


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ANAHEIM, Calif.—R.D. Abbott Co. Inc. has been eager to bring silicone 3D printing to the market. The wait is over.
The firm showed off its new liquid silicone rubber 3D printing technology at the Medical Design & Manufacturing West show, held recently in Anaheim.
The printer was designed by German RepRap GmbH and produced parts using a Silastic LSR grade from DowDuPont Inc.
"It's a really exciting technology," said Tom Jenkins, executive director of business development at RDA. "To be able to get rapid prototypes on the silicone side is just brand new. It should help fabricators, tool makers and design houses looking to develop prototypes faster."
Jenkins said 3D printing is growing, with the technology mainly targeting thermoplastics parts currently. What RDA sought was to bring the same advantages of 3D printing to silicone molders. Its printer can prototype parts that match the fit, form and function of a molded rubber part, saving manufacturers time in the prototyping stage.
"Typically if you need a silicone part, you're going to go to a mold maker and have a mold built," Jenkins said. "It takes usually weeks to build a mold and they're quite expensive, you then get your first prototype part and you hope it works and if it doesn't you go through the process again. It could take weeks and weeks to get molds made, modified and get sample parts. Here if you have an idea, you can upload the idea to the machine and within hours have a part to work with. It's all the benefits that 3D printing in plastics has, but now with a true rubber material."
Rick Ziebell, a technology fellow at RDA, highlighted another advantage 3D printing brings to rubber product manufacturers: More control over their intellectual property.
"The value of being able to print parts in your own shop gives companies more speed," Ziebell said. "It's also a retention of intellectual property. Currently an original equipment manufacturer has to send out that part if it wants it to be manufactured, particularly if it's silicone. With a machine like this, they can retain that design in-house. Retention of intellectual property is really key with this."
Having a part in hand allows manufacturers to go through design and functional changes before investing in tooling. With a part in hand that's close if not spot-on to what the manufacturer is looking for, the amount of time adjusting the tools is greatly reduced.
Jenkins said the technology is still improving and as it does the firm will achieve better resolution.
We're able to produce a part with about a 45-degree overhang without a support material," Jenkins said. "The next-gen machines will have a support material, a secondary print head printing a rigid material to do direct overhangs. You'll be able to print very complex parts."


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The mobile Internet tsunami has changed the way investors buy and sell tech stocks, Cramer said Thursday In the past, this sector traded by the season. But now the smartphone revolution, in addition to a number of reported earnings beats, the sector is gaining its own independent momentum.
Case in point: RF Micro Devices , which on Monday guided
up by preannouncing stronger-than-anticipated numbers for the
current quarter. The smartphone component maker now expects
sales of $240 million to $245 million, a 41 percent increase
from last year.
RFMD is up 34 percent since Cramer's June 18, 2009, recommendation, but it's been flat so far this year. Cramer thinks that should change, thanks to the pre-announcement, as well as the overall strength in RF Micro's business and and an increase in customer demand.
But is the Mad Money host right? He invited CEO Bob Briggenworth back to the show to find out. Watch the video for the full interview.
Cramer’s charitable trust owns Qualcomm.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer? email@example.com
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website? firstname.lastname@example.org


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Google will come to the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus Monday for an all-day session designed to help small businesses get online.
“Fifty-two percent of businesses in the state of New York don’t have a website,” said Scott Levitan, who’s responsible for Google’s small business engagement and advocacy. “We asked why.”
What Google found was that many businesses thought it was hard to get online.
“When you think something is insurmountable, you don’t try,” Levitan said.
Businesses will find out how easy it is to build a website, Levitan and his colleague Sean Downey said. They’ll also learn how to do such things as embedding videos on their websites, and operating e-commerce sites that allow consumers to make purchases online.
More than 500 people have signed up for Monday’s event, to be held at the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center on the RPI campus in Troy.
Register at http://www.newyorkgetonline.com. Some of the sessions are full, but space is available in others.
Google offered its first session to help businesses get on line in Austin, Tex., back in July. In October, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer urged Google to bring its “Get Your Business Online” events to New York state.
Downey, who grew up in Glenville, and Levitan said that several other organizations, including the Retail Council of New York State, the New York Farm Bureau, Intuit, Empire State Development, the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce, the New York State Small Business Development Center and SCORE — the Service Corps of Retired Executives, will participate in Monday’s event.
Participating businesses will be offered a year of free web hosting and other services, which normally would cost $7.99 a month.
Businesses that already have websites will learn how to make them more valuable and useful, Levitan said.
“Over 97 percent of consumers research products online before making purchases,” said Downey, who will be hosting Monday’s event.
Monday’s session is intended to help businesses tap into that market.


