Councillor Jayne Francis invited on campus for tour of University’s facilities
Some of digital tech showcased will be part of new Aston Digital Futures Institute
University’s new research institute will focus on digital innovation and transformation.
Aston University has been highlighting some of its digital technology research during a visit by Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet Member for Digital, Culture, Heritage and Tourism, after a recent announcement that it is to open a brand new institute.
Councillor Jayne Francis was invited on campus for a tour of some of the University’s current facilities which will provide the foundation of the new Aston Digital Futures Institute. The University’s fifth research institute will focus on digital innovation and transformation, providing leadership in the area of Industry 4.0.
AIPT is one of the world’s leading photonics – or light – research centres. Its track record of scientific achievements ranges from medical lasers to the high-speed optical communication technology that underpins the internet and the digital economy.
AIPT coordinates more than 60 national and international research and industrial projects, working with a network of more than 100 industrial collaborators.
Professor Andrew Ellis, deputy director of the Aston Institute of Photonics Technologies, led Councillor Francis on a tour of the Institute’s optical communications lab. The lab is home to legacy technology, which researchers can use to test innovative technology, ensuring that anything new that they invent will work alongside the old tech, not just at the University but across the country.
Councillor Francis also met with Professor Stephen Garrett, pro-vice-chancellor and executive dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Professor Tony Dodd, deputy dean for research in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. They discussed how the Aston Digital Futures Institute will contribute to the digitalisation of healthcare and the progress of digital technology across the city.
Professor Garrett said: “It was a pleasure to show Councillor Francis our campus and demonstrate the technology and research we’re undertaking now and discuss what we will be doing in the future.
“I am very excited about what the future holds for Birmingham, especially as Aston University will be making a significant contribution to the city’s technological progress.”
Councillor Francis said: “Thank you to everyone at Aston University who made me welcome, and for those who explained their research to me in an authoritative but easy to understand way.
“We often hear phrases like big data, artificial intelligence and the internet of things but sometimes people find it difficult to envisage how these will impact on their lives in the near, and more distant future.
“It was exciting to see how research conducted at Aston University will benefit Birmingham people, improving their health, wellbeing, and much needed digital skills.”
Peter Bishop, director of digital and customer services at Birmingham City Council, added: “It was a delight to be given a tour of the facilities at Aston University. As a digital professional I’m always interested in new and innovative approaches, so I was especially interested in the research being conducted at the University.”
Verizon is the world’s most valuable telecoms brand despite slight reduction, US$67.4 billion
Deutsche Telekom brand value up 5% on rollout of 5G in US and globally
Sunrise is the fastest-growing telecoms brand following UPC merger, up 68%
AT&T sees brand value growth after spinning off its media arm
Swisscom is the strongest telecoms brand, earning 92/100 and elite AAA+ rating, with Jio and Etisalat by e& as the second and third strongest brands
stc and Etisalat by e& lead in Middle East
Safaricom has the highest Sustainability Perception Score, while Verizon has the largest Sustainability Perceptions Value.
Huawei is the most valuable and strongest telecoms infrastructure brand
Verizon is the world’s most valuable telecoms brand despite slight reduction, US$67.4 billion
U.S. based brand Verizon remains the world’s most valuable telecoms brand for the 4th consecutive year despite a 3% year-on-year reduction taking its brand value to US$67.4 billion.
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts thousands of the world’s biggest brands to the test, and publishes over 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. The world’s top 150 most valuable and strongest brands in the telecoms industry are included in the annual Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2023 ranking.
Following a pandemic-led boom in wireless internet demand, Verizon has lost subscribers to fast-growing rivals in the telecoms industry in 2022, contributing to its slight brand value decrease. Verizon’s 5G network will be the brand’s primary focus going forward. On top of this, wireless mobility and nationwide broadband are set to be two of the most significant contributors to its planned growth in 2023. It is focusing on innovation, continued investment, and the incorporation of advanced technology deployment to provide a better offering to consumers, businesses, and the public sector alike.
Deutsche Telekom brand value up 5% on rollout of 5G in US and globally
Deutsche Telekom (brand value up 5% to US$62.9 billion) is again both the 2nd most valuable telecoms brand globally and Europe’s most valuable brand. This impressive performance comes partly as a result of the brand’s strong organic revenue growth within European markets, with customer numbers growing at a steady rate across the board. However, the brand’s value has grown substantially in connection with its record customer additions in the United States.
Sunrise is the fastest-growing telecoms brand following UPC merger, up 68%
Swiss full-service provider, Sunrise, is the fastest growing telecoms brand in the ranking after a 68% brand value increase took it to US$1.8 billion. This comes off the back of a successful merger with Switzerland’s largest cable operator, UPC, in 2021. As part of a brand refresh, Sunrise has also introduced a new brand design and logo. It has also launched the Sunrise Business brand, strengthening its identification with and positioning within the business customer segment.
