Five key themes from 2019’s RISE conference
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
Five key themes from 2019’s RISE conference With RISE having concluded on July 11, it is now possible to take stock of the learnings that have emerged from Asia’s largest tech conference. Here we summarise five key themes that emerged across the four days of this year’s event in Hong Kong: Emerging markets are fertile ground for unicorns While the US and China still lead the way when it comes to unicorns, emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and India, are fast catching up. A key driver of this development is that emerging markets often have unique challenges, such ..read more
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How can retailers unleash the power of artificial intelligence
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
How can retailers unleash the power of artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence has been a buzzword in the retail industry for some time now. But rather than just talk about it, retailers are now at a stage where they are putting words into action and starting on their first AI projects. Over the last year, an increasing number of retailers have started to adopt the technology. Uniqlo, for instance, uses machine learning to power a digital assistant on its app, which is able to give highly personalised recommendations. In Hong Kong, convenience-store operator Circle K unveiled an ..read more
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Are Hong Kong retailers ready for a cashless society?
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
Are Hong Kong retailers ready for a cashless society? Tofugear, in partnership with payments platform Wirecard, has taken a deep dive into the digital payments landscape in Hong Kong, which has been encapsulated in The Digital Payments Landscape in Hong Kong 2019 report. For this research study, we surveyed 1,000 Hong Kongers to find out more about the payment habits of Gen Z, millennial and Gen X consumers. Alongside the survey, key players in the payments market were interviewed, including Google Pay, Octopus Card Limited, TNG FinTech Group, BBPOS Merchant Services, as well as online r ..read more
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Powering Retail Image Recognition Innovation with True AI
Tofugear
by William Yeung
5y ago
Powering Retail Image Recognition Innovation with True AI Last week, Tofugear’s CEO was on stage at the Microsoft Future Now Conference 2019 in Manila to showcase our company’s latest innovation with AI and share his vision for how AI will shape the retail industry, both in the Philippines and in Asia overall. In the past, #AI #ImageRecognition has widely believed to be something of science fiction In recent years, companies such as Tofugear, Microsoft and a few others have helped to mature the technology and are now offering it in more practical ways for retailers. Creating an image recogni ..read more
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How Can Retailers Capitalise on the Explosive Growth of Ecommerce in the Philippines?
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
The ecommerce sector in the Philippines is booming. Growth has been running well into double digits for several years now and analysts are forecasting online sales to surge to US$9.7bn by 2025 – up from just US$0.5bn in 2015. Yet, there is no denying that online retail is currently still lagging when compared with the country’s neighbours. After Vietnam, the Philippines has the smallest ecommerce market in Southeast Asia and it currently only accounts for 2% of overall retail sales. Compare that to China for instance, where online was responsible for 18.4% of overall retail sales last year. Th ..read more
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No one does World Consumer Rights Day quite like China
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
No one does World Consumer Rights Day quite like China What is it all about? March 15 is World Consumer Rights Day. While the vast majority of shoppers around the world will not be aware of this day, it is in fact a big deal in China where it is referred to as ‘315’. This is primarily due to a 2-hour TV special (315晚会) in which brands are exposed for their malpractices, that has been aired by CCTV since 1991. No brands are spared, with big names including Starbucks, Nike and Apple having been called out in previous editions. Many companies are now known to pre-empt any negative publicity thro ..read more
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How China’s New Ecommerce Law Is Impacting Retail
Tofugear
by Tiffany Lung
5y ago
How China’s New Ecommerce Law Is Impacting Retail China has enacted a new ecommerce law from January this year, which is having a ripple effect on retailers, independent sellers and consumers. Perhaps not so surprising given that ecommerce accounts for close to a quarter of all retail sales In China. The new law has been set in place to govern the sale of products and services online and to provide protection in a wide range of scenarios and situations – from taxation to dispute resolutions as well as consumer rights aspects and intellectual property protection. The regulation applies to all ..read more
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Physical Retailers Should Embrace Cross-Channel Shopping Behaviour
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
Shopping habits in Asia have changed over the last decade, with many consumers’ shopping journeys likely to incorporate multiple channels such as mobile, online or stores. But what are the drivers behind this cross-channel behaviour and how can store-based retailers ensure that they do not lose out to their e-tail competitors? Tofugear has conducted a comprehensive survey among 6,000 shoppers across 12 markets in Asia to gain insight into the shopping habits of today’s connected consumers. The study confirms that there are a wide range of reasons why shoppers switch from the online channel to ..read more
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Six Key Trends That Shaped Retail in Asia in 2018
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
As we move into the New Year, it is worth looking back at the retail trends that emerged in Asia in 2018. Spoiler alert: voice ordering technology or virtual reality are not among them. However, the six trends that Tofugear’s research team have identified look set to gain further traction in the region over the coming year, as retailers continue to look at new ways to engage with their customers. Unmanned Stores China is at the forefront of the development of unmanned stores, with all of the technology/retail giants such as Alibaba, JD.com and Tencent continuing to roll out new automated sto ..read more
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How Confident are Asian Retailers with Innovation?
Tofugear
by Philip Wiggenraad
5y ago
How Confident are Asian Retailers with Innovation? Asia is increasingly cast as being at the forefront of retail innovation, but arguably much of this emanates from China – where retail giants such as Alibaba and JD.com seem to come up with radical new initiatives on almost a weekly basis. When Tofugear conducted a survey among 150 retailers in Asia in 2018, it found that only a quarter of retailers in Asia believed that they set the standard for digital transformation. So why are Asian retailers lacking confidence in their abilities to innovate? Tofugear’s 2018 Digital Transformation Report ..read more
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