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ANZ & Visa Begin Trialling ‘Virtual Wallet’

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50 participants from ANZ and Visa’s Melbourne and Sydney offices have begun a four-week internal trial of a contactless mobile phone application that brings the ‘virtual wallet’ ever closer to consumers.

The participants have each been given special protective iPhone cases with a secure microSD memory card to enable them to pay for goods at the counter simply by waving their phones in front of a contactless reader.

The trial is being tested for purchases under $100, which require no PIN or signature, and customers will get the option of receiving a receipt.

The technology is said to be compatible with existing contactless payments terminals which are alredy in place at more than 20,000 retail outlets across Australia, including fast food restaurants, electronic stores, book stores, sporting stadiums, clothing stores and vending machines.

The technology has been developed by DeviceFidelity in partnership with Visa. The microSD payment technology is protected by the special iPhone case, and has a secure memory card that hosts Visa’s contactless payment application, called Visa payWave. It also hosts a prepaid ANZ account which can be topped up via the internet.

Sam Qubrosi, ANZ’s Head of Product Management Consumer Cards & Unsecured Lending, said the trial was all about making banking simpler and more practical for customers. “Mobile contactless payment is the next step in this evolution and we’re excited to be breaking new ground with this trial.”

Visa Australia’s Country Manager, Vipin Kalra, said: “There’s no doubt that mobile Visa payWave will be the way of the future and I’m sure that the participants will find mobile payments to be a convenient and easy replacement for cash, ideal for fast, simple transactions.”

 

Mobile payments are aimed at giving consumers more flexibility in managing their accounts and receiving real time offers from merchants. Customers will also be able to detect fraudulent activity quickly, and the payment application can be quickly deactivated if the mobile phone is lost or stolen, says Visa. 

Visa is backing all payWave transactions, including those initiated by a mobile phone, with its Visa’s Zero Liability protection1 and ANZ Fraud Money Back Guarantee. This means that a cardholder is not liable for any unauthorised transactions if customers report the issue promptly to their bank or card issuer.

 

 

Australians Take To MCommerce As Mobile Payments Hit $155M

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Payment transactions via mobile phones is set to rocket in Australia with MCommerce due to alter the retail landscape dramatically, it has been claimed.

Mobile payments in Australia grew 14 percent year on year in 2010, with total mobile payments hitting $155 million, according to a new survey commissioned by PayPal.

The report, entitled mCommerce: Secure Insight, was commissioned in partnership with the Autralian Retailers Association, in a bid to get the Aussie retail industry to fully embrace a multi-channel retail strategy.

With the rapid adoption of web enabled mobile devices fuelling consumer demand, Internet enabled phones now account for 65 percent of the total handset market, and more than 68 percent of Australians say they plan to use their mobile handsets for transactions and payments in the near future.

 

Consumer demand for mobile payments has been evident to Paypal for some time now – 10 percent of its 3.6 million active consumer accounts have completed transactions on mobile devices in the last quarter of 2010  – up from just one percent in 2009.

Frerk-Malte Feller, managing director for PayPal Australia, said: “With the arrival of mCommerce we expect to see more change in the retail industry in the next three years than we have seen in the last decade. 

“In the last quarter, our merchants have enjoyed a 25 per cent month on month increase in total mobile payment volumes. Retailers must embrace mCommerce now or risk being left behind. Australian retailers were late to the eCommerce market and cannot afford to make the same mistake again.”

Jennifer Cromarty, Australian Retailers Association Deputy Executive Director, added that retailers need to address the multi-channel strategy in order to remain competitive in the current retail landscape. 

She said: “Put simply, retailers must have a presence wherever their customers are – be they in store, online or on their mobile phones.”

 

One drawback to the adoption of mobile commerce has, however, been concerns over payment security on mobiles. More than half of the 165 online shoppers surveyed said they were not convinced by security measures for mobile transactions.

Half of those surveyed also thought the screens on mobile phones are too small, making usability an issue.

However, with the average consumer changing phones every two years, Internet enabled phones may reach 100 per cent penetration by 2013, the study claims, and retailers need to adapt by offering consumers a fully optimised end-to-end mobile experience.