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|By Jeremy Geelan||
|July 2, 2012 03:00 AM EDT||
"There is a common view among media and analysts that the cloud computing market will see rapid growth in the foreseeable future," observed Alex Mei, Executive VP and CMO of OCZ Technology Group, in this exclusive Q&A with Cloud Expo Conference Chair Jeremy Geelan. "Companies will need to adapt quickly to these fast changing conditions as cloud computing continues to mature to meet the demands of IT and ultimately end users," Mei concluded.
Cloud Computing Journal: Agree or disagree? - "While the IT savings aspect is compelling, the strongest benefit of cloud computing is how it enhances business agility."
Alex Mei: Agree. While driving down the costs associated with IT is certainly an important factor of cloud computing, the ability to create new ways for users to interact and access their data over the cloud is changing the very way that businesses can operate. The fact that cloud computing allows companies to scale their businesses at the rate they choose provides more "agility" than heavy investments in traditional large-scale infrastructure. Ultimately cloud computing can open up entirely new opportunities that can accelerate businesses or help facilitate more efficient delivery of services.
Cloud Computing Journal: Which of the recent big acquisitions within the Cloud and/or Big Data space have most grabbed your attention as a sign of things to come?
Mei: There have been numerous acquisitions bringing together advanced storage hardware designed to address Big Data and enterprise storage acceleration software, like our own OCZ-SANRAD VXL enterprise storage accelerator, which is designed to improve asset utilization and increase flexibility through virtualization. The merging of both solid state storage and software to form a total solution to optimize the server is a major trend. Enterprises and SMEs looking to manage data and the cloud more efficiently are deploying server virtualization to save power, cooling, and management costs. However, server virtualization by itself is only the tip of the iceberg. To realize the full benefits from a virtual infrastructure, companies must also implement the other critical component to the total solution: storage virtualization. More and more companies will move to solid state drives to eliminate the bandwidth bottlenecks that once existed, and storage virtualization that leverages ultra low latency flash-based storage extends the benefits of server virtualization by providing simplified storage management, improved storage utilization, and better overall application performance.
Cloud Computing Journal: In its recent "Sizing the Cloud" report Forrester Research said it expects the global cloud computing market to reach $241BN in 2020 compared to $40.7BN in 2010 - is that kind of rapid growth trajectory being reflected in your own company or in your view is the Forrester number a tad over-optimistic?
Mei: There is a common view among media and analysts that the cloud computing market will see rapid growth in the foreseeable future. Companies will need to adapt quickly to these fast changing conditions as cloud computing continues to mature to meet the demands of IT and ultimately end users. Everything from usage patterns to the actual applications that users will desire from the cloud are becoming more and more extensive, so those companies that can adapt quickly will be the most successful. While there are opportunities in many key areas it is likely that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) will fuel a lot of the immediate growth.
Cloud Computing Journal: Which do you think is the most important cloud computing standard still to tackle?
Mei: Cloud computing development is moving at a very rapid pace and we really need to find a balance in terms of implementing new standards that make it easier for everyone to benefit from wider cloud adoption while making sure not to stifle innovation. Because cloud computing is a constant evolution of so many technologies, many organizations have already built up their own framework and it may be hard to standardize. One of the most important cloud computing standards to tackle is to find ways to make the cloud more interoperable, with unrestricting standards, so that more users can benefit from the advances of this resource.
Cloud Computing Journal: Big Data has existed since the early days of computing; why, then, do you think there is such an industry buzz around it right now?
Mei: Big Data has existed for a long time, but I would argue that the need to manage and process Big Data has only accelerated in today's modern computing environment. Each day whether it is through scientific or communications applications to video sharing and social media, users are creating massive amounts of data, accelerating the need to manage this ever-growing amount of information. The entire industry is facing the challenge of not just dealing with the large volume of data, but learning how to actually process it in the enterprise. If companies are unable to process and analyze the data in a timely fashion, businesses not only lose efficiency, but Big Data itself begins to lose its value.
Cloud Computing Journal: Do you think Big Data will only ever be used for analytical purposes, or do you envisage that it will actually enable new products?
Mei: Big Data comes in many varieties and is so much more than just structured data; it can include unstructured data like video, audio, and click streams, and because of this variety we envision businesses innovating and creating new ways to not just analyze this data, but harness it to create opportunities for new products and services. Up until now it has been extremely difficult to harvest this variety of mass data, but with advances in supercomputing, virtualization, and solid state storage technology, it's now feasible to process and manage Big Data in a way that creates new possibilities that didn't exist before.
SYS-CON Events announced today that IceWarp will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. IceWarp, the leader of cloud and on-premise messaging, delivers secured email, chat, documents, conferencing and collaboration to today's mobile workforce, all in one unified interface
Sep. 1, 2015 03:00 PM EDT Reads: 439
In his session at @ThingsExpo, Lee Williams, a producer of the first smartphones and tablets, will talk about how he is now applying his experience in mobile technology to the design and development of the next generation of Environmental and Sustainability Services at ETwater. He will explain how M2M controllers work through wirelessly connected remote controls; and specifically delve into a retrofit option that reverse-engineers control codes of existing conventional controller systems so they don't have to be replaced and are instantly converted to become smart, connected devices.
Sep. 1, 2015 02:45 PM EDT Reads: 136
The Internet of Things is in the early stages of mainstream deployment but it promises to unlock value and rapidly transform how organizations manage, operationalize, and monetize their assets. IoT is a complex structure of hardware, sensors, applications, analytics and devices that need to be able to communicate geographically and across all functions. Once the data is collected from numerous endpoints, the challenge then becomes converting it into actionable insight.
Sep. 1, 2015 01:00 PM EDT
With the proliferation of connected devices underpinning new Internet of Things systems, Brandon Schulz, Director of Luxoft IoT – Retail, will be looking at the transformation of the retail customer experience in brick and mortar stores in his session at @ThingsExpo. Questions he will address include: Will beacons drop to the wayside like QR codes, or be a proximity-based profit driver? How will the customer experience change in stores of all types when everything can be instrumented and analyzed? As an area of investment, how might a retail company move towards an innovation methodolo...
Sep. 1, 2015 12:45 PM EDT Reads: 474
SYS-CON Events announced today that HPM Networks will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. For 20 years, HPM Networks has been integrating technology solutions that solve complex business challenges. HPM Networks has designed solutions for both SMB and enterprise customers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Sep. 1, 2015 12:30 PM EDT Reads: 909
Consumer IoT applications provide data about the user that just doesn’t exist in traditional PC or mobile web applications. This rich data, or “context,” enables the highly personalized consumer experiences that characterize many consumer IoT apps. This same data is also providing brands with unprecedented insight into how their connected products are being used, while, at the same time, powering highly targeted engagement and marketing opportunities. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Nathan Treloar, President and COO of Bebaio, will explore examples of brands transforming their businesses by t...
Sep. 1, 2015 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 249
Through WebRTC, audio and video communications are being embedded more easily than ever into applications, helping carriers, enterprises and independent software vendors deliver greater functionality to their end users. With today’s business world increasingly focused on outcomes, users’ growing calls for ease of use, and businesses craving smarter, tighter integration, what’s the next step in delivering a richer, more immersive experience? That richer, more fully integrated experience comes about through a Communications Platform as a Service which allows for messaging, screen sharing, video...
Sep. 1, 2015 11:45 AM EDT Reads: 673
SYS-CON Events announced today that Pythian, a global IT services company specializing in helping companies leverage disruptive technologies to optimize revenue-generating systems, has been named “Bronze Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 17th Cloud Expo, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Founded in 1997, Pythian is a global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as cloud, Big Data, advanced analytics, and DevOps to advance innovation and increase agility. Specializing in designing, imple...
Sep. 1, 2015 11:45 AM EDT Reads: 321
As more and more data is generated from a variety of connected devices, the need to get insights from this data and predict future behavior and trends is increasingly essential for businesses. Real-time stream processing is needed in a variety of different industries such as Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Automobile, Finance, Online Retail, Smart Grids, and Healthcare. Azure Stream Analytics is a fully managed distributed stream computation service that provides low latency, scalable processing of streaming data in the cloud with an enterprise grade SLA. It features built-in integration with Azur...
Sep. 1, 2015 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 229
SYS-CON Events announced today that Micron Technology, Inc., a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems, will exhibit at the 17th International Cloud Expo®, which will take place on November 3–5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA. Micron’s broad portfolio of high-performance memory technologies – including DRAM, NAND and NOR Flash – is the basis for solid state drives, modules, multichip packages and other system solutions. Backed by more than 35 years of technology leadership, Micron's memory solutions enable the world's most innovative computing, consumer,...
Sep. 1, 2015 09:45 AM EDT Reads: 242
Contrary to mainstream media attention, the multiple possibilities of how consumer IoT will transform our everyday lives aren’t the only angle of this headline-gaining trend. There’s a huge opportunity for “industrial IoT” and “Smart Cities” to impact the world in the same capacity – especially during critical situations. For example, a community water dam that needs to release water can leverage embedded critical communications logic to alert the appropriate individuals, on the right device, as soon as they are needed to take action.
Sep. 1, 2015 09:00 AM EDT
As more intelligent IoT applications shift into gear, they’re merging into the ever-increasing traffic flow of the Internet. It won’t be long before we experience bottlenecks, as IoT traffic peaks during rush hours. Organizations that are unprepared will find themselves by the side of the road unable to cross back into the fast lane. As billions of new devices begin to communicate and exchange data – will your infrastructure be scalable enough to handle this new interconnected world?
Sep. 1, 2015 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 168
While many app developers are comfortable building apps for the smartphone, there is a whole new world out there. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Narayan Sainaney, Co-founder and CTO of Mojio, will discuss how the business case for connected car apps is growing and, with open platform companies having already done the heavy lifting, there really is no barrier to entry.
Sep. 1, 2015 08:00 AM EDT Reads: 147
With the Apple Watch making its way onto wrists all over the world, it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a staple in the workplace. In fact, Forrester reported that 68 percent of technology and business decision-makers characterize wearables as a top priority for 2015. Recognizing their business value early on, FinancialForce.com was the first to bring ERP to wearables, helping streamline communication across front and back office functions. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Kevin Roberts, GM of Platform at FinancialForce.com, will discuss the value of business applications on wearable ...
Sep. 1, 2015 08:00 AM EDT
WebRTC has had a real tough three or four years, and so have those working with it. Only a few short years ago, the development world were excited about WebRTC and proclaiming how awesome it was. You might have played with the technology a couple of years ago, only to find the extra infrastructure requirements were painful to implement and poorly documented. This probably left a bitter taste in your mouth, especially when things went wrong.
Sep. 1, 2015 03:00 AM EDT Reads: 466
Too often with compelling new technologies market participants become overly enamored with that attractiveness of the technology and neglect underlying business drivers. This tendency, what some call the “newest shiny object syndrome,” is understandable given that virtually all of us are heavily engaged in technology. But it is also mistaken. Without concrete business cases driving its deployment, IoT, like many other technologies before it, will fade into obscurity.
Aug. 31, 2015 09:00 PM EDT Reads: 381
The Internet of Things (IoT) is about the digitization of physical assets including sensors, devices, machines, gateways, and the network. It creates possibilities for significant value creation and new revenue generating business models via data democratization and ubiquitous analytics across IoT networks. The explosion of data in all forms in IoT requires a more robust and broader lens in order to enable smarter timely actions and better outcomes. Business operations become the key driver of IoT applications and projects. Business operations, IT, and data scientists need advanced analytics t...
Aug. 31, 2015 02:30 PM EDT Reads: 427
Akana has announced the availability of the new Akana Healthcare Solution. The API-driven solution helps healthcare organizations accelerate their transition to being secure, digitally interoperable businesses. It leverages the Health Level Seven International Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (HL7 FHIR) standard to enable broader business use of medical data. Akana developed the Healthcare Solution in response to healthcare businesses that want to increase electronic, multi-device access to health records while reducing operating costs and complying with government regulations.
Aug. 26, 2015 07:00 AM EDT Reads: 200
For IoT to grow as quickly as analyst firms’ project, a lot is going to fall on developers to quickly bring applications to market. But the lack of a standard development platform threatens to slow growth and make application development more time consuming and costly, much like we’ve seen in the mobile space. In his session at @ThingsExpo, Mike Weiner, Product Manager of the Omega DevCloud with KORE Telematics Inc., discussed the evolving requirements for developers as IoT matures and conducted a live demonstration of how quickly application development can happen when the need to comply wit...
Aug. 2, 2015 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 560
The Internet of Everything (IoE) brings together people, process, data and things to make networked connections more relevant and valuable than ever before – transforming information into knowledge and knowledge into wisdom. IoE creates new capabilities, richer experiences, and unprecedented opportunities to improve business and government operations, decision making and mission support capabilities.
Aug. 1, 2015 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 493