U.S based brand Optimum followed closely behind as the second fastest growing brand with a 67% increase to a brand value of US$2.5 billion after a similarly successful merger. The brand merged with Suddenlink in 2022 and has combined all of the company’s telecommunications goods under a single name. In combination with this, it also launched a new nationwide brand campaign, “Get Closer, Go Farther”. This emphasises its promise to bring customers closer together with Optimum products and services.
“Both outlined mergers and subsequent brand-refreshes highlight two examples of the benefit for brands of adjusting their brand architecture and combining two or more weaker brands under a more distinct and consolidated master-brand. This indicates significant brand value potential to be unlocked by other such brands operating under an unconsolidated brand architecture.”
AT&T sees brand value growth after spinning off its media arm
AT&T (brand value up 6% to US$49.6 billion) saw brand value growth in 2023 following a redirection in business strategy in which it spun off its media arm in order to focus directly on its telecoms business. AT&T announced that it would spin off WarnerMedia into a new company in 2021. It completed the move in April 2022, to form a separate media company – Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. AT&T has subsequently shown positive brand value growth of 6%. In 2022, the telecoms brand has focused on its go-to-market strategy, providing high-quality wireless and fibre services, while continuing to invest heavily in its 5G technologies.
Swisscom is the strongest telecoms brand, earning 92/100 and elite AAA+ rating, with Jio and Etisalat by e& as the second and third strongest brands
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 150,000 respondents in 38 countries and across 31 sectors.
Swisscom (brand value up 5% to US$6.3 billion) is the strongest telecoms brand with a Brand Strength Index score of 92, making it the third strongest brand globally and earning it an elite AAA+ brand rating. Its recent announcement of its new Fixed Wireless Access 5G service for business customers is a continuation of its pioneering work in the European 5G market. Trust, coverage and network perceptions and its customer service are what sets Swisscom apart against competition and other telco brands and is clearly reflected in Swisscom’s extremely high brand strength index score.
Indian brand Jio (brand value up 6% to US$5.4 billion) is the second-strongest telecoms brand with a brand strength index score of 90/100, earning it an elite AAA+ rating. This was a two-point rise from last year. The brand has particularly focused on its roll-out of 5G in India, now extending coverage to 257 cities in the country and looking to further increase this at a rapid rate. 5G services have already created widespread benefits to Indian consumers, as well in sectors such as education, healthcare and agriculture. These benefits and the growth opportunities that Jio’s 5G network has presented have helped Jio build an extremely strong brand strength index score, one of only two AAA+ rated telecoms brands in the ranking.
Etisalat by e& (brand value up 4% to US$10.5 billion) is the third strongest telecoms brand globally with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 89.1 out of 100. Etisalat by e& is a telecoms brand of the global technology group e&. Evolved through a brand identity change last year, Etisalat by e& reflects a tech-driven telecoms brand enabled by superior 5G connectivity; elevated NPS scores due to richer personalised customer interactions; and increased employee satisfaction on account of vigorous company culture making it an attractive employer.
stc and Etisalat by e& lead in Middle East
Saudi Arabian brand stc (brand value up 17% to US$12.3 billion) is the most valuable Middle Eastern telecoms brand. It is also the second strongest telecoms brand in the Middle East with a brand strength index score of 87 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA rating. The brand’s value was positively affected by stc’s technological investments to keep delivering on its ambitious strategy and increased focus on the expansion of the brand in adjacent sectors such as ICT and IT.
Etisalat by e& (brand value up 4% to US$10.5 billion) is the second most valuable telecoms brand in the Middle East.
Safaricom has the highest Sustainability Perception Score, while Verizon has the largest Sustainability Perceptions Value.
As part of Brand Finance’s analysis, research is conducted into the role of specific brand attributes in driving overall brand value. One such attribute, growing rapidly in its significance, is sustainability. Brand Finance assesses how sustainable specific brands are perceived to be, represented by a ‘Sustainability Perceptions Score’. The value that is linked to sustainability perceptions, the ‘Sustainability Perceptions Value’, is then calculated for each brand.
Kenyan telecoms brand, Safaricom (brand value up 3% to US$709 million) is perceived to be the world’s most sustainable telecoms brand, with an impressive Sustainability Perception Score of 6.46 out of 10.
As well as being the world’s most valuable telecoms brand, Verizon also has the highest Sustainability Perceptions Value, estimated at US$5.8 billion. While its position at the top of the table is not an assessment of its overall sustainability performance, it indicates how much brand value Verizon has tied up in sustainability perception. Brand Finance’s research finds that consumers around the world perceive that Verizon is minimising its negative impacts, reflected in Verizon’s top ranking in this area.
Huawei is the most valuable and strongest telecoms infrastructure brand
In addition to ranking the 150 most valuable and strongest telecoms operator brands, Brand Finance also ranks the top 10 most valuable and strongest telecoms infrastructure brands in the world in the Brand Finance Telecoms Infrastructure 10 2023 ranking.
Huawei (brand value down 38% to US$44.3 billion) continues its dominance at the top of the ranking. Huawei has lost significant brand value in connection to US sanctions, due to political and regulatory confrontations, that have caused a contraction in the geographies where it can operate. It has also suffered in relation to a global semiconductor shortage and a slump in demand for smartphones. Although it is losing brand value, the brand is still the strongest telecoms infrastructure brand with a Brand Strength Index Score of 79.9 out of 100 with a corresponding AAA- rating.
