Privacy concerns are being ignored as social login grows

It’s much easier to log in to new services using your social login. Unsurprisingly the numbers who are doing it are growing according to a survey by Gigya among 18-55 year olds in the US that suggest that the numbers doing this have grown from 53% in 2012 to a staggering 77%. More worryingly, those […]

Mobile coupons can work with laser POS readers at last

Well done MOBEAM! At last we see an intelligent way to get coupons from a mobile device read by laser scanners! http://www.mobeam.com/omnibeam/ And sensibly they have launched this as a public app. It still seems to work just with the Samsung 4 for the moment, and I haven’t tried it yet – but if it […]

Beacons or just another path to confusion

Ironic to call them beacons. Or iBeacons. The name suggests that they should be clear to see, helping users to move forward with confidence. And users tend to like beacons that make it easy to pick up content and offers in store and elsewhere. But the lack of standards threatens adoption. It looks like this […]

Could smaller retailers make a comeback – or are we looking at more mini-megastores?

In Warc’s report on the “Global Retail Trend Predictions for 2014 and Beyond” report by Daymon Worldwide http://www.warc.com/News/Default.aspx, they highlight one that I think speaks volumes: The growing threat to the hypermarkets and superstores from smaller stores driven by urbanisation and increasing convenience. I would add that this could also be fuelled by the democratisation of […]

Be credible when you knock the competition – even in digital

Intersport’s cost-saving calculator does half the job and reduces my trust. He is a great example of getting it wrong. A well-timed email reminded me that taking my own skis to the Alps is not necessarily the most cost-effective option – and of course, renting skis will save me the hassle of struggling through airports […]

Worms – start social but can spread

Interesting to see the report of the ikee worm for the iPhone in Australia. Whilst one could see this as a socially-minded warning, encouraging people to change their passwords, the potential is that others will follow with more malicious intent. Security has been a major factor in slowing fixed internet growth and the mobile industry […]

Mobile phones grow the economy

Great article in The Economist Apparently a study by Leonard Waverman of the London Business School shows that an “extra 10 mobile phones per 100 people in a typical developing country added 0.6 percentage points of growth in GDP”. Great examples of how this is achieved – fishermen checking local prices on fish markets seem to […]

Measuring the value of engagement is easier in the last 3 yards

Not for lack of data – have we struggled to measure the effect of digital ever since the first “hits”  were publicised.  When it wasn’t repeat visits or time-on-site, it became “trigger” actions. The problem has always been to define which numbers tell us what. It’s relatively simple if you are an e-commerce business where there is a […]

Mobile apps – only attractive if i can trust you

Imagine how safe we would feel on the internet if there were no viruses, phishing or spam. I for one would have downloaded many, many different applications, from games to software upgrades. But we do have all the threats, and as a result, not that many people download programmes, or even enjoy shopping online. So I am […]