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Something incredible has just happened.
For the first time, options trading has surpassed stock market trading by volume and may very well have caused the massive surge in stocks over the past 6 months.
“Trading volumes of single-stock options exceeded those of regular shares for the first time during July” -Goldman Sachs
Chart Source: Bloomberg News.
But that’s not all.
Because options are now taking a leading role in the markets, some analysts are now saying that options buying might actually be forcing market makers to buy the shares of underlying stocks as a hedge.
Which means the options market may very well now be a leading indicator.
Case in point: Apple which has seen its shares double in the past 5 months, has seen too much call option-buying activity that market makers (the firms selling individual investors all those calls) have been forced to hedge by buying AAPL stock. Options are now a leading indicator.
And the same story applies to other big names like Tesla (TSLA) and Amazon (AMZN).
Your Bottom Line: What this means is that in this market, options traders are in charge. Brokers are being forced to follow their lead and hedge each bullish (or bearish) bet.
It’s going to pay to keep a close eye on which stocks are seeing unusual options activity.
With this revelation in mind, here are stocks seeing unusual options activity in the past few trading days:
Option-Volume Increase Stock #1: SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) is seeing a big increase in call volumes this week as both gold and silver have seen a resurgence after selling off through most of September. On Tuesday, September 29 for example, one trader bought a whopping 10,000 contracts for the December $190 GLD calls and kept on buying by adding $200 strike, and $210 strike calls for a total gamble of $750,000.
Option-Volume Increase Stock #2: Advanced Micro Devices ((AMD) is getting some attention this morning as talking heads on CNBC are speculating that AMD should benefit from price increases from competitor Nvidia.
Option-Volume Increase Stock #3: Energy Transfer (ETP-E) is a potential bearish bet using put options with increased buying by 500% of out-of-the-money put options yesterday. This may come as no surprise as the stock itself has been sliding down for the past week.
Until Next Time,
The BLI Team


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Soil health and pollutant-free ingredients are now must-have environmental and health credentials that food and drink manufacturers should embrace, believes Mandy Saven, Director of Consumer Lifestyle at trends intelligence agency Stylus. [Read more...]
Join your peers today!
Get the latest articles, news and trends in the Food & Beverage industry delivered directly to your inbox. Don't miss out! Enter your email address below to receive the weekly in-sight newsletter.


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In its latest issue, South African car mag topCar furthers speculation hatched late last year in the German media that Audi is planning an even smaller mid-engine sports car for 2009. The mini-R8 would go after the Porsche Boxster. It'd likely be called... surprise! — the R4 and be powered by Audi's corporate two-liter turbo FSI engine producing 270 hp. An RS model, the mag says, would be powered by VW/Audi's 2.5-liter five, turbocharged with an intent to produce in range of 350 hp. The report also says the car will be built on an all-new platform, with steering and brakes from current inventory, and a schteel spaceframe (nein aluminum!) and weighing in between 2425 and 2756 pounds. We'll likely see more on the idea in concept form during next year's show circuit.
Audi's secret Boxster [Wheels 24]
Another Number, Another Letter: The Prospective Audi R4 [internal]


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Ever since Monitise (LSE: MONI) warned alongside itsfull-year 2015 annual results that it was going to miss forecasts once again next year, and the companys experienced CEO, Elizabeth Buse, was leaving after only a few months on the job, theres been little in the way of news flow from the company.
The most important piece of news came at the end of October. Monitise announced that it had agreed a deal with Spanish telecommunications company Telefnica SAs Telefnica Digital to explore potential projects. However, the company noted that this agreement would not affect itsguidance for the current financial year.
The company still believes that by cutting costs, it can reachEBITDA (earnings excluding exceptional items, depreciation, amortisation, impairments and share-based payment charges) profitability next year, although the group will continue to reportstatutory losses for the foreseeable future. Current forecasts suggest the company will report an operating loss of 61m for 2016, 54m for 2017 and 54m for 2018.
As part of Monitises drive to cut costs the company hasdecided to shrink its board, with two non-executive directors both set to leave.
Its no secret that Monitise is struggling to survive. The mobile money company has consistently missed forecasts since it hit the market back in 2007 and the City has lost patience with the company as it struggles for direction.
On the other hand, one of Monitises competitors,Worldpay (LSE: WPG), is surging ahead, and the City seems to be extremely excited about the companys prospects.
Indeed, Worldpays initial public offering was the biggest the London market has seen this year, raising 948m and valuing the business at 4.8bn. Worldpay is already a leader in global payments, and the companys valuation has nearly tripled since 2010. Private equity groupsAdvent and Bain Capital bought Worldpay from Royal Bank of Scotland in 2010 for 1.7bn.
Earlier this month Worldpay announced that it would be receiving a windfall fromVisa Incs acquisition of Visa Europe for 16.5bn in cash and shares. Worldpay owns just under 10% of Visa Europe.Worldpays portion of the consideration will total 1.25 billion, including an upfront cash payment of 592m and a further 374m inVisa shares. Worldpay will get a further 283m in deferred compensation based on Visa Europe hitting certain earnings targets.
Last year Worldpay recorded sales of 3.6bn and EBITDA of 375m. Unfortunately, these figures suggest that Worldpay is one of the most expensive companies in the payments sector. The company is currently trading at an enterprise value to EBITDA multiple of more than 18. Even MasterCard and Visa are cheaper bets. These two payment processing behemoths currently trade at EV/EBITDA multiples of 17.9 and 14 respectively.
Back to 10p?
So, can Monitise head back to 10p, or should you give up on the company and buy Worldpay instead?
Well, as Monitise is set to report losses of 169m during the next three years, its almost impossible to justify a high valuation for the company. However, Worldpays eye-watering valuation is hardly attractive either. With this being the case, Im looking elsewhere for deals.
One company that’s recently attracted my attention is revealed in this free report.
Our analysts believe that the business in question isone of the market’s “top small caps” and could have apotential upside of 45%! Moreover, the company in question has a substantial cash balance, provenadvantageand is supported by some of the biggest players in its industry.
If you’d like to find out more, download thefree report today— but hurry, it’s only available for a limited time.