Better waste management and recycling is a critical part of the wider climate adaptation and mitigation effort. However, the issue received only limited attention at COP27 last November. According to Chris Williams, founder and CEO of ISB Global, this needs to change.
“In an ideal world, we would radically rethink how we view waste and consumption and set ourselves the goal of net zero waste,” explained Williams. “But short of complete waste prevention, more efficient and effective waste management on a day-to-day level and also across entire supply chains in industry and commerce, can ensure we tackle the problem.”
A 2018 World Bank’s report entitled “What a waste 2.0” estimated that globally every human being produces on average 0.74 kg of solid waste each day. Approximately 40 percent of this waste ends up in landfills or open dumps. This is in turn has long-lasting harmful impact on the environment, including generating methane and water pollution: globally, waste management contributes 20 percent of all methane emissions, Other harmful environmental emissions include black carbon and dioxins.
The waste issue wasn’t even on the agenda at COP26 in Glasgow two years ago. Thankfully, this changed last November at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh. A panel session featuring speakers from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP), the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and the Global Foodbanking Network plus politicians from Canada, Chile and Senegal discussed waste diversion and segregation as an opportunity for reducing methane emissions plus the challenges involved for public policy at a regional level.
Activist groups also headed to COP27 to raise awareness of the waste problem. Australian start-up Zero Co launched its ‘100 Yr Cleanup’ campaign by building a huge pyramid made entirely of single-use plastics collected from the River Nile. It hopes to raise USD$1m over the coming year and remove the equivalent of 15 million water bottles in plastic waste around the globe. However, considering the amount of carbon and other emissions created by ineffective waste management policies, it deserved more.
Williams continued, “The initiatives announced at COP27 show the demand among people and organisations to improve waste management. But in order to make a significant difference, there needs to be a greater commitment at all levels of government, supported by the investors, for tackling and improving current poor waste management practices in both developing nations and mature ones.
“Waste still doesn’t feature as a standalone UN Climate Change topic and so doesn’t as yet attract the level of debate and action that’s needed in order to proactively and seriously address the contribution that poor waste management makes to climate change,” said Williams. “The key, of course, is to prevent waste altogether. That means changing our attitudes to consumption by consuming less and instead reusing more of what at the moment we throw away,” he added.
“More recycling at a national, regional and a community level puts useful materials back in the production chain where they can be used and keeps them out of landfill,” he explained. “But a lot of recycling still isn’t good enough. Some countries and regions are better than others – and some are pitifully behind the times.
“Better, smarter waste management simply makes good business sense. For example, manufacturers who separate and reuse or resell their waste products rather than simply dumping them don’t have to spend capital extracting and sourcing completely new raw materials. And it’s also now a legal requirement, with more and more governments legislating against excessive landfill with minimum operating requirements and higher taxes. Williams concluded,
“The combination of improved waste management processes plus more recycling is a significant opportunity – to have a meaningful impact on greenhouse gas emissions: and to also help bring about a sea-change in the way individuals and organisations alike think about their consumption and waste.”
Medius, a leading provider of AP Automation and wider spend management solutions, has announced its 2022 Partner of the Year winners, as part of an annual tradition to recognize its partners’ excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Medius technology.The Partner of the Year awards acknowledges Medius’s partner ecosystem, which helps to deliver new ways of operating, delivering and accelerating digital transformation to meet customer needs. Given that the priority for many businesses in 2022 was profitability and financial agility against a backdrop of external, economic instability, last year’s winners were assessed based on their ability to help their customers gain control of cost, cash, and compliance through the entire procure-to-pay lifecycle.
Across seven categories spanning major, global markets, each Partner of the Year demonstrated excellence in working with Medius’s customers in banking, retail, construction and logistics, deploying accelerated digital transformation through Medius technology.
Matt Rhodus, VP of Business Development & Strategy said:“Many businesses across the globe have faced financial challenges due to external economic factors beyond their control. This has defined business strategies, adaptability and future policies, no matter how big or small an organization. Medius’s Partners of the Year have clearly demonstrated how the best practices of automation, procurement and technology can support businesses and their customers in effectively managing cash-flow, without compromising customers’ needs.”
Partner of the Year Award 2022 Winners
Cloud – ACV/Revenue Partner of the Year: Exsitec
Exsitec AB remains a strong sales partner for Medius, achieving 99 new business deals in Medius Spend Management in 2022 alone. The company offers smart IT that simplifies and improves users’ everyday workflow using resource efficient methods.
EMEA Partner of the Year: HSO
FHSO has been named Medius 2022 EMEA Partner of the Year for the second consecutive year. With a 100% dedication to Microsoft technology, HSO is a proven global leader with unique delivery capabilities offered from practices in more than 31 offices across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Newcomer Partner Award: Pitney Bowes UK
Pitney Bowes UK has been named the Medius Rookie Partner of the Year for their proactive engagement upon formal partnership in October 2022. Using the “Move to Medius” quick-start plan Pitney Bowes has generated 26 sales qualified leads, 8 in progress opportunities and 1 closed Medius APA solution for a global manufacturer in 23 countries employing 2500 employees.