The most popular time for mobile shopping is when consumers are traveling and 76 per cent of consumers cite convenience as the main reason for transacting on the go.

Feller continued: “The mobile device has become such an integral part of our lives that most people would rather leave the house without their wallet than forget their phone. It is highly personal, always connected and always with you.  The opportunities for retailers to create highly personalised and compelling user experiences are endless.”

Online Gains Momentum In Consumer Vote

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Last night’s win by online retailer eBay of the Choice People’s award is a resounding victory for the medium, with consumers voting with their fingers to abandon bricks and mortar retailers by turning instead to clicks.

eBay became the overwhelming winner of the online category, leading the field by 22 percent, ahead of rivals Apple and Amazon, with more than 12,000 voters registering their support.

Bricks and mortar retailers, meanwhile, gained just 2180 votes, in what is becoming a wide chasm between online and traditional retailing.

And it is a phenomenon that is fast being noted down under, with retailers starting to see online as a brand and engagement channel for driving instore traffic.

Just this week, speculation arose that a major new JB Hi Fi online appliance group could emerge out of the restructure of the struggling Clive Anthony retail operation, which is currently under review by JB Hi Fi management.

Harvey Norman also announced that his company is close to rolling out a new online store.

And John Lewis, the British retailer known for its mantra ‘never knowingly undersold’, is also set to join the brigade of online operators in Australia, aimed at stripping market share away from the likes of David Jones, Myer and Harvey Norman.

New research from Google, Salmat and the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS) also shows that online businesses will explode onto the scene as consumers demand multichannel sales points.

At the Global Retail Insights seminar held in Sydney yesterday, the Association said retailers will need to meet technological challenges to provide more channels for Australian consumers.

 

According to its report, Australian consumers now demand retailers provide pre-purchase research resources and fully transactional websites similar to what is already available to the rest of the world.

“Retailers know they should be investing in ‘new media’ but are apprehensive about making those investments and are therefore missing out on opportunities”, says the report.

According to data collected by the latest survey, while more than two-thirds of consumers are more comfortable to shop at home, Australians also browsed international retail sites, making the competition for the online dollar ever harder for Australian retailers.

The British Retail Consortium in the UK, which is seen as the most advanced e-commerce country in the world, has also highlighted the pace at which the sector is growing.

Online is by far the fastest growing part of UK retailing but online retail data has so far not been quantified.

The BRC is partnering with Google to measure the growth of online retail traffic with the Google Online Retail Monitor, which is due to be published this month.

It will report changes and trends in numbers of unique visitors to retail websites, comparing the performance of online-only retailers with multi-channel retailers (those using stores and the internet).

There will be a geographical breakdown of online activity and the growth of smartphone retail traffic will also be measured. A ranking of the most popular retail search terms is intended to show current consumer trends.

 

It is expected that the tool will be able to establish key trends and determine retail hot spots for online traffic.

According to new results from a study of online shopping in Europe by ComScore, 270.6 million unique visitors in Europe visited sites in the Retail category, representing a market penetration of 74.5 percent of Internet users, up 8.5 percentage points versus last year.

Retail sites also showed high penetration in individual markets, reaching at least 75 percent of the total online audience in 7 out of 18 European markets. 

In 2010, approximately one out of every ten Internet sessions in Europe included a visit to a retail site.

In the United Kingdom, the Retail category reached 89.4 percent of the total online audience (up 6.3 points from last year), the highest penetration of any European market.

According to the figures, shoppers used the Internet mostly for Comparison Shopping, which reached 31.6 percent of the European market in January 2011, buoyed by Bing Ciao and Shopzilla Sites.

Apparel ranked second with a 28.4-percent reach, followed by Consumer Electronics with a 27.1-percent reach.

ARA Seminar Targets E-tailers

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The Australian Retailers Association is to hold a half day seminar on online retailing in Melbourne together with the Australian Sporting Goods Association.

Engage in E-tail is aimed at retailers planning to make the switch to online retailing and enable more retailers to move with the changing market place.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said the seminar will provide an invaluable opportunity for a sector struggling to post any meaningful growth, and will arming retailers with the tools, information and training to start interacting with their consumers online.

