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Retail Confidence Up Despite Sackings

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23% of all retailers have sacked staff or closed stores a new research study conducted by the Australian Retailers Association has revealed, yet despite this retailers are optimistic about an economic recovery .

23% of all retailers have sacked staff or closed stores a new research study conducted by the Australian Retailers Association has revealed, yet despite this retailers are optimistic about an economic recovery .

The March Australian Retailers Index reveals that 23 per cent have sacked staff during the past three months while 11% have hired new employees. Among those known to be hiring are JB Hi Fi and Woolworths who own Dick Smith stores.

65% have  have maintained staffing at the same levels as when the economic downturn first kicked in. Executive director of the ARA Richard Evans says the figures show consumer confidence is hitting retailers hard.

The Index also revealed that retailers are suffering with falls in sales performance at negative 18% were doing the right thing by adjusting their business paradigm, reducing other expenses and trying to stimulate consumer spend before letting staff go.

“Although a decrease in employment levels was being considered by 14% of SME retailers in the past quarter, over 35% were reducing other costs as a result of current economic conditions. Almost 20% were adding new products and 18% were advertising more to try and stimulate consumer spend.

“Usually, employment costs are the easiest overhead for managers under pressure to cut, but SME retailers are showing responsible understanding of the importance holding onto staff to stimulate consumer spending and economic recovery.Said Evans.

“We’re urging employers right through the supply channels to hold onto their staff who have the key to economic recovery in their pockets. If unemployment levels remain under six percent , the retail sector can expect to see improved growth by the September quarter.

“If they’re still working and they’ve got a mortgage, they’ve got more cash now available to them than they had 12 months ago,” he said.

“But what we’re not seeing is consumers coming back in heavy demand. One of the reasons for that is the narrative currently is putting fear through people in Australia, and what we need to save jobs is that fear to turn around.”

Employment growth figures for small and medium retailers were the lowest within the sector over the past three months.

But Mr Evans says if the unemployment rate remains below 6 per cent, retail growth can be expected to pick up towards the end of the year.

 

“We need to start putting some confidence back into the community, and that is that unemployment less than 6 per cent is good news for Australia,” he said.

“We still have a strong balance sheet and we need everyone to be working together.

“That means that consumers need to re-enter the market place, and if they do, there’s some good deals on at the moment.”

Apple Moves Into The Advertising Business

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Apple is set to move into the advertising market up against organisations like the News Corporation who are currently going out of their way to deliver positive editorial coverage to all things Apple.

In recent weeks according the the Wall Street Journal Applehas taken more than $60m in bookings for its new iAd mobile advertising network – weeks before its scheduled launch on 1 July.
The service – which will offer advertising inside mobile apps, initially on the iPhone and iPod Touch – promises to deliver TV and Radio type advertising with the interactivity of internet advertising. Apple says the deals it has already secured represent almost half of the total forecasted mobile ad spend in the US for the second half of 2010.
In the UK, according to a recent report by the Internet Advertising Bureau, mobile advertising spend last year was $70m, a 32% year-on-year increase.
Apple, which launched the fourth generation of the iPhone yesterday, has attracted brands including Unilever – which said today that it would be running a campaign for Dove for Men – AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup, Chanel, Citi, Nissan, Walt Disney and Turner Broadcasting.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said: “iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favourite apps. iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users, a highly desirable demographic for advertisers, and provide developers [with] a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low-cost applications.”
Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive 60% of their iAd revenue.

Consumers Not Happy With Vendor Web Sites

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Consumers are not happy with the web sites of most PC consumer technology and major appliance manufacturers according to the latest’s Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study from research Company Foresee Results.

Consumers are not happy with the web sites of most PC consumer technology and major appliance manufacturers according to the latest’s Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study from research Company Foresee Results.

The quarterly e-business report conducted in partnership with a leading University measures customer satisfaction with manufacturer sites, search engines, portals, and online news and information providers. Led by Google, the e-business sector climbed an impressive 6 percent overall to a score of 79.3 on ACSI’s 100-point scale.

TWICE Magazine claims that  web sites operated by leading PC and appliance companies didn’t fare as well, with the PC category slipping 1.3 percent to a score of 74, and majaps dropping 2.4 percent to a score of 80.