Strategic Partner of the Year: Microsoft
Medius is a longstanding partner of Microsoft and hosts its spend management solutions on the Microsoft Azure platform. The partnership enables Medius to offer greater flexibility, connectivity, and high-quality services to their global customer base. Being a Microsoft Gold Partner also allows Medius to test and develop new technology and to meet the changing needs of clients.
Technology Partner of the Year: Pagero
The Medius global e-Invoicing service is powered by Pagero via the Pagero Network. A smart business network with global reach, to ensure interoperability and local compliance for all customers across the globe. The seamless integration between Pagero and Medius enables the processing of e-invoices in the same way as PDF or paper invoices.
APAC Partner of the Year: Ricoh
Ricoh is a Medius Cloud Partner and a leading provider of smart workplace technology. Medius’s solution extends Ricoh’s range of digital services solutions, including optimized workflows, anytime anywhere collaboration, intelligent capture, automation, and digital infrastructure.
North America Partner of the Year: Enzo
Enzo has been named the 2022 North America Partner of the Year, for their work and partnership integrating Medius APA and Pay solutions to customers across the globe. Enzo enabled Medius to be successfully integrated to a wide variety of customer ERP systems like Great Plains, SAGE, QuickBooks, Infor and others.
Growth is a critical objective that contributes to increased revenue. It helps acquire assets, attract new talent, and fund investments. By crafting strategies focused on growth an enterprise can boost its market share, realise scale efficiencies, and increase brand awareness. If wealth is properly measured, managed, and better understood, the organisation benefits. This requires accounting, to build robust finances. There’s a significant impact of good accounting on the growth and sustainability of small businesses and start-ups. Business decisions are supported by quality financial information, which is relevant and delivered in a timely manner.
If you want to improve your financial standing and increase your profit, keep in mind the following tips.
Keep Business and Personal Expenses Separate
You should separate your business and personal finances. If someone brings legal action against you and the court can’t clearly delimitate between you and your enterprise, you’ll be personally liable for any business debt. Additionally, you can’t deduct your personal expenses from your business taxes, so it’s better to keep things separate. Use a separate business account. After you’ve obtained the company registration number, don’t waste any more time and open a business account. It will be much easier to monitor and substantiate expenses, you enjoy personal liability protection, not to say that you can open a line of credit.
Pay yourself a salary from your business. You can do that by simply withdrawing cash from the business. Withdrawals are regarded as profit and, of course, are taxed at the end of the year. Better yet, take money from your business account and transfer it to your personal account, once or twice per month. Decide how much you should pay yourself. Putting yourself first is the golden rule, according to the experts. Last but not least, don’t store business receipts where you keep personal receipts. It’s a good way to build a scalable system for the future.
Consider Hiring a Professional, Even If Temporarily
Who should you turn to when you need strategic or operational advice about running your business? An accountant, of course. A professional will help you avoid costly mistakes. You can expect an accountant to help with budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management, tax planning, software recommendations, and so forth. Speaking of which, if you don’t know what accounting software to use, it makes sense to get professional advice before signing up for a payment plan. There’s so much choice that you’ll be overwhelmed. As your accountant to help you understand the features of your program of choice and aspects that you might overlook.
If you don’t know exactly what you want, you can hire an accountant temporarily to come in and assess your needs. When hiring an accountant for a short while, you can choose from a wide range of specialists, which you’ll certainly need in the upcoming months. If the accountant is good at what they do, they won’t need direction to satisfy your requirements. Because most work is done remotely these days, you can save time and money as the accountant doesn’t have to be in the office to get the job done. Temporary help can come in handy for specific projects, such as an enterprise upgrade.
Make Sure Customers/Clients Are Paying
After being in business for some time, you understand that having customers/clients paying without delay is essential. When people pay their invoices in a timely fashion, you can maintain financial health. Au contraire, when customers/clients are late with payments, you incur additional expenses, not to mention that it’s impossible to keep up with the budget, growth plans, and so on. If you’re not getting paid, that’s not good. So, think about improving your invoicing process. There are two fundamental aspects to focus on: accuracy and timeliness. At times, conversations can fix these issues.
If you have your mind set on improving the invoicing process, invest in a solution such as QuickBooks. You can automatically generate and send invoices to customers and obtain timely payments. The process of creating an invoice from scratch is relatively simple. You select the customer and job from the dropdown menu and complete the fields (date, invoice number, bill to/ship to, terms, time/costs, etc.). When dealing with accounts receivables, your small business or start-up is at the mercy of customers/clients who pay. Without accounting software, you open yourself up to costly mistakes, fraud, and possibly embezzlement.