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|| Print ||
|On the Scene|
|Tuesday, March 29, 2011|
By Emma Hall
The walls of the ShopIgniter offices were covered with scenes from the classic video game Donkey Kong and Elliott Smith concert posters. Employees were typing away with headphones on, seemingly oblivious to the celebration happening a few steps away from their desks. "Yeah, they'll be here for a few more hours, and they've been here since probably 5 am," said ShopIgniter founder Alan Wizemann. And although the cube-shaped trophy for being the first graduates of the entrepreneurial incubator Portland Ten to clear a million dollars in revenue sits proudly by the door, the party in their offices was not about these hardworking e-commerce employees. This party was to celebrate the second graduates of Portland Ten, Orchestra.
Orchestra Team is a business performance technology solution provider. In layman's terms, and according to their tagline, they "help growing businesses run better." The party at the ShopIgniter office on March 28 celebrated many milestones for the company. First and foremost, Orchestra graduated from Portland Ten, and set a record for doing so. In order to graduate, the company, led by CEO Brad Windecker, had to complete a 10-week training by P10 that includes executive coaching, product development and more, and then earn $1 million in 18 months. Orchestra blazed past the $1 million marker just six months after completing the course.
Portland Ten Founder and Director Carolynn Duncan comes from a background of venture capitalism and angel investing. She started P10 to help local entrepreneurs increase their revenue and funding in order to grow startups in Oregon. Founded in 2009, the organization aims to help 10 local startups reach $1 million, and Orchestra was second to "graduate." Duncan expects one more company to graduate in the next three months that "as of now, will remain unnamed."
"We look for entrepreneurs with business development and technology talent," Duncan said. "But just as importantly, they need to have a willingness to change."
Perhaps most responsible for Orchestra's quick earnings is the company's OrchestratedFUEL software, business management and accounting software for fuel distributors and petroleum marketers. Up next for the company is OrchestratedBEER, which they officially debuted last week at the Craft Brewers Conference in San Francisco. "We're in talks with three craft brewing companies now," said Windecker. "And obviously, this is the funnest market to be in."
Orchestra isn't just resting on their laurels, however. They are currently piloting OrchestratedFOOD for the restaurant industry, set to officially launch in 2012. The company is hiring for three positions to add to their current seven-person team, and looking to add more positions next year. They're also scouting locations for a downtown Portland office, even looking into the same building that ShopIgniter resides in.
"Even though I'm originally from California, I purposely wanted to start my business here in Portland," Windecker said. "It's just a good place to be."
Emma Hall is web editor for Oregon Business.
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One of the many reasons why businesses fail is due to the lack of attention to analytics. Sure, you can go on running your business, but mastering the science of analytics will translate into a business advantage. But what exactly are analytics and why are they so important?
Court experience helps legal firm anticipate potential problems for clients and prevent expensive litigation.
When Garmin AT needed to consolidate operations for its 550 employees, it scanned its entire corporate map for possible sites.
Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) and the College of Business at Oregon State University is offering “Business Analytics for Competitive Advantage”, a two-day intensive workshop.
34 spots for food, 17 places to sip, and 7 sites to choose a brew beckon visitors.
A look back at the shifting sands of Portland’s growth and development.


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On September 7th, Lauren will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his company as part of New York Fashion Week. Here are a few of the designer’s most memorable moments throughout the years.
A few years ago, Women’s Wear Daily asked designers around the globe to describe the influence of the American Designer Ralph Lauren. Alexander Wang put it this way: “Ralph is a national treasure, the same way the White House or Mount Rushmore are American icons.”* He was right, of course.
Lauren has dressed US Olympic teams, political candidates, and film stars, and throughout the years writers for WWD have dubbed him everything from “Captain America” to “That Great American Folk Designer.” Still, his reach goes further than clothing. In 1998, Lauren, himself the child of immigrants, donated $13 million towards the restoration of the Star-Spangled Banner that now sits in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. “I’ve always loved the spirit of this country,” Lauren told Hamptons Magazine last month. “America was a place people came to celebrate their independence, to fulfill their dreams for themselves and their families.”
Over the last five decades, Ralph Lauren has not only helped shape American culture; he has forever changed the fabric of global fashion. On September 7th, Lauren will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his company as part of New York Fashion Week. The festivities will take place at Central Park’s iconic Bethesda Terrace. In honor of the fashion house’s milestone, let’s take a look back at five of the designer’s most memorable moments, with help from the extraordinary new book WWD: Fifty Years of Ralph Lauren, out now by Rizzoli.
1967: The Ties that Launched an Empire
Lauren introduced his tie line while at the manufacturer Beau Brummel. At twice the width of other popular ties of the era, his ties were revolutionary. In one year’s time, they showed up at major stores like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, and Paul Stuart, with half a million dollars’ worth of ties sold.
“I am promoting a level of taste, a total feeling,” Lauren told Daily News Record at the time. “It is important to show the customer how to wear these ties, the idea behind them.” Three years later, Buffy Birrittella, who at the time worked for DNR and would eventually join Lauren at Polo, named the designer “the Boy Wonder of the tie business.”
1972: The Polo Shirt
The famous Polo pony logo first arrived on shirt cuffs in 1971, and the rest is history. In 1972, Lauren released the now-familiar shirt in 24 colors, with the pony on the chest, of course. Early wearers of the Polo shirt included Sean Connery and Frank Sinatra, who once bought 20 knit shirts at one time while shopping in Beverly Hills and described himself as a “confirmed fan” of the brand.*
1974 & 1977: The Great Gatsby and Annie Hall
Ralph Lauren was a natural choice for outfitting Robert Redford and the other men cast in the 1974 film version of The Great Gatsby. In fact, years earlier, DNR’s Birrittella had described looks from Lauren’s 1969 spring collection as “straight off Gatsby’s lawn.”* The movie catapulted him into the world of the Hollywood elite.
Three years after Gatsby, Lauren’s clothing featured prominently in the actress Diane Keaton’s and the costume designer Ruth Morley’s vision for the character of Annie Hall. It wasn’t the first time he made menswear cool for women; in September of 1971, just as he was branching into women’s clothing, he told DNR, “There are lots of girls who like the man-tailored look, they want to be luxurious without frills.”
1986: New York Flagship Store
Walking into a Ralph Lauren store is like walking into a fantasy world. In 2007, he told Guy Trebay of The New York Times, “I’ve always thought of the collections and the stores like movies or novels.” After three years of restoration, the Rhinelander Mansion on Madison Avenue at 72nd Street reopened in 1986 as the designer’s flagship New York City store. “It’s not just a store,” Lauren confessed. “It’s a way of living. It’s my life that’s involved in this store. This store was done as a labor of love.”*
1989 & 2003: Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research and the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention
In 1989, Ralph Lauren and Katharine Graham, President of the Washington Post Company, honored the legacy of Nina Hyde, Fashion Editor at the Washington Post, by founding the Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research at Georgetown Medical Center. Five years later, the designer joined the CFDA Foundation to raise awareness and funding for breast cancer research through Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC), a program that raised $2 million for the Nina Hyde Center in its first year and continues to this day.
Lauren’s commitment to the cause hasn’t wavered since; in 2003, he opened the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Prevention and Care in East Harlem alongside Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and North General Hospital. In May of that year, he told WWD, “All of a sudden to come here and see this building, I said, ‘This is probably the best thing you will ever have done in your life.’’’*
2016: Dressing the Election
During the 2016 election, one of the most controversial in US history, Hillary Clinton’s signature pantsuit became something more than an outfit. It became a symbol of power… and of the possibility of a female President.
Clinton wore Ralph Lauren for most of her televised campaign moments, including her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and her opening rally on Roosevelt Island. For the debates, she wore three pantsuits: Ralph Lauren creations in red, blue, and white, respectively. Additionally, Lauren dressed both Clinton and Melania Trump for the inauguration in 2017.


