Wednesday, April 29, 2015
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Thursday, August 21, 2014
iWallet: Apple’s step into Mobile Commerce
The next thing Apple has its eyes on is iWallet. The concept is very simple; an iWallet will be a Smartphone replacing your credit card for online transactions.
The iWallet hypothesis seems valid as we see two major things going in Apple's way. New hiring and patent publications for mobile commerce related device makes it easier to believe in the iWallet phenomenon. Benjamin Vigier would be Apple's product manager for mobile commerce, while NFC (Near Field Communication) technology will be used in iWallet.
The NFC technology makes it possible to wave your card or iWallet in front of the sensor without any physical contact for transaction. Apple's recent patent reveals that the iWallet apps focused on mobile payments for concerts, airline tickets and others. However, Apple hasn't made any official comment on that. Chances are that iWallet wouldn't be any separate entity and it will only be an iPhone 5.
It is hard to say about the feasibility of iWallet yet. However, it is estimated to reduce the merchant transaction cost up to 3%. The critical success factor will be the number of people adopting the new technology. The biggest concern remains of the security which needs to be tested thoroughly
Wire transactions from the same hot spot will definitely attract hackers. Most companies, therefore, use dedicated networks but they are still unable to achieve optimum security results. In case of iPhone 5 or iWallet the whole story depends upon 3G network. If there are no signals, resulting in the denial of service, than this can further be exploited for notorious purposes. Along with all the concerns, it will be worth watching how Apple makes its place in mobile commerce.
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Thursday, August 7, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Online Fashion Marketplace JOOR Raises $15M In Series B Funding
JOOR, an online wholesale fashion marketplace, has raised $15 million in Series B funding, according to an SEC filing from today. The round was led by Canaan Partners and joined by Advance Publications and previous investors, including Battery Ventures, Lerer Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Landis Capital and Forerunner Ventures. This brings JOOR's total funding to $20.5 million.
Launched in 2010, JOOR provides a digital platform for B2B transactions between retailers and designers. CEO Mona Bijoor tells me the funding will be used to scale the company's tech and sales teams. With offices in New York, Los Angeles and Milan, Bijoor says the funding will also go to opening new offices across Europe and Asia.
"We're rapidly expanding our global footprint, and we want to keep up our pace," Bijoor tells me. "It's not just about the number of brands you have, but the number of retailers, because they are using it. We're a B2B platform, it's all about adoption."
The company has more than 40,000 retailers and 600 brands using the site, including Diane von Furstenberg, Rag & Bone and Zappos. Bijoor tells me JOOR added 10,000 retailers in the last three months alone. That's a big jump from when we last reported on the company in 2011. Back then, JOOR was working with 250 brands and about 7,500 boutiques.
Note: A previous version of this post said the company has over 30,000 retailers and 500 brands. That has been changed after clarifying user numbers with Bijoor.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Report: eBay To Launch “The Plaza,” A New Brand-Focused Online Mall For Retail Goods
According to a new report from Macquarie Capital, marketplace giant eBay is set to launch a new vertical this spring called The Plaza on eBay that will focus on direct-to-consumer sales.
As Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter notes in a report, details are sparse, but Plaza has been compared to Alibaba's Tmall. One retailer with knowledge of eBay's plans said that the site will allow brands to sell direct to consumers using eBay, but in a more controlled area than the traditional eBay marketplace. Basically, brands could use eBay to gain access to the company's customers without weakening their brand by listing and selling alongside used and auctioned goods.
What this could be is a complete redesign of eBay Stores, which is a centralized place for retailers like Toys R Us and others to list items on eBay. But currently the branding isn't all that different on eBay Stores from the auction marketplace. With a different branding, eBay could attract larger retailers. Alibaba has been successful in accomplishing this with Tmall in China. The WSJ reported last week that the online mall currently has over 70,000 digital storefronts, and retailers like Apple, Nike and Gap all have online stores on Tmall.
Whether eBay's own "Tmall for the US" will be successful is another matter. eBay will have to convince brands like Apple or Nike that there is value in selling via eBay, as well as their own e-commerce sites. But in the company's favor is the fact that the marketplace business has been growing, and the company is also seeing strong adoption of its mobile apps. Mobile as a platform for the mall could be a particularly interesting opportunity.
