In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Security Fear Drives APAC Retailers Away From Digital; Singapore Online Firms Find Globalisation Tougher Now; Alibaba Puts Genie in BMW Partnership; and Citi Partners with MoneyBack to Offer Retail Conversion Programme in HK. Security Fear Drives APAC Retailers Away From Digital Three out of five retail businesses in Asia-Pacific say concerns about cybersecurity have hindered the progress of their digital transformation initiatives. Their worries might be founded, as a cyberattack could cost an average of USD$18.7m [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: E-Commerce Drives China Mobile Payments Services; JD.com Unveils Autonomous Delivery Stations; Didi Launches In-App Financial Services; and Singapore C2C Retail Platform Appoints Senior Execs. E-commerce Drives China Mobile Payments Services China’s mobile payments services market is projected to grow 21.8% from 2017 to hit USD$96.73tn (£75.96tn) in 2023, driven partly by increasing demand for e-commerce. The number of active mobile payment customers in the country was expected to reach 956 million in 2023, up from 562 [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: JD.com Sets Up Shop at Airport & Railway Station; Taobao Finds Gold in China Pet Retail Market; and Grab Ordered to Pay for Impact on Vietnam Competitor. JD.com Sets Up Shop at Airport & Railway Station The Chinese e-commerce giant has opened two stores at an airport and railway station in a bid to target travellers and showcase its latest retail technology. Its new pop-up store at the departure lounge of Beijing Capital International Airport’s Terminal [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Alibaba Inks Cross-Border Deal with Russian Carrier; Singtel Digital Wallet Now on Apple Pay; 7-in-10 Singapore Travellers Clueless About Overseas Transaction Fees; and JD.com Unveils £791.16m Share Repurchase Scheme. Alibaba Inks Cross-Border Deal with Russian Carrier Volga-Dnepr Group has inked a deal with Alibaba Group’s logistics arm Cainiao Smart Logistics Network as part of efforts to strengthen its cross-border shipping capabilities and support increasing demand for faster delivery services. Under the agreement, the Russian air-freight [...]

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It started out with a desire to plug a gap in online payments, but Arcadier has since evolved to become a creator of marketplaces that aim to connect all kinds of businesses, big and small. Founded in 2013, the Singapore company has helped build more than 7,000 online marketplaces across 130 markets, enabling all kinds of business owners to peddle their products and services including candles, chocolates, and even belly dancers. Its three founders had left their former jobs at PayPal [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: Singapore Pilots Locker Service to Support E-Commerce Growth; Starbucks Brews Up Virtual Store with Alibaba; JD.com & Intel Launch IoT Lab for Smart Retail; and Lazada Replaces CEO After 9 Months. Singapore Pilots Locker Service to Support E-Commerce Growth Singapore has launched a pilot for a last-mile delivery service that aims to offer parcel collection points in public spaces across the city-state. Called ‘Locker Alliance’, the service was introduced to support the growth of e-commerce [...]

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Daily deals app Fave is amassing a wealth of data and aiming to tap these customer insights, as well as industry partnerships such as Grab and Alipay, to boost returns for its merchants. Such efforts would include further enhancements to a dashboard, Fave Biz, designed specifically for merchants to access data intelligence and improve their service offerings, Ng Aik-Phong, managing director of Fave Singapore, said in an interview with RetailTechNews. The company’s roots began in 2015 as fitness platform KFit, before [...]

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In this edition of Weekly Focus APAC: JD.com Seeds Food Production Business With Hydroponic Plant; Alibaba Signs Up Belgium in E-trade Pact; Grab Brings Mobile Wallet to Philippines; and Frasers Property Builds Partnership with Honestbee & EZ-Link. JD.com Seeds Food Production Business With Hydroponic Plant The online retailer has begun its foray into the food production business with the launch of a hydroponic facility, alongside partner Mitsubishi Chemical. Located in the southeast Beijing district of Tongzhou, the factory sits on 11,040 square [...]

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When Uber launched a new subscription service earlier this month, it joined a long list of digital brands that have sought to drive long-term loyalty using a subscription model. Whilst ‘Uber Ride Pass‘ is currently only being trialled in five U.S. cities and won’t be reaching UK shores anytime soon, Alex Hamilton (pictured below), head of innovation, Isobar, feels that it’s a telling glimpse into a future where brands own a particular category or sub-category and lock customers in through [...]

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The direct-to-consumer (DTC) business model is something on most retailers’ minds at the moment. Here, we talk with Liam Brennan, global director of innovation, MediaCom, to discuss how seriously traditional brands should be taking the DTC revolution, how best to incorporate it into their business, and in what ways traditional retail still trumps DTC.  RetailTechNews: Can you explain where BLINK sits within Mediacom, and how your role interacts with traditional and DTC retailers? Liam Brennan: MediaCom BLINK enables clients to embrace innovation linked [...]

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