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Sofia, 7 November 2011. International retail giant Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) will open their second store in Varna, Bulgaria’s second largest city. Colliers International, exclusive leasing consultant for Grand Mall where H&M have leased the space, facilitated the 2,200 sqm deal.
“The new lease agreement will bring occupancy up to 77% in Grand Mall”, commented Steven Cleaver, Mall Manager, Colliers International. “The debut of one of the most sought after brands in Bulgaria will further expand the exciting fashion tenant mix in our shopping center”.
“We are proud to have helped H&M expand their presence in Bulgaria”, said Iglika Yordanova, Manager, Retail Services for Colliers International in Bulgaria. “This transaction is a clear indication of the confidence international retailers have in the Bulgarian market and the ability for well positioned shopping centers like Grand Mall to attract top brands”.
H&M’s entry in Bulgaria is part of the company’s expansion plans in southeast Europe. Last year the second largest clothing retailer in the world, established in 1947 in Sweden, expanded into Turkey and Romania. Today H&M operates around 2,200 stores spread over 41 markets.


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Smartphone usage stats in SA
Search giant Google revealed South African smartphone statistics from survey results that were recently published online. Google recently unveiled the results of a new global survey on smartphone usage and mobile marketing, available freely online at a website called Our Mobile Planet.
The survey, entitled “Global Mobile Research: The Smartphone User & The Mobile Marketer,” was conducted earlier this year.
Google highlighted the following findings of the South African portion of the survey.
The Typical Smartphone User: 18-34 Years Old, Well Educated and Working Full-Time
The majority of smartphone users are between 18-34 years old, are well educated with full-time employment and earn an annual net income of more than R40,000. Many users are new to smartphones, with 64% saying it was their first smartphone device. Almost half of these new users had bought their device within the past 12 months.
BlackBerry (44%) had the highest market share, followed by Nokia (27%).
Consumers use their smartphones primarily at home, followed by work and then on-the-go. As important as a purse or a set of keys, 83% don’t leave the house without their smartphones. Users are driven by having information from the Internet at hand and having their smartphones to ‘kill time’ while out and about.
Internet usage – especially browsing (56% of users) and e-mailing (57%) – is very important for smartphone users. Only every tenth user did not have cross-media usage habits: the majority of users indicated that they did something else while using their smartphones, like listening to music (62%), using the internet on another device (49%) or watching TV (49%).
Internet Usage: High Frequency and Number of Daily Sessions
The typical smartphone user accesses the web almost every day (63% mobile, 62% fixed) with several sessions on a given day – shorter sessions on mobile and longer ones on PC. Almost half expect to spend more time on mobile web via smartphones in the future. Users expect their web usage on PC to remain the same.
Search: High Frequency and Google the Most Utilised Search Engine
Search engines are a significant part of browsing activity (61% mobile, 80% fixed). Only 12% never use local search and almost 92% mention further actions after looking up specific information, with 36% making a purchase. For the majority of users, Google is the number one search engine.
Videos: Low Frequency, with YouTube Coming Out Tops
Every second smartphone is used to watch videos, at least on a monthly base. YouTube (64% mobile, 83% fixed) is in first place, followed by Facebook (62% mobile, 57% fixed).
Social Networking: High Frequency, with Facebook the Most Visited Site
63% of smartphone users access social networks via their smartphones every day – 35% post personal updates daily. The most visited social network is Facebook (95% mobile & fixed).
Mobile Advertising: Accepted on High Level with High Awareness
15% of users have used a mobile coupon in a store. Almost 84% of users have noticed mobile advertising – mostly on search engines. Almost 70% have taken action after seeing a mobile ad.
Mobile Commerce: Growing Shopping Channels Hindered by Security and Convenience
28% of consumers use their smartphones for price comparisons or product information when shopping – the same amount have changed their minds about a purchase, as a result of retrieving information via a smartphone.
A fourth of consumers use their smartphones when shopping physically and also shop directly via the device – 47% of them within the past month. Preference of a fixed PC and fears that a purchase might not be secure are the main barriers to mobile commerce. 30% anticipate a higher purchase rate via their smartphones within the next 12 months.


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09.41 Europe/London, June 30, 2011
A joint delegation of representatives from the DVB and the European Union has met with The Philippines’ National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in a bid to persuade the regulator of the merits of the DVB-T2 system.
In addition to putting forward what it sees as the technical benefits of the European system, the delegation also outlined the economic advantages and the benefits of the economies of scale.
The delegation is hoping to persuade the authorities to reconsider the June 30 deadline for a final decision on the Philippines’ digital TV standard. The Japanese ISDB is seen as the favourite for selection with the broadcasters association KDP arguing that ISB “costs less” than DVB-T2, a point refuted by the DVB. It claims DVB-T2 receivers are“60% more expensive” than ISDB-T boxes, though concedes DVB-T2 allows the carriage of a greater number of channels.
“Owing to the significant success of DVB-T2, low cost STBs are already available for as little as $45 in UK retail stores. In addition, there are commercially available low cost DVB-T2 HD set-top boxes operating in 6 MHz channels, as required in the Philippines,” commented Peter Siebert, Executive Director, DVB.
The first DVB-T2 services were launched in the UK in December 2009. Subsequently services have been deployed in Italy, Sweden and Finland with a total of 28 countries now committed to the second-generation system.
In the Asian region, India, Singapore and Sri Lanka have chosen DVB-T2 and tests have been carried out in Malaysia and Thailand.


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Samsung tops 30 million Galaxy S III sales well ahead of schedule
Samsung had hoped to sell 30 million of its Galaxy S III smartphone this year, anticipating that it would be a top-selling product. Well, they’ve already done that and there’s still two months left in the year. A post on Samsung Tomorrow tells us that it has only taken five months to hit the figure, well ahead of their expectations. More specifically, it’s only 157 days since it first went on sale.
Say what you want about it paling in comparison to the iPhone, but it’s a very commendable figure. With so many other Android players and devices, it’s quite an accomplishment to see one singular model do so well.
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This morning, 80 luxury vehicles lined around Dimmitt Automotive as part of Corsa America. Sports cars and ultra-luxury automobiles met at Dimmitt Automotive and took off towards their next locations as part of the modern road rally, Corsa 19: Florida. This rally is one of several events created by Corsa America, the largest exotic sports car rally in the country. These rallies bring car enthusiasts together and offer events and excursions as you travel across North America and Europe. Those who participate make amazing memories and create meaningful relationships.
Along with creating the memories of a lifetime, participants were able to help the community as well. Those participating in the rally were invited to bring a toy to help kick off this year’s Dimmitt Automotive’s Toys for Tots campaign. Those who came to watch the cars rally were able to bring a toy as well. Between the participants and the members of the community, it was a wonderful campaign kickoff! We are so thankful for those donations! In total, there were over three boxes overflowing with toys!
As the cars left Dimmitt Automotive, the exciting energy was everywhere. The rally will continue through Florida as it heads to Key Biscayne for two nights before finishing the excursion in Orlando. From a McLaren 720s MSO to a Corvette Z06, the cars were all magnificent. The community was invited to watch the cars head to the next location of the rally. It was great to see so many members of our community come and enjoy these exotic vehicles.
The exotic cars filled the streets of Pinellas Park while the police escorted the vehicles down Gandy Boulevard to I-275 southbound and over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and I-75 South. One supercar after another heading through the street was a pure joy to watch. It was a sight unlike any other.


