Tag Archives: UK

Where’s my child?

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I look forward to selling this one in to my children:

Thousands of students skip school everyday. It is a problem in every school district across the globe.

Now RFID tracking technology is being used in countries like the UK and Brazil to help tackle the issue.

via School Uniforms With RFID Tracking System Tells Parents When Kids Cut Class.

I can see a new ‘trade’ in swapping blazers or ‘tapping’ in to school, dropping the uniform and leaving. It will be interesting to follow the success of this.

This may be one of those technology ideas that comes under the banner  of “just because we can doesn’t mean we should.”

Visa Europe launches exclusive UK offers portal

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Visa Europe yesterday launched an exclusive new web portal offering deals and discounts from popular retail brands exclusively for Visa cardholders in the UK.

The site can either be accessed directly at www.visaoffers.eu/uk/ or via Visa’s Golden Space website at www.visa.co.uk/goldenspace.

The new site creates a unique destination for retailers to engage with a huge base of consumers. At launch, Visa cardholders in the UK can access discounts from over 40 brands tailored for the festive period, such as 30% off Hallmark, 15% off Goldsmiths, 10% off a £20 order at I Want One of Those, 10% off all electronics and accessories for over £49 spend at Dell, and free delivery for over £50 spend at Hamleys.

More on this story >>> Visa Europe launches exclusive UK offers portal.

Orange finds tablets are cannibalising TV consumption

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Orange found that 35% of UK tablet owners use their devices to watch video-on-demand (VOD) content, the vast majority of which is at home, thus cannibalising PC and TV-based media consumption.

via Orange finds tablets are cannibalising TV consumption | News | New Media Age.

This is quite exciting stuff. Tablet sales are set to grow at a considerable rate and this understanding will help marketing planning.

For me the interesting questions include:

  • What do tablet users do when the ads come on?
  • Should the break bumper style ads be designed to entice the audience to make a one minute trip to a website and register for a list/offer etc?
  • Why does the ITV player strip out all the ads?

Debenhams opens “Minority Report virtual store”

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This is an interesting development from Debenhams:

Debenhams is launching an augmented reality app that allows shoppers to visit a “virtual pop up store” at famous landmarks around the UK.

The geo-location app, created by GoldRun, allows customers to view, “virtually try on”, and buy a range of ten Christmas party dresses, exclusively available via the app.

via Debenhams opens “Minority Report virtual store” | News | Marketing Week.

It all looks rather fun to me and I can see variation on this theme following on soon. Pop-up digital stores could feature at outdoor events, conference locations and lots of other places.

Incoming search terms:

  • debenhams virtual store

UK consumers unconvinced by Facebook commerce

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Almost half of UK consumers are not interested in buying products via social commerce, such as Facebook stores, according to a study.

The study, conducted by Havas Media Social and Lightspeed Research, suggests that despite the retail industry hailing social commerce as the “next big thing”, 89% of people have not bought a single product through Facebook and 44% are not interested in doing so.

Retailers and brands including HMV, Asos, Bulldog and French Connection have all launched Facebook stores in recent months.

via UK consumers unconvinced by Facebook commerce | News | Marketing Week.

Retailers not matching user demand for mobile selling

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UK retailers are failing to keep up with consumer demand for mobile commerce services, according to a Direct Marketing Association study.

Its poll of 3,900 consumers found 82% wanted to buy products via their mobiles. However, only 42% of the 1,600 retailers in the study have a defined mobile selling strategy in place. A further 14% had no plans to put such a strategy in place.

The full story: Retailers not matching user demand for mobile selling.

Starbucks announces UK contactless payment trial

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Starbucks: trialling contactless payment in UK stores

Starbucks is to follow rivals such as Costa Coffee and McDonalds by offering contactless payments in its UK stores. The coffee-shop chain has signed a deal with Barclaycard, in partnership with Visa Europe, allowing consumers to pay for products by scanning their contactless credit or debit card over a payment terminal.

Full story Starbucks announces UK contactless payment trial – Brand Republic News