Create Financial Projections for Future Years
Financial projections are useful as they help you estimate future income and expenses, in addition to anticipating if you require financing or should make capital expenditures. Include your expenses and revenues into a cash flow projection. To do this, you can use an Excel or spreadsheet (or any other tool available in your accounting toolkit). Your projection will help you analyse the impact of different strategies on your business. Growth will allow you to expand your operations and it can be achieved through various strategies, such as adding new locations, investing in customer acquisition, or expanding the product/service line.
Financial projections can be used to attract future investors. They provide them an idea of your organisation’s overall anticipated financial picture at a certain moment in time. Long-term projections tend to cover three to five years. You don’t have to be a financial whiz to put together a good financial model. There are certain things that investors want to see in a financial forecast, namely cash flow, audience, market segmentation, and customers, gross margin, operating expenses, and liquidity, just to name a few. A financial projection isn’t a mere sequence of numbers; it’s a communication tool.
All in all, you can grow your business, even in a down economy. Develop growth strategies based on financial data and set reasonable expectations for the future. Analyse every step and decision you make. Most importantly, think about where you want to be in the future and what you can do right now. Pursue the most effective vehicles to put your chosen plan into effect. Take into account your resources, culture, and risk tolerance.
Many people say that there is nothing better than being your boss. Even though that is true, running an unknown business has many aspects.
Nowadays, there is a growing trend of people quitting their traditional workplaces to start entrepreneurship, mainly based on activities they love, such as cooking.
Although working in something you love can be very rewarding, learning about the wide range of aspects you must deal with when running your own business is essential to avoid being frustrated later.
Finances are one of the main aspects of business, yet in many cases, it needs to receive the attention required to secure an excellent financial performance. Learning to track financial objectives with dashboardsand other essential finance-related tasks is mandatory if you want your entrepreneurship to be profitable.
This article will provide some basic information about finances and tips to create an accurate plan to improve your finances and keep your business growing.
Basic definitions
Let’s starts with the basic. Though finance is a common word, not everyone can define it clearly. According to Wikipedia, Finance is a discipline related to economics but focused on money and capital assets. Finance encompasses a wide range of activities, usually divided into public, corporate, and personal finance.
Through the subfield of corporate finance, you can learn about many helpful tools to improve your business performance.
Corporate finance deals with strategies to increase the company’s value and the funding and capital structure of your business.
Most corporate finance strategies are built by analyzing the business’s financial situation. In this sense, learning about which tools you can use to track financial objectives with dashboards is vital to get the correct information about how your business is doing and which aspects need to be improved.
How can technology help you to improve your finances?
Technological innovation has created an entirely new scenario regarding finances. Not so long ago, only experts could develop an accurate diagnosis of a company’s financial performance.
Fortunately, nowadays, so many tools are available that almost anyone with basic financial knowledge can access crucial information.
According to CPA PracticeAdvisor, thanks to financial management technologies, a business can upraise its market status by access to critical information regarding emerging opportunities and obstacles.
Thanks to the development of user-friendly financial management software, which provides businesses with proper financial planning, reporting, budgeting, and analysis tools.
An excellent example of financial technologies is financial dashboards. This primary software is an essential management tool to track all relevant finance aspects, such as effective cash management, expenses, sales, and profits.
Thanks to all the information collected within a financial dashboard, you can access a clear and straightforward diagnosis to help you make informed decisions on investing your money or where to adjust your budget.
Essential tips to improve your business finances
Below, we will share some tips to help you quickly improve your financial performance.
1. Hire a professional
Even though it might seem an unnecessary expense, hiring a professional in finance can help you clear your business status and provide exciting ideas on how to keep growing. Once you got a good diagnosis and plan, you can keep track of your financial performance on your own.
2. Keep track of your performance
Use the right tools to keep track of all your business movements. That is the only way to build a diagnosis of your finances and develop the right growth plan.
3. Reduce your expenses
To keep your business profitable, reducing all your expenses without altering the quality of your product or service is essential. By rearranging payments, you can get a better balance and avoid increasing your costs to cover a new spent.
In conclusion, running your own business can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Learning about finance and using technological innovations to keep track of your performance is a great way to secure the well-being of your business.
In today’s world, the average person spends 142 minutes each day on social media. With the emergence of social commerce, retailers have an opportunity to capitalize on this captive audience and recover from the pandemic with a resilient digital strategy. In the US alone, annual sales through social commerce are expected to soar from approximately $37 billion in 2021 to $56 billion by 2023. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at social commerce and social shopping, explore how retailers can leverage social media platforms, and identify what they can learn from the experiences of Chinese and Western retail giants.
Unlocking the Potential of Social Commerce
Drawing Inspiration from China
$56 billion might seem like a staggering figure, but it pales in comparison to the social commerce scene in China. Social commerce, social shopping, and social retail had already been dominant forces in China’s e-commerce market, generating an estimated $363 billion in 2021, even before the pandemic struck. The widespread adoption of social commerce in China played a significant role in shielding Chinese retailers and manufacturers from pandemic-related demand volatility, which severely affected their Western counterparts.