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Multi-channel network Maker Studios is quickly making a name for itself. Now as it further aligns with Disney and has named a dedicated head of licensing, even bigger things are on the horizon.
The NFL Players Association is joining forces with the Fire Department of New York for a limited edition t-shirt collection to celebrate FDNY's 150-year legacy.
Disney Store is gearing up for Force Friday on Sept. 4, the global release date for product from the upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
DHX Brands is collaborating with Jo Jingles, which develops preschool music and movement classes in the U.K., to create an "In the Night Garden" activity program.
BBC Worldwide is launching "The Sooty Show" in ANZ with the appointment of a regional licensing agent, as well as product and broadcast partners.
Snapper Productions has tapped WDR Media Group to act as "Q Pootle 5's" licensing agent in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Irreverent Internet sensation Grumpy Cat will be the first-ever cat to be immortalized as a wax figure at Madame Tussauds.
Cartoon Network has launched “Gumball Sky Streaker,” a new mobile app based on the animated family sitcom "The Amazing World of Gumball."
The product line for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be revealed in a first-of-its-kind live global toy "unboxing" event that will unfold over 18 hours in 15 cities and 12 countries.
DreamWorks Animation's chief global brand officer Michael Francis will step down from his full-time duties at the company in December and transition to a consulting role.
Margaritaville, the tropical lifestyle brand inspired by the songs and lifestyle of singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett, has enlisted the Joester Loria Group for new food extensions.
Sportswear brand Loudmouth, known for is bold, colorful patterns, is hosting a golf tournament in its birthplace, Napa County, Calif., this August.
Morgen Studios has appointed licensing agents to represent its animated series "Super 4" and the brand that inspired it, Playmobil, in Spain, Portugal and Italy.
Sesame Workshop has launched a new collection of "Sesame Street" pajamas from Peter Alexander in Australia and New Zealand as part of the show's 45th anniversary.
As a new Episode VII: The Force Awakens trailer swept the Internet Thursday, Twitter launched a collection of Star Wars emojis.
Tohokushinsha Film Corporation has taken the Japanese television and distribution rights for ITVS GE's "Thunderbirds Are Go" in Japan.
Hormel Foods' Spam brand has kicked off the cross-country Spamerican Tour with Food Network chef Sunny Anderson.
Russell Corp has teamed with Sesame Workshop to create a range of official Australian Football League Sherrin co-branded footballs.
OYO Sports isn't missing a beat when it comes to creating product for the newest batch of NFL players as the nation's top student-athletes go professional.
The PGA of America and Bon Appétit are teaming up for a program that will offer golf tips from top PGA professionals alongside cooking inspiration from chefs.
Hoho Rights has made several new international sales for its kids' series "Cloudbabies," "Everybody Loves a Moose" and "Abadas."
©2015 ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. All rights reserved.


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BlackBerry says service back up
Ottawa - BlackBerry service has been restored worldwide after three days of outages, the head of the company that makes the smartphones (RIM) said on Thursday.
"All of the services are back up globally," founder and co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis told a press conference.
Speaking on the fourth day of disruptions, which the firm has blamed on a backlog of emails caused by an initial technical failure, Lazaridis said: "I apologise for the service outages this week. We've let many of you down."
RIM said on Wednesday that an initial technical failure had prompted a build-up of messages in its network, triggering a cascade of problems around the world that affected many of the firm's 70 million subscribers.
The technical failure reportedly started at the company's British hub in Slough, a town west of London.


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Intel has unveiled its Modular Server, a server and integrated storage on a single platform aimed at SMBs through the channel that company officials are calling “a business in a box.”
The new server platform, which will begin shipping in December, is built using Intels 45-nanometer 2P quad- and dual-core Xeon processors, code-named Harpertown and Wolfdale, respectively. Intel officials said the platform will be based on a new technology called Multi-Flex.
Officials said the product was conceived and defined through contact with customer segments served by the channel and is designed as a server that IT managers can easily use remotely.
“This [is] for SMBs who are stretched pretty thin,” said Jared Leavitt, Intel product manager for the Modular Server. “With that in mind, we wanted the IT administrator to stay home on weekends and leave at 5 p.m. every day. The product offers shared storage in the chassis and has virtualized storage capability.”


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While working at King, director of product Alexander Ekvall and technical lead Patrik Lindegrén were focused on building and sustaining casual megahits like Candy Crush Saga. However, the pair has left the company, and is now pursuing a very different audience with today's announcement of their new start-up, Stockholm-based Snowprint Studios.
While Snowprint will still create mobile free-to-play games, the studio's strategy is to create accessible midcore games. Its first effort will be a tactical RPG with puzzle-based battles and a setting inspired by Norse mythology.
Helping the pair get the studio off the ground is a team of more than a dozen developers with experience at outfits like DICE, Rovio, Unity, and Zynga. The studio also has completed a seed funding round led by early Supercell investor Jari Ovaskainen and has enlisted a team of advisors including Wooga head of studio Wilhelm Österberg, i/o ventures managing partner Paul Bragiel, and Next Games CEO Teemu Huuhtanen.
"We saw a significant opportunity for innovation in gameplay and presentation that could make mid-core games more accessible," Ekvall said. "Traditional gamers are now finding themselves with a powerful gaming platform in their pockets, while casual and mid-core players are beginning to move beyond mobile's simpler offerings. Snowprint Studios' games will sit at a crossroads between these gamers, inviting every kind of player to explore gameplay with new, challenging and accessible mid-core components."