We reached out to eBay, and the company provided us with this response: "eBay partners with brands, designers and retailers - and sellers of all sizes - to help them grow their business. As such, we are always exploring new, innovative ways to help them market directly to eBay's global audience and connect them to the things they need and love. We don't comment on industry rumors or speculation."
That's not a denial, folks.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Google Axes Shopper Price-Comparison Apps For iOS And Android To Focus On Google Shopping
It looks like Google is starting to cut back on some of its less successful mobile apps. Earlier today, we reported that the Google+ Local app has disappeared from the App Store a few weeks ahead of its planned shutdown, and now, the company has announced that it is going to shut down the standalone Google Shopper app for iOS and Android on August 30.
Given how much online shopping has moved to mobile, that's a bit of an odd move, but Google says it wants to focus on Google Shopping and Google Search "to create a better, more consistent shopping experience across all devices." Over the last few months, Google says it introduced "360-degree product imagery, Shortlists and more relevant reviews" on Google Shopping, and it will put its resources into improving this service going forward.
Shopper, which launched in early 2010, allows users to check online and local prices by scanning cover art and barcodes, as well as through Google's standard text and voice searches. The last iOS version only has a 3-star rating, though it looks like the Android version was reasonably popular, with over 34,000 ratings for a 4.2 star average.
Google argues that users can still find all of the information from Google Shopper through its search app on mobile and by visiting google.com/shopping.
Despite today's announcement, the company is also teasing some new shopping products for mobile. "We look forward to sharing some great things we have coming on mobile for the holidays," Google Shopping VP Sameer Samat writes in today's blog post. Those new features, though, will likely be part of Google's existing apps and won't come in the form of a standalone app.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Ourspot Launches A Marketplace For Hiring Amateur Photographers
With DSLR sales up and Instagram setting a new bar for tastefully shot photos, there are countless hobbyist and amateur photographers out there.
A new startup called Ourspot is tapping into that community by creating a marketplace where anybody can hire amateur photographers to shoot events for free to around a few hundred dollars or more. It’s out for San Francisco today, but Los Angeles and New York are coming soon.
The sole founder, Sam Yam, is a veteran entrepreneur who worked at Loopt before co-founding and selling mobile ad mediation startup AdWhirl to AdMob. After leaving Google shortly after the $750 million AdMob acquisition, he started group-buying site ChompOn. But that flamed out like so many other group-buying startups and Yam started tinkering with new ideas.
“I was thinking about people’s passions and how to find an opportunity for them to extend those out beyond hobbies and make them a supplement,” he said.
He explored some of his own personal hobbies like music, but then settled on photography.
“Those things are really hard to monetize by yourself unless you focus exclusively on them as your life,” he said. “But photography is something that you can run random gigs for. There are a lot of people who are into photography, but they might not have the means to be a professional or market themselves. I just wanted to create an opportunity for them to put their work out.”
On the site, you can scroll through photographers’ portfolios and list events that you want to hire for. You can pay as much or as little as you like, but the site suggests $10 for “fun” shoots, $25 for “standard” shoots and $100 or more for custom work. Ourspot takes an 8 percent cut, but Yam said he might potentially change that fee.
It’s easy to sign-up to be a photographer. You either log-in with your e-mail or Facebook. Yam says that all photographers who put their work on Ourspot keep the rights to their photos. (He wanted to avoid an Instagram-like debacle, after the Facebook-owned mobile app initially said it would reserve the right to use people’s photos as ads.)
He also says he’s not trying to cannibalize the market for very high-end segments like wedding photography, which can cost thousands of dollars.
“There’s just a much larger market of people that could casually take photos,” he said. Plus, he said this could make it easier to hire people who want to shoot for fun for super-casual events like picnics.
To grow a community for the site, Yam is giving out free business cards to Ourspot photographers (pictured below). He’ll also hold monthly meetups in San Francisco where a professional photographer will be available to do training sessions with Ourspot members.
Yam built and designed the entire site himself without a co-founder. Ourspot hasn’t taken funding yet, but Yam says he’s looking at a seed round.