The Retailization of Social Media Platforms
TikTok
Tencent, along with Alibaba, is a major driver of social commerce in China. Given this, it is no surprise that TikTok, Tencent’s best-known product, has introduced new tools for businesses, influencers, and consumers to participate in social commerce worldwide. Live streams and shoppable links facilitate the purchase of advertised products with ease. Furthermore, the company is investing heavily in making social commerce a pillar of the platform.
Facebook and Instagram
While Tencent and TikTok may be more familiar now, other large social media platforms in the West have been significantly involved in social commerce for several years. Facebook, now known as Meta, for example, has one of the largest social commerce platforms in terms of users and revenue. However, unlike in China, it wasn’t big brands and influencers who started the Facebook social shopping craze. Rather, consultants for multi level marketing brands like Lululemon took inspiration from television network shopping and helped popularize the platform’s social shopping capabilities in countries like the US and UK.
Meta’s other social media platform, Instagram, was not far behind. Social commerce on Instagram has been instrumental in making influencer marketing a highly profitable profession. Tagging and selling products in posts, stories, and live streams have transformed what was once a hobby into an entire career for many. Instagram continuously enhances its platform with new features that make it simpler for brands and influencers to collaborate, not only for marketing activities but also as brand representatives who play a more significant role in selling products.
Pinterest
Pinterest has established itself as a uniquely lucrative platform, especially for high fashion and design. Pinterest users create dedicated boards for specific fashion, decor, and aesthetic ideas, which often heavily feature content from online store catalogs and fashion shows. Up to 93% of users pin content featuring items they intend to purchase, so it didn’t take long for the company to realize its natural potential for social retail and other forms of social commerce. Landing pages for products are easily tagged within pins and their descriptions, which find their way onto thousands of boards. Buyable (a.k.a. “Shoppable”) pins allow users to go from pin to purchase in just a few clicks, all without ever leaving the app. Pinterest has also recently launched live shopping events that are mostly targeted towards Gen Z, but older age groups would find their similarities to the QVC network uncanny.
Social Commerce, Social Shopping, and Social Retail: What’s the Difference?
As e-commerce continues to grow, social media platforms have become an integral part of the retail industry, especially after the pandemic. Social commerce, social shopping, and social retail are three terms that have emerged from this trend. Although they all involve buying and selling goods on social media platforms, each term focuses on a different aspect of the process.
Here is a breakdown of what each term means:
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is a subset of e-commerce that involves the use of social media networks for buying and selling products or services. It is a platform for individual sellers such as influencers, multi level marketers, and businesses to showcase their products and services to potential customers.
Social commerce provides a way for businesses to interact with their customers on a more personal level. They can engage with customers, promote their products, and even offer customer support through social media channels. Social commerce can be thought of as a way to create a social shopping experience.
What is Social Shopping?
Social shopping, on the other hand, is a type of e-commerce that focuses on the customer’s experience rather than the seller’s. It connects shoppers with other shoppers as they shop online. Customers can interact with each other, exchange product reviews and recommendations, and share discounts.
Social shopping involves using social media to create an interactive shopping experience. For instance, live shopping streams allow customers to participate in chat rooms while they shop. It is a form of social commerce that aims to build a community around a brand or product.
What is Social Retail?
Social retail is the use of social media to enhance the overall shopping experience. It’s about integrating social channels into the entire shopping journey to encourage more sales. Unlike social commerce and social shopping, social retail focuses on businesses rather than individual sellers. Social retail can take on many forms, such as shoppable Pinterest links, hashtag campaigns, and augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) technology. It involves building an online or brick-and-mortar store that is centered around social activity.
Social commerce, social shopping, and social retail are all terms that are associated with e-commerce activities on social media platforms. While their definitions may overlap, they each have their unique focus. As technology continues to evolve, so do these terms. Therefore, it’s essential to stay up to date on the latest trends to make the most of social media platforms for your business.
The Future of Social Commerce and Social Shopping
Social commerce and social shopping are both relatively new concepts, but their rise in popularity over the past year has been meteoric. It’s clear that retailers and brands must embrace these concepts if they want to stay competitive and relevant in the current digital landscape. And it’s not just limited to large corporations either, even small businesses and solo entrepreneurs can benefit from social commerce and social shopping by leveraging social media platforms to connect with their customers and sell their products.
“Initially, e-commerce focused on making everyday goods available online at low prices. However, the current phase of e-commerce is more captivating, as it caters to the demand for emotional products – the items that hold special significance and are treasured by people. That’s why social shoppers will be the locomotive of e-commerce in the next 5 years.” – CEO and founder ofStreamZenn, Live commerce solution.
As technology continues to evolve, social commerce and social shopping will continue to evolve with it. We can expect to see even more innovative features and functionalities added to social media platforms to make the buying and selling experience even more seamless and convenient for customers.
The Benefits and Potential Drawbacks of Making Social Media a Pillar of Your Retail Strategy
Social media has rapidly become an essential marketing tool for retailers. With the advent of social shopping, brands can streamline the e-commerce customer journey while connecting with customers in an organic way. However, as with any marketing strategy, there are both benefits and drawbacks to social commerce.