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The decision to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes from Tuesday midnight to fight black money menace seems to have hit individual shops and restaurants more than the larger set-ups like malls in Mumbai. Most retail stores and restaurants have placed a notice at their entrances, declaring their compliance with the government’s order and requesting customers to tender notes of Rs 100 denomination or use e-wallets, credit and debit cards for any purchase. This led to fall in footfalls.
“We got a lot of customers who were paying with 500 and 1,000 rupee notes but we refused to accept them. As a result business has taken a considerable hit. We haven’t even done one-fourth of our usual business all day,” said Dawood Ansari, store manager at an Adidas outlet in Inorbit mall, Malad.
“Retail has taken a hit. We have received considerably less customers today,” said Shabbir Sheikh, an employee at Crosswords store in Inorbit Mall. However, a few stores were undeterred by the government’s move and reported business as usual.
“We have generated a business of Rs 2 lakh since the morning and only Rs 1,800 out of that was transacted in cash. Rest was all paid in credit and debit cards. Ninety per cent of our customers carry cards and hence are not facing much trouble. Stand-alone shops, like the Central in Dahisar would have been affected,” said Sarfaraz Qureshi, store manager at Central, Oberoi mall in Goregaon. Meanwhile, PVR reduced their ticket prices following the discontinuation of higher denomination notes.
“We have reduced our ticket prices to Rs 100 and Rs 110 for all our shows till Friday after the Prime Minister’s order. We have done this for the convenience of our customers who want to pay in cash,” said Ankush Gawade, marketing executive at PVR Oberoi. Despite this measure the cinema hall has had lesser crowds on Thursday, Gawade added.
PVR Pheonix in Lower Parel too has lowered its ticket prices to Rs 150 for shows after 5 pm on Thursday, according to duty manager Sweni Desai. Stand-alone shops and local grocery stores have felt a much more pronounced effect of the move.
At Janata, restro bar in Pali Hill, a notice had been put up stating that they were “not accepting old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.” According to the manager, they had stopped accepting such notes soon after the Prime Minister’s announcement. “People were coming in soon after the announcement ordering just a soft drink so they could get change,” said the manager who did not wish to be quoted.
Manish Kore, who is a staff member at Pali Village Cafe, said no bookings had come in since the announcement.
“There are no bookings. On Tuesday night, as soon as the announcement was made, we started requesting our customers to pay by cash. On Wednesday, any customers walking in are being informed that we are not accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes,” he said.
Jai Hind restaurant does not have a swiping machine and said business was down owing to this. “We are not taking home delivery orders also unless people have Rs 100 cash notes,” said Datta, the cashier at the restaurant.
Agnes Kinny, assistant manager at The Shop, said that they were following the same policy. “In the morning, a group of foreigners came to shop but were told that we were only accepting cards or Rs 100 notes. They left without buying anything. Our head office in Delhi has told us that if there is a large order, we should inform them and they will take a decision in the matter,” she said.
A kirana shop in the area also said that they were not accepting the banned notes and did not have a swiping machine. “If they don’t have change we are sending them back,” said Narendra Bhai, who owns Shah Ratanji Veerji.
However, some local groceries are still accepting cash from their regular customers.
“How else will we do business? For now, we are accepting 500 and 1,000 rupee notes from our known and regular customers,” said Ramesh Sirvi, an employee at a grocery store in Kandivli East.


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More than half of UK's small firms expect their business to grow in the next year
Further signs of Britain's economic recovery came from small businesses today as more than half told a survey they expected to grow over the next 12 months.
The Finance Monitor, which surveyed 5,000 small and medium enterprises in the second quarter, found that 51 per cent of them expected to grow in the coming year.
This is the highest percentage since the survey began in 2011 and up from 48 per cent in the previous quarter.
Recovery: 51 per cent of small and medium firms said they expected their business to grow in the next year
The survey carried out by BDRC Continental also found that, despite the current economic climate remains firms' biggest worry for the year to come, the number of small businesses saying this was an obstacle to their growth had fallen to a record low after having diminished each quarter.
Small firms who said to have grown their business over the last year increased from 39 per cent in the first three months of the year to 44 per cent in the second quarter, according to the survey.
The percentage of firms making use of external finance also increased from 39 per cent in the first quarter to 44 per cent in the second quarter.
This was fuelled by the use of alternative finance including leasing, invoice discounting, grants and loans from directors as the use of core bank products such as loans, overdrafts and credit cards remained flat.
The data echoes that from the Bank of England that last month found lending to SMEs grew at its fastest pace on record in June. The figures showed lending to small businesses rose by £238million between May and June - the biggest monthly rise since the statistics were first produced in 2011.
But the average figure for the previous six months showed lending to small businesses falling at an average rate of £500million a month and lending to small businesses has been falling consistently since 2009.
Credit: More firms have been using alternative finance inlcuding leasing, invoice discounting, grants and loans from directors
The Finance Monitor survey also found that the use of external finance remained hampered by firms' lack of confidence that a bank would agree to their request.
While 91 per cent of renewal requests were accepted, only 38 per cent of businesses felt confident about future applications. For new financing, only a quarter of firms were confident of being accepted despite an actual success rate of 50 per cent.
Banks have been heavily criticised for continuing to starve small businesses of loans, even after the launch of the Government’s Funding for Lending scheme last summer. Lending to non-financial businesses, ranging from the smallest to the largest firms, shrank by £3.3bn in June. This marked the largest contraction in more than a year.
Nationwide this week said it was to put its plan to start lending to small and medium-sized enterprises on ice for three years, blaming demands from European regulators that lenders hold more capital against the amount of risk they take onto their balance sheets.
But the Bank of England has warned Nationwide it is forbidden from cutting lending to small firms to meet tougher safety rules.
The survey was carried out on the behalf of Business Finance Taskforce, which was set up by the UK's six largest banks following a government report into private sector finance.
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Screwfix has confirmed that there will be no let-up in its ambitious opening programme, which should see a further 60 stores launched in the UK this year.
The retailer has called in real estate specialist Colliers International to help it identify 15 new sites each quarter in order to expand its existing network of 303 stores nationwide. Sixty were opened last year.
Screwfix's aim is to bring 91% of the population within a 30-minute drive of one of its outlets.
Colliers International's Danielle Hatton said: "While many major players are moving their retail operation online Screwfix have also invested heavily in their stores, where their click-and-collect system is proving popular with both trade and public customers."
The company has been briefed to acquire existing or new-build units of between 4,500 and 11,000sq ft in areas offering good access to population centres.
Screwfix's property manager, James Taylor, said: "We're keen to speak to any landlords that might have suitable sites available to lease."