“With online retail sales estimated at $12 billion in 2010 and expected to reach $18 billion by 2014*, Australian retailers need to step up and equip themselves with relevant knowledge to widen their market reach by engaging with their customers through multiple channels,” Zimmerman said.

The seminar will be held at The Como Melbourne, 630 Chapel St South Yarra on Wednesday 13 April, and is free for ARA and ASGA members. Non members will pay a fee of $200 including GST.

Retail experts will share their insights on key topics including analysing online and consumer trends, strategies to increase retailer online presence and e-commerce capabilities. It will also explore the burgeoning growth of sharing in-store deals online.

ASGA executive director Brad Kitschke said: “The seminar is about embracing the online space in the name of better business practices that meet consumer demand for a convenient shopping experience.”

Interested retailers should email events@retail.org.au to register or for more information.

How To Get An Education In Apps

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It’s the latest trend that is sweeping the education world, mobile apps.

An American college has introduced an ‘app-making’ degree to cater for the increasing need for new software development jobs, due to more people adopting smart devices.

An estimated 300,000 new jobs are expected to be created in the next few years, with many calling for special knowledge of creating mobile apps.

Rasmussen College, which operates campuses in Florida and Minnesota as well as three other states in the US, is offering two and four year degree programmes featuring ‘mobile application development’, computer graphics programming, and ‘engineering virtual worlds’.

Hap Aziz, director of Rasmussen’s school of technology and design which has 2000 students told the technology website All Things Digital: “There is going to be a continued need as people start adopting more smart devices.”

The curriculum focusses on iPhone and Android app development, but Aziz says the mobile world is changing so fast that the landscape may change by the time students get their four year degree.

 

It’s not the first time the school has tried to tap into technology trends. A programme in computer games and simulations proved popular at the school two years ago.

Aziz said the school added a mobile class to the programme as soon as smartphones started taking off.

Business Backs Intel With Strong PC Demand

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Corporate demand for new PCs has led to a boom in orders for Intel’s chips, whose first quarter net income jumped 29 percent, topping analysts’ projections, and its own expectations.

Intel earned $3.16 billion in the first quarter, compared with $2.44 billion last year. Revenues were up 25 percent from last year at $12.8 billion, and higher than the $11.6 billion expected by analysts.

The result sends a strong message to the consumer electronics world that there’s still a huge demand for traditional PCs, despite the threat posed by tablets.

Intel has recently faced several challenges from competitors most notably in the mobile gadgets market, with smartphones and tablets.

As many as 21 million people are expected to buy tablets instead of laptops this year, and that the number could jump to 26.5 million in 2012, according to Goldman Sachs.

As a sign of the strength of its brand, last year’s iPad, let alone the iPad 2, is expected to be so successful it will make more money for Apple than the company’s entire Mac division by the end of this year.

Adding to its own competitive woes, however, Intel was also responsible for a serious product blunder in January, when a design error in a new chip delayed production of new PCs.

Meanwhile PC demand in the US and Europe is also weakening due to the emergence of tablets, and economic worries.  And demand in Japan has fallen following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Although tablets still have a long way to go before they catch up with the PC base, the highly desirable gadget is catching up fast.

 

The PC market is worth around $250 billion, while overall tablet sales in 2011 is expected to be around $35 billion.

Tablets this year should also account for around 60 million units sold, while PCs have a base of nearly 370 million units sold.

Worryingly for Intel, however, PCs have been around for 30 years, while tablets only came along last year.

Gartner also forecasts that Apple will continue to beat the drum for its surging media tablet device for years. 

And with Apple designing its own chips for the iPad, as well as other tablet makers opting for chips from its rivals, Intel has less opportunity to penetrate the market.

Nevertheless Intel recently launched its Oak Trail processor aimed at the smartphone and tablet market, as it tries to become a relevant player in the space, but it is a late entrant to the game, which has already galloped ahead.

However, it’s trump card is that chief among Oak Trail’s abilities is improved battery power, which according to sources, will be enhanced further in follow on models to take tablet power consumption from 7.5 hours to potentially weeks and months.

Meanwhile Intel maintains tablets aren’t cannibalising the computer market, one of the main reasons being that tablets are a ‘niche’ product aimed at ‘consumption’, rather than ‘creation’.