The Benefits of Social Shopping
Streamlining the E-commerce Customer Journey
Social media channels for digital retail offer a one-stop-shop for customers and retailers alike. By providing helpful content such as reviews, advice, chatbots, and recommendations, social media creates a frictionless buying experience for customers. For brands, social commerce allows them to increase awareness amongst their target audience on a large scale, often bolstered by social proof, authority, and trust-building content through an already established global community. Even implementing a social media messenger chatbot can attract a massive amount of new customers.
Organic Connection with Customers
PPC advertising is losing its luster, and customers are becoming increasingly resistant to digital advertising. Social shopping is an effective way to meet the same needs as traditional ads for retailers while sparing consumers and platform users from brand-generated social media marketing. It is transparent about its intentions to sell, so brands must create genuinely interesting content for users. User-generated content and community posts provide an authentic online brand reputation, often for free, along with further support from influencer marketing.
Socialization Aspect of Shopping
Social shopping brings back the socialization aspect of shopping that is often lost in brick and mortar stores. People crave socialization in their day-to-day lives, and social commerce offers an opportunity for customers and brands to connect under one roof, albeit on a global scale. Social media users and micro-influencers interact in these environments similar to friends and feel like shoppers as they make a purchase – not mere consumers.
Cost-Effective
Social commerce combines marketing and e-commerce endeavors, making projects and resources less stretched out, less divided, and therefore more effective. This is especially true as PPC advertising continues to become more expensive, less data-centric, and less conglomerated onto a few select platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
Potential Drawbacks of Social Shopping
Less Inherently Appealing to Male-Oriented Audiences
Men are less likely to buy a product without trying or seeing it in person. Therefore, men’s apparel and accessory brands may need to create a digital method to make up for this lack of touch and feel. Hyperactive digital environments like virtual and augmented reality will be especially promising as they develop in this regard. In the meanwhile, men’s fashion retailers may want to emphasize visual, material, and other descriptive elements within their marketing and creatives to help consumers adequately imagine these senses.
Not a Standard Framework
Social shopping initiatives can easily fall flat without a unique and creative touch. Unlike ads and other forms of marketing, consumers are not obligated to engage with social shopping activities as a way to access free content. They have to be genuinely interested in doing so. Capturing this genuine interest is not necessarily difficult, but it requires a business to have a keen understanding of its consumers and opt for new, fresh ideas rather than tried-and-true formats.
Impulsive Purchases
Finding an audience is easy, but retaining them is not. Socially-driven buying can be impulsive, resulting in no long-term changes in buying behavior. Therefore, retailers who integrate social shopping as a core component of their strategy also may need to prioritize customer loyalty initiatives long-term to bolster customer retention.
Less Control Over Social Discussion
Social e-commerce can be a fantastic tool to bring a business to a global audience, but proper etiquette is required to navigate this increased interaction between brands and users. Many retailers have negatively impacted their
Conclusion
Social commerce and social shopping are no longer just buzzwords – they are now integral parts of the retail landscape. With more and more people spending increasing amounts of time on social media, it’s clear that retailers must embrace these concepts if they want to stay competitive and relevant in today’s digital landscape.
The future of retail is clearly digital, and social commerce and social shopping are leading the way. By leveraging the power of social media, retailers can connect with their customers in new and exciting ways, ultimately leading to increased sales and growth. So, whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, it’s time to jump on the social commerce and social shopping bandwagon and take your business to the next level.
Betting has become an increasingly popular pastime in recent years, with millions of people around the world placing wagers on a wide range of sporting events, casino games, and other forms of gambling. One of the key reasons for this growth in popularity has been the rise of mobile betting, which allows users to place bets and track their results from the comfort of their own smartphones. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the benefits of betting using your mobile phone.
Convenience
The most obvious advantage of mobile betting is convenience. With a mobile betting app, you can place bets from anywhere and at any time. Whether you’re at home, at work, or on the go, you can quickly and easily place bets on your favorite sporting events, casino games, or other forms of gambling. This means that you don’t have to waste time and money traveling to a physical location to place your bets. Instead, you can do it all from the palm of your hand.
Ease of Use
Another benefit of mobile betting is that it’s incredibly easy to use. Most mobile betting apps are designed to be user-friendly, with intuitive interfaces and clear instructions. This means that even if you’re new to betting or gambling, you can quickly get the hang of using a mobile betting app. In addition, many mobile betting apps offer a range of features that make it easy to keep track of your bets, view your betting history, and manage your account.
Safety and Security
Mobile betting apps are also generally very safe and secure. Reputable betting companies invest heavily in security measures to ensure that your personal and financial information is protected. This means that you can feel confident that your information is safe when you use a mobile betting app. In addition, most mobile betting apps offer a range of payment options, including credit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers, so you can choose the option that works best for you.
Range of Betting Options
When you use a mobile betting app, you’ll have access to a wide range of betting options. Whether you’re interested in sports betting, casino games, or other forms of gambling, there are mobile betting apps that cater to your interests. In addition, many mobile betting apps offer live betting, which allows you to place bets while a game or event is in progress. This adds an extra layer of excitement to the betting experience and can increase your chances of winning.