Leading the decline in computer site satisfaction were Hewlett-Packard’s HP and Compaq sites, which all fell about 4 percent year-over-year to the low 70s.

The declines were offset by Apple, whose satisfaction score soared 7.6 percent to 85, and Dell, whose score rose 1.4 percent to 75. Satisfaction with CE manufacturer sites remained flat, with a score of 83, although the performance of individual vendors was not broken out.

Apple Moves Into The Advertising Business

by

Apple is set to move into the advertising market up against organisations like the News Corporation who are currently going out of their way to deliver positive editorial coverage to all things Apple.

In recent weeks according the the Wall Street Journal Applehas taken more than $60m in bookings for its new iAd mobile advertising network – weeks before its scheduled launch on 1 July.
The service – which will offer advertising inside mobile apps, initially on the iPhone and iPod Touch – promises to deliver TV and Radio type advertising with the interactivity of internet advertising. Apple says the deals it has already secured represent almost half of the total forecasted mobile ad spend in the US for the second half of 2010.
In the UK, according to a recent report by the Internet Advertising Bureau, mobile advertising spend last year was $70m, a 32% year-on-year increase.
Apple, which launched the fourth generation of the iPhone yesterday, has attracted brands including Unilever – which said today that it would be running a campaign for Dove for Men – AT&T, Best Buy, Campbell Soup, Chanel, Citi, Nissan, Walt Disney and Turner Broadcasting.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said: “iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favourite apps. iAds will reach millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users, a highly desirable demographic for advertisers, and provide developers [with] a new way to earn money so they can continue developing free and low-cost applications.”
Apple will sell and serve the ads, and developers will receive 60% of their iAd revenue.

Apple Workers Win Battle In Work Conditions Fight

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Apple is once again having to defend their employment reputation in a battle that could expose the work conditions of thousands who work for a Company that has over $200 Billion in the bank and pays minimum tax in Australia.

Apple store workers have won a fight to join together in their bid for more money, claiming they should be paid for time spent in “demoralizing” security searches when they leave work each day.

The battle to get better working conditions and higher pay has fought out in n California Courts.

The ruling that more than 12,000 workers from over 50 stores can sue as a class may put the world’s most valuable technology company on trial over its treatment of a staff known for almost cult-like loyalty.

A San Francisco federal judge overnight ruled that the issue for a jury to decide is whether the workers must be compensated for time spent having their bags searched for stolen merchandise when they left work.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that workers don’t have a federal right to be paid for time spent in post-shift security searches. The Apple workers are pursuing their case under California law.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook personally fielded at least one Apple Store employee complaint about “demoralizing” security searches.

Rachel Wolf, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to comment on the ruling.

PC Manufacturers Welcome Combined Chrome Android OS

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PC manufacturers have welcomed the concept of Chrome and Android being rolled into one powerful operating system that can be used to take on Microsoft’s Windows.

At the weekend it was revealed that Alphabet’s Google plans to fold its Chrome operating system for personal computers into its Android mobile operating system with a new OS set to be revealed late in 2016 or early in 2017.

Several PC manufacturers that ChannelNews has spoken to have welcomed the move after Microsoft moved to expand their own PC hardware business in direct competition with PC manufacturers. 

Google engineers have been working for roughly two years to combine the operating systems and have made progress recently according to the Wall Street Journal.

ChannelNews has been told that a new Google Docs bundle is also being developed that will take on Microsoft Office. 

Android is the world’s most widely used operating system, powering more than one billion phones and other devices made by dozens of companies. Chrome powers personal computers, most often laptops, called Chromebooks. They are niche players, accounting for less than 3% of PCs according to research firm IDC.

The Wall Street Journal said that the move is also an attempt by Google to get Android running on as many devices as possible to reach as many people as possible. The operating system runs phones, tablets, watches, TVs and car infotainment systems. Adding laptops could increase Android’s user base considerably. That should help Google woo more outside developers who want to write apps once and have them work on as many gadgets as possible, with little modification.

In September, Google unveiled a tablet aimed at the workplace called the Pixel C, which runs on Android. It is the first device in the company’s Pixel line of laptops and tablets to drop the Chrome operating system. Last year, Google made some Android apps available on Chromebooks.