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Profile of W. David Gardner
News & Commentary Posts: 2777
Articles by W. David Gardner
posted in July 2010
Mobile phone sales were up 22% in the second quarter, but average unit price declined as did operating profit from Samsung's telecommunications unit.
Mobile phone sales increased almost 15% in the second quarter, according to IDC, with Latin America and Asia Pacific projected to drive smartphone growth.
An emphasis on mobile products, including a successful wireless kiosk program in Target stores, helped drive $53 million in profits for the second quarter.
Focus remains on the recovery of Motorola's mobile phone operations as the company preps for a split early next year.
Despite reporting a $720 million quarterly loss, the wireless provider's announcement of a net customer gain after three years of subscriber attrition drove its stock up 4%.
Day's web content management, digital asset management, and social collaboration tools will be integrated with Adobe's digital enterprise division.
Broadband speed tests, help with high cell phone bills, and complaint filing are some of the services offered.
A Gartner study of social networks influence on purchasing decisions finds they have become important shopping tools for both retailers and consumers.
Asia dominates global rankings of average connection rates, finds Akamai report.
The wireless industry group has filed suit to nullify the first in the nation legislation designed to alert consumers to radiation levels of wireless devices.
Sales were down 8% in the second quarter, while profits nearly doubled on handset maker Sony-Ericsson's success.
The solar-powered iPad lookalike, targeted to students with support for web browsing, video conferencing and word processing, is the Indian government's "answer to MIT's $100 computer."
The Advanced Enterprise Mobility Solutions Group was created by AT&T for its growing network connected devices business, which has added 3.4 devices in the last three quarters.
The Verizon Wireless unit addition of 665,000 postpaid subscribers was a bright spot amid the announcement of a $198 million loss for the quarter.
3.2 million iPhones were activated in the second quarter and AT&T reported a net wireless subscriber gain of 1.6 million.
With income plunging, Nokia looks to Symbian to save its smartphone portfolio, and itself.
Based on a 2010 Shanghai Volkswagen Touran platform, the LTE Connected Car is loaded with infotainment features from Alcatel-Lucent, Harman International Industries, QNX Software Systems and Samsung.
Cash flow and net income hit record levels in the second quarter, as more of the world's data is stored in EMC's cloud.
Harbinger Capital Partners named Nokia Siemens Networks, in a $7 billion deal, to build and operate the nationwide 4G LTE combination terrestrial-satellite network it calls LightSquared.
Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is said to be on the way out, as the world's largest cell phone maker struggles to compete with Apple iPhone and Android smartphones.
Three wireless networking products designed for indoor, outdoor and large-scale enterprise networks seek to meet 802.11n "mainstream deployment" needs.
The Rural Cellular Association has called on the FCC to direct U.S. wireless carriers to unlock handsets and follow the model set by Japan's NTT DoCoMo.
Entertainment-oriented mobile phones help the company record a second consecutive quarterly profit.
Outback buyers can add Autonet Mobile Internet to their sport utility vehicles.
90 megahertz of prime spectrum may be available in the 2 GHz band, Big LEO band, and L-band of the Mobile Satellite Service (MSS).
Mobile users can easily discover and connect to the iPass OpenAccess Wi-Fi service with the integration of Devicescape's auto-connect product.
The system can now recognize more than 10,000 commands, up from only 100 in SYNC's first generation system.
Google's Android and Chrome OS, Intel-Nokia's MeeGo and Palm's webOS are among the Linux-based operating systems that will run 62% of non-smartphones by 2015, according to ABI Research.
Three storage integration points, Full Copy, Block Zero, and Hardware Assisted Locking, enable faster virtual machine creation and data movement.
Adding ADC's network infrastructure products will expand Tyco's enterprise broadband connectivity portfolio.
Combined, VC funds raised only $1.9 billion in the second quarter, an almost 50% decline from $3.7 billion raised in the first quarter.
The suit charges Apple and AT&T of violating antitrust regulations over their exclusive iPhone marketing deal.
Recording Industry Association of America and the man found guilty of illegally downloading music are unhappy with the reduced penalty.
After claiming victory over BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion for patent infringement, NTP has filed suit against Apple, Google, HTC Corp. LG Electronics Corp., Microsoft and Motorola.
AT&T and Alcatel Lucent have identified a software problem that dramatically slowed data speeds on iPhone 4s using HSUPA spectrum.
Attorneys in 23 states have filed a lawsuit seeking to a share of legal fees from consumer class action suits against Microsoft.
Available for BlackBerry since 2007, MicroStrategy Mobile for iPhone and iPad may bring Apple devices into a prominent role in IT shops.
Renesas will purchase Nokia's wireless modem business to develop advanced technologies for LTE and HSPA+.
Foote Partners says hiring will stay unpredictable, in spite of the 9,100 IT jobs added in June.
Funds would be on top of the $7.2 billion already committed to bring high-speed Internet to underserved areas.
Skyhook Wireless' Core Location Platform will be deployed initially on the Samsung Wave, the first handset to use Samsung's open mobile bada platform.
The transfer of Verizon assets in 14 states to Frontier will create the largest rural telecommunications company in the U.S.
FCC chairman Genachowski has been asked by members of the Commerce Committee to clarify options for developing a nationwide public safety network.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich is proposing legislation that would require SAR warning labels on cell phone and create a research program to study cell hone radiation.
Majority of smartphone owners use little mobile data and would save money with metered plans, says Nielsen.


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SBM Life Science, the group behind the iconic fertiliser brands, Baby Bio® and Phostrogen®, has celebrated a successful season for the company, sharing news of the expansion of its UK sales team and the growth of market shares throughout 2022.
Bolstering its brands’ presence across the south-west of England, the group has announced the appointment of a new partnership with JBM Sales Ltd, increasing the SBM sales representatives throughout the region with an additional three team members. Led by directors James Mitchell and Becky Rose, and supported by Tara Truman, the team brings a wealth of experience to the accounts, having previously worked across key industry names such as Westland, Doff and Sinclair.
James Mitchell, director at JBM Sales Ltd, said: “We are incredibly excited to begin working with SBM Life Science across the south-west of England. Together, we have a shared aim and ambition to increase the penetration throughout the region by offering excellent service coupled with an innovative portfolio.”
Scott Williams, UK Sales Director for SBM Life Science, added: “We are delighted to welcome, James, Becky and Tara to the growing SBM team, increasing our sales representation in the area significantly, which will enable us to further our exposure and achieve even greater market growth throughout next season.”
The appointment of JBM Sales Ltd comes as GfK Market Data released for the period July 2021-June 22 reveals that SBM’s UK market shares in plant fertilisers has grown by 4%, despite an overall market decline of -14%, following the launch of a new range of organic fertilisers earlier this year for the much-loved plant food brand, Phostrogen®.
Having also introduced a new Organic Houseplant Food to Baby Bio®’s extensive portfolio, GfK Market Data also reports that the group’s market share in houseplant care has increased by 5% during the same period, maintaining the brand’s position as the leading name for houseplant care products, while its share in plant insecticides has also grown by 5%.
The success follows a significant investment in marketing activity at the beginning of the season, implemented to stimulate growth and support the new product launches. Activity has included a fresh rebrand for Phostrogen®, the launch of a digital campaign, including the broadcast of the brand’s first television advert, appointment of gardening specialist PR agency Honest Communications, and a host of innovative instore creative and point of sale solutions.
James Ramnought, Marketing Director for SBM Life Science commented: “Despite challenging conditions in the market over the past year, we are delighted with the increase in shares achieved this season. This continued growth demonstrates the belief our retail partners and consumers have in the brands, the products, and our future strategy, and we look forward to progressing plans for a successful 2023 season.”
For more information about SBM Life Science, please visit www.solabiol.com/en


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Half of retailers are concerned about this year’s sales weekend, citing shipping costs, supply chain issues and inflation, a poll suggests.
A quarter of UK retailers are struggling to offer Black Friday deals this year as they grapple with inflation and supply chain issues, a survey suggests.
Half of retailers (50%) are concerned about this year’s sales weekend, citing shipping costs, supply chain issues and inflation, with 30% fearing they cannot fulfil a spike in demand for goods and 25% saying they will struggle to offer significant Black Friday discounts.
Almost half (47%) have invested in early advertising campaigns in an effort to avoid a run on stock and to play down expectations of big sales without harming their bottom line, the poll for payment solutions provider Checkout.com found.
However, consumers appear determined to make the most of this year’s festive season after last year’s Covid-related restrictions, with 41% saying they have started their seasonal shopping early to avoid disappointment.
More than a third (36%) say they are concerned that items they want to buy this festive period will be out of stock and 28% are worried that the items they have already ordered online will not turn up in time for Christmas.
By early November, 50% of UK merchants reported a “definite early uptick” in seasonal sales.
Moshe Winegarten, retail sector lead at Checkout.com, said: “This year’s critical festive sales period looks set to be complicated by challenges that are beyond most retailers’ control.
“Rather than being a big bang moment, we can expect this year’s festive shopping season to start earlier, be more sustained, and defined by higher-level transactions.”
There are signs, however, that, while spending may be less concentrated over the Black Friday weekend, this year’s longer festive sales period could still be a profitable one for retailers.
Half of UK retailers (52%) expect that consumers will spend more this Christmas than they did in 2020.
And if they can encourage a steady flow of traffic over a prolonged shopping season there is cause for optimism that revenues will be healthy and that a slightly muted Black Friday might actually make for a smoother experience all round.
Meanwhile, less impulsive shopping and a heightened awareness of shipping complexities may have some upsides as 71% of British consumers say they have no intention of returning a single item bought online this Christmas.
– Opinium surveyed 252 retailers and 2,000 UK adults between October 29 and November 8.