Bonuses and Promotions
Finally, many mobile betting apps offer bonuses and promotions to their users. These can include free bets, deposit bonuses, and other rewards that can help you to increase your winnings or reduce your losses. By taking advantage of these bonuses and promotions, you can get more value out of your betting experience and increase your chances of coming out ahead.
In conclusion, mobile betting offers a range of benefits that make it an attractive option for anyone who enjoys betting or gambling. With its convenience, ease of use, safety, and security, range of betting options, and bonuses and promotions, mobile betting is a great way to enjoy the excitement of betting and potentially win big. If you haven’t tried mobile betting yet, it’s definitely worth giving it a shot.
Over the last ten years, the world of payment systems has changed and developed a lot. Furthermore, it is currently continuing to develop. As of today, such solutions as cashless payments are becoming increasingly important. They include bank cards, Internet banking, and fast payment systems.
According to a recent report by McKinsey & Company, the percentage of consumers using digital payment technologies sharply raised from 51% in 2021 to 62% in 2022. Interestingly, in-app purchases and peer-to-peer (P2P) payments have shown the highest growth rate. The overall growth of the instant payments sector is expected to continue at double-digit rates. In addition, it is expected to grow faster than the payment cards segment which has shown a growth rate of 10% over the past two years. Meanwhile, the open banking service continues to gain popularity, especially in Europe.
“Every single day, we can see that more and more companies switch to digital sales processes while developing the online market. In addition, eCommerce is no longer a new sales channel that B2B companies are experimenting with. It is becoming an integral part of their business,” says Edgars Lasmanis, founder and owner of Walletto UAB. Edgars Lasmanis has extensive experience in the e-commerce and payments industry, and set up his company with the primary aim of making online payments a more cost-effective proposition. Security, quality, and innovation are at the heart of Walletto’s mission.
While witnessing the increased interest from the market, the company pays special attention to the development of payment services. Walletto provides a wide range of services including divided accounts and dedicated IBAN accounts, as well as services allowing to accept payments by using Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and SEPA payments. They also plan to add SEPA Instant in the nearest future. “Our technological and financial solutions allow customers working in various fields to accept payments for goods and services from anywhere in the world by using various types of payments,” adds E. Lasmanis.
Interestingly, the study by McKinsey & Company shows that 65% of B2B companies sold goods and services exclusively online in 2022. Revenues from the global payment market are expected to continue to grow steadily over the next four years. They are driven by the modernization efforts in the industry and new opportunities that have led to fundamental changes in the trading sector, as well as in the behavior of both sellers and customers, not to mention new technologies.
It is worth noting that Walletto offers a high-end payment processing platform that is based on an individual approach to the eCommerce sector. As of today, the company pays the utmost attention to the security of the system, as well as offers PCI DSS certification, which guarantees the security of all transactions of the customers made by using their debit and credit cards issued by various banks as well as by Walletto.
The partnership agreement finalised between the EYRA Group and Board of Cyber provides Swiss companies with a continuous notation system for scoring cyber-performance.
The EYRA Group – specialists in managed services for cloud in both the private and public sectors, cyber-security and the protection of personal data – has come together with Board of Cyber, a French company specialising in cyber risk management so as to add the Security Rating® solution to the services it provides. This automated, fast, and non-intrusive SaaS solution will mean that its clients will be able to continuously evaluate the cyber-risks to their organisations and to that of their suppliers, and thereby improve their performance in terms of cyber-security.
The EYRA Group provides its clients with services covering computer management, consultancy, audit, training, and awareness, as well as the implementation and development of security technologies, and the services of an MSSP (managed security service provider). With Board of Cyber, the EYRA Group is therefore strengthening its “Cybersecurity Assessment Solutions” and its audit and awareness services. Its clients will be able to tackle all the major cyber issues: anticipation, prevention, protection, detection, reaction, and recovery (cyber resilience), and thereby to create an environment of trust.
A leader on the IT market in French-speaking Switzerland
The EYRA Group offers a complete range of IT services in five areas: IT transformation projects, Adaptive SwissCloud solutions, and cybersecurity covering an SOC (CyberSecurity Operations Centre), the supply of specialised resources and technology to produce the best hardware and software products. With over 10 years of commitment and experience through its subsidiaries, the EYRA Group employs about 100 staff spread over four sites in Geneva, Lausanne, Zurich, and Neuchâtel. eyra-group.ch
“That a market leader such as the EYRA Group should choose Board of Cyber to strengthen its range of services for Swiss companies is a true mark of recognition. We share the same vision of service, providing solutions with immediate added value.”François-Charles Fachon, Channel Manager de Board of Cyber
“Board of Cyber’s Security Rating® is one of the first products on the market that make it possible for business leaders to get a very fast evaluation of the cyber-risks to their organisations and their supply chain security, and to monitor it over time. This solution is perfectly suited to the Swiss market for companies of all sizes and in all sectors that are looking for practical and cost-competitive tools.”Yves Froppier, Deputy CEO of the EYRA Group
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