Bill Gates, Jack Ma, Donald Trump or Elon Musk? — None of the above. In fact, nobody knows. Satoshi Nakamoto is known to be the creator of Bitcoin. Satoshi Who? The mysterious character which started it all. In 2009, the first Bitcoin block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi Nakamoto is known to be the creator of Bitcoin, however, the…

Are brands selling advocacy now too? — Influencer marketing platform Crowdly stated in its 2015 Retail Advocacy Guide that 80% of revenue from retailers is provided by a loyal customer base. It is therefore no surprise that it is six to seven times more costly to acquire a new customer than it is to retain one. …

How the beauty category creates accessibility and brand differentiation — Market research portal Statista estimates that the personal luxury goods market in 2017 was valued at 254 billion euros. Zooming into the luxury beauty industry, cosmetics giants include La Mer, Estée Lauder, Clinique as well as fashion houses that have branched out into luxury beauty like Armani, Dior and YSL. …

Blockchain should perform as quickly as shoppers buy — When blockchain technology first surfaced, it quickly became a popular word in the business world as a bottleneck-killer across industries. Stacey Soohoo, research manager, customer insights and analysis at IDC, reported that blockchain solutions in 2018 will total around $2.1 billion. …

If only free shipping was always an option — The eCommerce Consumer Survey Report 2017 by Visual Web Optimizer (VWO) found that online shopping was perceived to be more economical that shopping at brick-and-mortar stores due to cheaper prices (42.04%), more variety (28.22%) and comfort (23.42%). According to eMarketer, retail ecommerce sales are expected to reach $3.5T globally this…

The HSBC-Dubai partnership bridged countries, industries and technology. — Last week, the Middle East’s retail industry accomplished an unprecedented feat by connecting two independent blockchain platforms. The challenge was for Hong Kong-based Bee Dee Industries to send a shipment to UAE-based Babyshop, a family retail brand of Landmark Group. …

Chinese apps have showcased the winning strategy of personalisation at the steep price of data privacy. Last month, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. reported revenues of 93.6 billion yuan in Q1 of 2019. This exceeded industry estimates by 1.8% with adjusted earnings-per-share reaching 8.57 yuan instead of the projected 6.5 yuan…

Did the digital awakening change the sales funnel for better or for worse? — You might have encountered the classic framework in its unmistakable inverted triangle. Earlier versions were simpler: Awareness: Potential customers first make contact with product. Consideration: The potential customer gains a deeper understanding of the product by learning of its positioning and USP. Conversion: To encourage purchase, the product is made…

Retailer supply or customer demand? — Most businesses have complemented their brick-and-mortar sales with inflows from e-commerce. Geographically flexible, the online sales world is a whole new battleground requiring new growth metrics. In April 2018, the Singapore Department of Statistics identified a measure for e-commerce performance: How much of the state’s retail sales were made online…