The Final Post

            Since January, I have been given the weekly assignment of writing my educated thoughts on a particular e-commerce subject that sparked my interest. What seemed like a task at first, was in fact a pleasure and something I very much looked forward to every Thursday evening. I have turned from relaxer to reader, from inattentive to in-the-know, and from bored to blogger. I have even garnered a small fan-base! There has certainly been no shortage of topics to write about this semester. While my classmates may have chosen telecommunications or online shopping, it is quite obvious that I have chosen technology and social media as the underlying theme for my weekly posts.

            E-commerce is all around us. Many of us are involved, using, or simply coming across it on a daily basis. Sure eBay and Amazon are the obvious examples, but it really does go deeper than that. When you think of the removal of the penny, what first comes to your mind? The rising price of copper, having to round prices to the nearest nickel, or even just a lighter pocket? Being an e-commerce student, I have been trained to think beyond those lines and ask questions such as: will retailers now adjust their prices so that (with tax) they will always be rounded up? And if so, how will retailers adapt their ERP systems to do this and how much will it cost? For the online shopper who purchases off of U.S based websites, have you thought about how your bank account will be charged for something that may be $19.98USD? We don’t live in a bubble here people, it is only Canada that has taken these measures.

            It is inevitable that certain aspects of the course are going to be technical, especially for someone who has never even heard about ARPANET, TCP/IP, or DRP before. The beauty about this is that once I understood how it works, I was then able to question technology and how it impacts me as the consumer, as well as the retailer. The significance of data recovery and disaster mitigation, the intricacy of cloud computing, and the importance of information security are all topics that have become so relevant with the emergence of the iWorld, the Google Wallet, and of course, social media. I truly believe there is nothing better than to be able to gain a considerable amount of relevant knowledge from a course, and this is what e-commerce has given me. Well, not to mention a full blown and unmanageable addiction to Pinterest as well.

            Make fun of me all you want for being a tech-geek, but the next time you post, pin, poke, or purchase, you will realize just how much e-commerce is integrated into your daily lives.

iLoveYou, but iLoveApple more

            Attention Americans, will you please put down your iPads [could be replaced with iPhones, iPods, or iMacs]! How is it that 50% of U.S households currently have at least one Apple device at home, while married couples only make up 48% of these households?! It’s ironic how I’m currently writing this blog post on my 13-inch MacBook, sporting the iconic white Apple earphones, as I listen to my iTunes library on repeat. I may be nowhere near marriage, but this begs the question in my mind … if I have 3 Apple products now, how many will I have when I’m older?

            Granted that 2% discrepancy may be small, but this just proves how attached we are as consumers to our iDevices! The research is out people, there is no turning back now (and I am certainly no exception to the stats). Steve Jobs left a legacy behind that is currently eating up the electronics market in the U.S, and no one can stop it.

            To be fair, even though I am the apparent norm these days with my 3 Apple products, I was still quite shocked to read this article due to the simple fact that Apple devices are not cheap! And yet 50% of American homes have AT LEAST 1 product. If you thought that was crazy, wait until you hear this. A (unscientific) study showed that 28% of iPhone users would legitimately rather go 1 week without seeing their significant other than giving up their iPhone.

            My friends will label me as the tech-nerd, I’ll admit, but this is still shocking news to me. We pay big bucks for our products and I believe we should cherish them; however, should we do so more than our loved ones? When did the computer replace companionship? 

Amazon Who?

            I’ll admit, I get most of my inspiration for these blog posts from The Huffington Post … and this post is no exception. Upon skimming through the ‘Tech’ section this morning I came across a title that read “Amazon will offer half-price gift cards Tuesday …”. I am in no need of purchasing books, but naturally the words “half-price” caught my attention. Tomorrow, Amazon is offering users a $10 gift card for $5 through its 9-month old subsidiary AmazonLocal. 