Chrome and Android share a common heritage in Linux open-source software. But they differ in significant ways and combining them won’t be easy, people familiar with the matter said.

Laptops have keyboards and larger screens than mobile devices, so users often use multiple apps simultaneously and transfer content among them. Android smartphones and tablets can run multiple apps, but they can’t be shown on the screen at the same time. That makes it hard for users to jump between apps.


The new version of Android will also give PC users access to Google’s Play store, which offers more than one million apps, the people familiar with the matter said.

Analysts claim that by folding Chrome into Android also might help Google win more workplace customers for its productivity apps, such as Docs and Sheets, which would run more seamlessly across different devices. As employees do more work on smartphones and tablets, they expect software and documents to be updated on those devices as well as PCs. That is now a challenge for Google because of the two operating systems.

Retail Confidence Up Despite Sackings

by

23% of all retailers have sacked staff or closed stores a new research study conducted by the Australian Retailers Association has revealed, yet despite this retailers are optimistic about an economic recovery .

23% of all retailers have sacked staff or closed stores a new research study conducted by the Australian Retailers Association has revealed, yet despite this retailers are optimistic about an economic recovery .

The March Australian Retailers Index reveals that 23 per cent have sacked staff during the past three months while 11% have hired new employees. Among those known to be hiring are JB Hi Fi and Woolworths who own Dick Smith stores.

65% have  have maintained staffing at the same levels as when the economic downturn first kicked in. Executive director of the ARA Richard Evans says the figures show consumer confidence is hitting retailers hard.

The Index also revealed that retailers are suffering with falls in sales performance at negative 18% were doing the right thing by adjusting their business paradigm, reducing other expenses and trying to stimulate consumer spend before letting staff go.

“Although a decrease in employment levels was being considered by 14% of SME retailers in the past quarter, over 35% were reducing other costs as a result of current economic conditions. Almost 20% were adding new products and 18% were advertising more to try and stimulate consumer spend.

“Usually, employment costs are the easiest overhead for managers under pressure to cut, but SME retailers are showing responsible understanding of the importance holding onto staff to stimulate consumer spending and economic recovery.Said Evans.

“We’re urging employers right through the supply channels to hold onto their staff who have the key to economic recovery in their pockets. If unemployment levels remain under six percent , the retail sector can expect to see improved growth by the September quarter.

“If they’re still working and they’ve got a mortgage, they’ve got more cash now available to them than they had 12 months ago,” he said.

“But what we’re not seeing is consumers coming back in heavy demand. One of the reasons for that is the narrative currently is putting fear through people in Australia, and what we need to save jobs is that fear to turn around.”

Employment growth figures for small and medium retailers were the lowest within the sector over the past three months.

But Mr Evans says if the unemployment rate remains below 6 per cent, retail growth can be expected to pick up towards the end of the year.

 

“We need to start putting some confidence back into the community, and that is that unemployment less than 6 per cent is good news for Australia,” he said.

“We still have a strong balance sheet and we need everyone to be working together.

“That means that consumers need to re-enter the market place, and if they do, there’s some good deals on at the moment.”

Consumers Not Happy With Vendor Web Sites

by

Consumers are not happy with the web sites of most PC consumer technology and major appliance manufacturers according to the latest’s Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study from research Company Foresee Results.

Consumers are not happy with the web sites of most PC consumer technology and major appliance manufacturers according to the latest’s Satisfaction Index (ACSI) study from research Company Foresee Results.

The quarterly e-business report conducted in partnership with a leading University measures customer satisfaction with manufacturer sites, search engines, portals, and online news and information providers. Led by Google, the e-business sector climbed an impressive 6 percent overall to a score of 79.3 on ACSI’s 100-point scale.

TWICE Magazine claims that  web sites operated by leading PC and appliance companies didn’t fare as well, with the PC category slipping 1.3 percent to a score of 74, and majaps dropping 2.4 percent to a score of 80.


Leading the decline in computer site satisfaction were Hewlett-Packard’s HP and Compaq sites, which all fell about 4 percent year-over-year to the low 70s.

The declines were offset by Apple, whose satisfaction score soared 7.6 percent to 85, and Dell, whose score rose 1.4 percent to 75. Satisfaction with CE manufacturer sites remained flat, with a score of 83, although the performance of individual vendors was not broken out.