 

Hi Def Or Low Res, Gefen 1080p Scaler Handles It All

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Need to integrate audio/video systems using displays with different native resolutions? Look no further.


Click to enlarge
Gefen has introduced a new high definition 1080p scaler that improves multi-display system performance with switchable digital audio imputs.

This means installers no longer have to set the lowest common resolutions among all displays when sending signals to more than one display in a room.

The Gefen ToolBox HD 1080p Scaler automatically scales up or down any high definition signal to meet the maximum resolution supported by the connected HDTV display.

For example, if one display supports 720p as its maximum resolution, while three other displays support 1080p full HD, when the HD 1080p Scaler is connected to the 720p display, it  accepts the 1080p input and downscales it to 720p, while the other displays receive the highest resolutions they are capable of.

Thus 1080p resolutions  can be viewed on displays with 1080p full HD capability, while lower res displays are scaled down to their  maximum resolution.

In a home entertainment scenario, a 720p projector and 1080p display can both be connected to the same audio/video source. With the 1080p Scaler connected to the projector, the signal is automatically downscaled to 720p, while the display receives a full HD signal.

 

All video resolutions can also be manually scaled up or down to accommodate any type or size display using HDMI.

Three switchable digital audio inputs and outputs support coax, optical and HDMI devices. You can input coax or optical audio and bypass the HDMI audio or output it as HDMI audio. You can also input HDMI audio and output it as coax, optical and HDMI. All three audio outputs are live. Users select their audio using the menu button, RS-232 or IR remote.

Digital Word Is More Interesting Than Printed Text, Say Readers

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Readers are consuming text off a digital screen almost as much as reading printed paper text, according to a new survey.

Tablet and iPad users surveyed by Gartner say they find screen reading easier than reading printed text.

The survey was carried out in six countries – The US, UK, China, Japan, Italy and India –  with 52 percent saying they found reading on their tablet or iPad easier than reading books, while 42 percent said it was about the same.

However, 47 percent of laptop users found it harder to read on their screens than reading printed text.

“There are concerns that digital media will cannibalise print media, based on the general decline in newspaper sales and take-up of online news services in many parts of the world, but the evidence from our research is that print and online are not generally regarded as direct substitutes by consumers,” said Nick Ingelbrecht, research director at Gartner. “Something more complicated than a straightforward substitution of print to digital media is taking place.”

“Trying to sell the same basic content to the same consumer in different formats risks alienating the consumer, who will baulk at paying twice for the same thing,” said Ingelbrecht.

Gartner says there are benefits in having both print and online access, and that multichannel content distribution is essential for reaching consumers who are consuming near equal amounts of print and digital text.

According to the Gartner survey, across the demographics, screen reading is now virtually on a par with print consumption.

Ingelbrecht said there is a need to improve media tablets and screen readers to become more competitive with paper in terms of weight, form factor, screen resolution, waterproofing, ruggedness, easy highlighting and note taking, so that consumers can take and use their devices at the beach, in the bath or out into the sun where they take their paper books, newspapers and magazines.

 

Other results showed that around 40 percent of respondents had no experience of using e-readers, such the Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle DX and Barnes & Noble Nook.

Tablet TV And E-Readers Take Over

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A new survey from Nielson shows how mobile connected devices are transforming our habits with a growing army of consumers now opting to browse tablets while watching TV, and take their eBooks to bed.

Nielsen surveyed around 12,000 connected device owners and quizzed them about their tablet and e-reader habits.

The results show how tactile both the tablet and e-reader have become, with 70 percent of tablet owners using their devices while watching TV and 61 percent of users saying they take their e-readers to bed.

Tablet TV is also becoming more popular with Google TV aiming to run on Android in the near future, and several US TV networks already supplying  apps and websites that run on tablets.

Many consumers already use their tablets as a control device for all kinds of household electronic items in the home, not least as a TV remote.

Tablet owners say they spend 30 percent of time watching TV with their tablets, while e-reader owners said they only spent 15 percent of time watcing TV with their devices. 

However, e-reader owners said they spent 37 percent of their device usage time in bed, which clearly shows that the book at bedtime is fast being replaced by the e-book at bedtime.