              Until this morning I had never even heard of AmazonLocal (which is pretty shocking considering I’m a tech/web-nerd), so I decided to read more about it. The website mimics the business plan of pioneering deal-of-the-day websites like Groupon and Living Social. I was rather shocked to think that Amazon.com would need to implement this type of promotion; however, once finishing the article it made perfect sense. Neither my library buddies nor myself had even heard of AmazonLocal, so what Amazon.com is doing proves that this promotional tactic is indeed effective. It takes one person like me to spread the word via WOM or even this blog post! Unfortunately the website only caters to the U.S (currently in over 90 cities and 26 states).

            Amazon sold a $10-for-$20 deal on Groupon and sold a whopping 1.4 million of the cards. But here is the catch – they did so only 1 month after launching the AmazonLocal website. Evidently this could indicate that awareness or sales were low. Now, we can assume that those shopping on AmazonLocal are either shoppers or are aware of Amazon.com, so it seems appropriate to also assume that the company will be able to sell a substantial amount of these $5-for-$10 cards.

            History has proven that launching these daily-deals can be extremely tricky (think ‘Facebook Deals’ back in August), but it is also a growing trend. I mean, who doesn’t love a deal? With this being said, Amazon is just going to have to find a way to offer these deals in a context that consumers can relate to, appreciate, or enjoy.

Tap, Pay, Save.

            I know it’s been a year and I’m totally passé, but the Google Wallet is still a buzzing topic to me. How awesome is the concept of replacing your fold-up wallet with a virtual one? Women no longer need to rummage through their totes, and men no longer need to sit lop-sided in their chairs!

            The benefits on this Android app are threefold: it’s a faster way to pay, a wallet you can lock, as well as saving made simple. By using Near Field Communication (NFC) payment technology, the wallet allows you to store multiple credit cards for you to make payments with. In addition, Google teamed up with MasterCard to offer a Google prepaid card if you forget to upload your own. The savings option is super efficient – there are Google offers at local businesses, where savings are automatically synced to your wallet and can be redeemed at a later date ... no more coupons or rebates to fill up space in your wallet!

            For those of you who tend to loose your phones often, don’t fret. The Google wallet now has 2 ways to secure your information – a lock within a lock, plus a pin to access your cards (not to mention all is encrypted and the account numbers never appeal on the phone screen). 

            No more looking for those Optimum or Tim Hortons cards, the Google wallet can store it all! All you need to do is tap your smart phone against one of the PayPass terminals at checkout. The beauty of e-commerce is finding ways to integrate networks and devices to offer the end-consumer a convenient service, and the Google wallet is just one example of this today. Considering my wallet is a solid 7 lbs. I think it’s time to maybe look into the Android …

Advertising That Follows You

           Do you ever have those days where you just don’t feel like flipping open your laptop or turning on your TV? Maybe twice a year do I isolate myself from the tech world – even though rare, it is extremely cathartic! I didn’t include cell phones in the mix because at the end of the day, if you wish to screen a call or ignore a text, you have the power to do so. Yes, there is that little bit of power we still have left! It’s not as invasive as a pop-up on your screen or commercials coming at you every 10 minutes. But what if I told you that those days were gone?

            Receiving advertisements to our smart phones isn’t necessarily foreign to us Canadians; however, we would normally have to be on a telemarketer’s list or accessing a website. Once again, technology has never ceased to amaze me! So it’s as simple as this – every time you walk by a convenience store you will automatically receive an ad to your smart phone offering you a promotion (you must be within roughly 300-feet of the store). Couche Tard is teaming up with iSign Media Solutions to offer this non-traditional mode advertising to its demographic. Convenience stores tend to be laggards in terms of marketing, so this is a great way for them to become innovative as well as competitive with other retail venues.

            Buzz will soon spread across Quebec about the dépanneur’s new initiative, but with only 4 out of 10 residents in this province owning a smart phone, it’ll still take time to realize. Some may argue that targeting real-time location is intrusive, but if I’m able to save a couple of bucks on my weekly supply of Redbulls, then I sure won’t complain! 

