Using voice search on Black Friday
Black Friday (Friday 29th November) is nearly upon us and you’re probably wondering how to get the best deals. Whether you’re thinking of queuing outside shops in the early hours or you’ve already got items saved in your online wish baskets, one thing is for sure - we’re all searching for a good deal.
This year, it’s been predicted that shoppers using voice assistant searches will contribute £100m of sales over the period. Research suggests 13% of shoppers will use Siri, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant (to name a few) for their deal hunting.
So, why is voice search on the up? Hugh Fletcher, Global Head of Consultancy and Innovation said, “The signs are all there: convenient, fast and easy, voice commerce will make its biggest mark on the retail market to date. Amazon will certainly be the biggest player in the space, looking to discount its own voice-enabled assistants to move further into the home and ‘own the interface’ with its customers.”How many of you will be using voice search on Friday?
Airbnb to verify all property listings
Last month, Vice news published a story that uncovered a nationwide scam in America of fake Airbnb properties. Airbnb have said this month they aim to verify every listing on their platform by December 2020.
Last year, 11.1 million people in the UK used Airbnb to travel to other parts of the UK and abroad. Although most people have a relatively hassle-free experience of using the platform (excusing those frantic calls you made to the host when you couldn’t find the property entrance right in front of you – we’ve all been there), the lack of verification process in place has led to problems. Scammers have been able to post fake properties for users to book, who then find they’re left without a bed for the night.
In order to crack down on this, Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky pledged in a series of tweets to:
- Review every home and host on Airbnb, verifying every listing by December 2020
- Refund guests the entire cost of their booking if the accommodation does not meet "accuracy standards", and if the company cannot find another property "that is just as nice"
- Launch a phone line so "anyone can call us anytime, anywhere in the world and reach a real person"
The world’s largest 24-hour ecommerce event sets new records
Thought Black Friday was the highlight of the world’s savvy-shopping calendar? Think again. It’s the bachelors of China who are leading the way in securing the best online deals during their ‘Singles’ Day’.
China’s e-commerce giant, Alibaba, adopted the ‘Single’s Day’ from a movement made by students at a Chinese University. They started celebrating their singledom in an anti-Valentine's Day stance in the nineties. It’s now become a day when everyone, regardless of their relationship status, buys themselves gifts.
This year’s event saw the gross merchandise value (GMV) standing at 268.4 billion yuan (around $38.3B), almost a 26% rise from last year. This is in comparison to the UK’s spend on online retail sites on Black Friday last year, reaching just £1.49bn.
So, who’s for scrapping Black Friday this year and taking part in Singles’ Day instead? Just me…? Alright then.
We CAN make advertising safe
Online advertising can sometimes be a murky place, and there’s been increasing focus on the ethics of the industry in recent years.
That’s why the Conscious Advertising Networking (CAN) was created. Their aim is to ensure ‘industry ethics catches up with the technology of modern advertising’.
Made up of 72 member organisations, it demonstrates their commitment to ensuring good practice in the digital advertising space. They focus on six key areas: fraud, ad diversity, consent, hate speech, children’s wellbeing and safety, and fake news
CAN said:
“Our goal at CAN is to battle harmful advertising operations and content in pursuit of making communications that are better for all. The insights and experience our new committee members bring, truly equips the network with tools to highlight these issues and confront them head-on.”
It’s encouraging to see this organization growing month on month and making steps to ensure the Internet is a safe place. After all, one in five people spend more than 40 hour a week online so it’s likely we come across some of the key factors often.
Want to know more? Get in touch :)