                                 (now you won't even need to activate your bluetooth)

          Get used to it people, we live in a time where marketers and innovators are capitalizing on any and every resource they can get their hands on to bring consumers in.

E la Carte

            As consumers, we constantly crave new and unique experiences. We all know that eating out at a restaurant can be quite mundane – we sit, we wait, we order, we wait some more, we eat, and once again we wait until we get the cheque. Thank God that there are pioneers, such as Rajat Suri, who are looking for new ways to deliver these experiences we fancy and go beyond the typical restaurant experience we are accustomed to.

            Some may call it the new casual dining experience, while I simply call it e-genius. My boyfriend (no not Pinterest, my real boyfriend) sent me a link for E la Carte. Granted I had heard of this new technology being implemented at iBurger in Montreal; however, I had yet to witness this forward way of dining myself. E la Carte has came up with the idea of leveraging the power of technology to make the hospitality industry more fun for consumers and more profitable for operators. Their current product is the Presto, an iPad-like tablet with a built-in credit card reader and adjustable stand.

            How it works: the iPad-like prototype offers you a virtual menu that lets you sift through the restaurant’s food/drink selection using a touch-screen interface, with photos of each item. There is also a games section and a tab for paying. Your menu options can be customized as you can type in personal instructions.

            The 3 perks that have made the Presto a hot commodity in restaurants today are:

1– Boost in check size (more tip, up-selling through appetizing photos)

2- Improve customer retention (easy-to-use technology, customer surveys)

3- Improve service (quick payment, retains customer order history, games).

            You’re probably asking yourself if waiters are out of jobs? Suri has made it clear that the Presto is supplementary to the dining experience. Not to mention, waiters prefer using the technology since they tend to receive up to 20% in tip! For those of you who prefer to whole “song-and-dance” of a white-cloth sit down dinner, then you should probably steer clear of E la Carte … but with technology upgrading before we can even blink twice it was simply inevitable that this day would come. And I welcome it with open arms, the tech-savvy geek that I am. Review of iBurger to come.

Facebook, meet my new boyfriend, Pinterest.

          What started off as research for my blog post has rapidly turned into not only my daily hobby, but a full-blown obsession. You can compare it to a boyfriend, really. I love it, I connect with it daily, and I certainly like to brag about it. This so called “new relationship” has officially taken over half of my spare time, and I have Pinterest to thank for it. If you haven’t heard about it, you likely will soon, but unfortunately, you’ll have to share it a few million other users as well.

          The website has raised over $37 million from some of Silicon Valley’s top angel investors and venture firms, not to mention its success has grown tenfold in the last 6 months. Subscriber statistics have increased over 3 million since last August; however, if you aren’t willing to make the commitment, you can simply visit the page. Pinterest garnered 11 million viewers last month alone!

          Need I say more? Yes, in fact I must because I haven’t even begun to explain what Pinterest is, I’ve simply just bragged about it for the last 2 minutes. You’ll see what I mean once you’ve tried it out yourselves!

          Pinterest is a website that allows it users to create virtual pinboards (aka online scrapbooks) to share coveted pictures, slogans, or projects to ones followers. These images become ‘pins’, allowing others to comment, ‘like’, or ‘repin’ them onto their own personal boards as one pleases. The open network, like Twitter, makes Pinterest one of the hottest new social media websites to date. I’m not going to give you more details since I truly believe you should all check it out yourselves! Even Mark Zuckerberg has joined Pinterest today, and is said to be more active than on his Google+ and Twitter page.

          Here is my Pinterest-page. You can label your boards as you wish, from "Things I Like" to "Food" to even a board just on cats (weird, I know, but people are doing it).

             Pinterest currently has no source of revenue; however, they do not want to alienate users by cluttering its homepage with banners ads and such. Companies are taking to Pinterest to create profiles in order to market their products in an authentic way. Users are also using Pinterest as a 3^rd party website to visit other web pages, making it that much more valuable to the consumer and the company.

Happy pinning everyone! But warning, it is addictive.