Author: Archive

Social networking sites to boost e-retailers this Christmas (UK)

Posted by | Nov 23, 2007 | |

This Christmas GBP 750m of sales will be generated by young people swapping tips on Bebo, MySpace and Facebook, according to a survey published today.

Research from the Royal Mail and thinktank The Future Foundation found that these social networking websites have now become a more powerful force in deciding what we buy than word of mouth.

“An online recommendation can be a lot more powerful,” said James Murphy, editorial director at The Future Foundation.

“Seeing something written down gives it added credibility, it hangs around for longer and people are able to compare and corroborate any advice.”

The poll of nearly 1,500 people found that 66 pct bought a product following an online recommendation, compared with 52 pct who made their purchase following a verbal tip off.

Social networking sites have been the internet success story of the past 12 months. Facebook, for example, expects to have more than 60 million members by the end of the year. MySpace already claims more than 200 million users.

Chris Robinson, managing director of e-retailer Firebox.com said online recommendation is the most powerful marketing tool the company has.

“We’ve tried to build it into our business model by doing things to create those conversations, such as delivering our goods in brightly coloured boxes and adding in a free bag of sweets. It gets people talking.”

The report forecasts that by 2012, 84 pct of consumers will have access to the internet and 63 pct will be using it to buy goods online.

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PhilPost-8 introduces PREX Project

Posted by | Nov 23, 2007 | |

In its efforts to give more satisfactory and improved quality of postal services to its constituents, the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost), Region 8 through the leadership of Regional Director Fabiolita P. Ferraris recently introduced the premium services of Priority and Express (PREX) mails which has been proven to be faster, safer and more reliable mail service delivery.

According to PhilPost’s Oscar Bioco, Administrative Finance Division Chief, Proof of Delivery (POD), and Registry Return Receipt (RRR) for registered mails are attached to mails sent through this newly introduced postal service. Said POD and RRR will be returned by PhilPost to the sender.

Further, it was learned that the project which was officially launched last November 5, 2007 coincided with PhilPost’s opening of its 109th Anniversary Celebration of the Postal Service, and their observance of Postal Consciousness Week.

To give meaning to the event, Director Ferraris spearheaded series of activities involving the postal personnel.
Reports have it that the diligence of postal officials and employees in its campaign resulted to an impressive quantity of mails posted region-wide, specifically so when they introduced the PREX Project. To make sure that mails for delivery will not be delayed, Tacloban City PhilPost staff goes out of their way to assist each other in filling up the PODs and RRRs of the large volume of mails posted daily.

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Hungarian competition office fines Magyar Posta and Lapker

Posted by | Nov 22, 2007 | |

The Competition Office (GVH) has penalised the state-owned postal service Magyar Posta and regional periodical distributor Lapker Ft 468 million (USD 2.71 milion) apiece, after it proved that the two companies had agreed not to enter each other’s markets.

The cartel began in 1998, when Magyar Posta sold its regional wholesale distribution service to Lapker. The regional distributor agreed that it would not venture into periodical distribution formerly controlled by Magyar Posta, which in return agreed to opt out of wholesale distribution to news sellers. The agreement was cancelled in 2005.

Magyar Posta asserted that it will bring a legal action to challenge the ruling.

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Courier loses 25 million people's data (UK)

Posted by | Nov 22, 2007 | |

When heading to work, most couriers probably don’t expect to find themselves at the centre of a large-scale loss of data leading to a political storm.

But for TNT one misplaced package has caused a national outcry, as CDs containing the personal data of 25 million people is now missing.

Information about anyone registered with HMRC as receiving child benefits is likely to be contained on the missing CDs, including birthdates, addresses and bank details, which leaves them vulnerable to identity fraud.

An HMRC employee sent the child benefit database from Tyne and Wear to London using courier firm TNT in October. They were not sent with a recorded delivery courier and as a result TNT has said it is unable to track the package.

“TNT operates a general internal mail system for the HMRC and other associated government agencies,” a statement for the company said.

“General mail does not carry a track and trace mechanism and hence it has been impossible, in this instance, to conduct an audit to identify if the item entered the system.”

While there are no doubt red faces all round, it is the HMRC employee and chancellor Alistair Darling who are suffering more than the courier. The staff member was placed under police protection, while the chancellor is fending off resignation calls.

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European Court of Justice ruling may open up opportunities for Spring Global Mail

Posted by | Nov 22, 2007 | |

On 15 November 2007, the European Court of Justice issued a ruling about the interpretation of the EU regulation that allows Posts to keep international mail under their monopoly. If this ruling is taken over by the Spanish Supreme Court, this will open up further opportunities for Spring Global Mail and other postal service providers in cross border mail services throughout Europe.

This preliminary ruling is the result of a case pending in the Spanish Supreme Court against International Mail Spain SL (a subsidiary of Spring Global Mail) in which Spanish postal operator Correos contend that IMS have breached their monopoly on outbound international mail services. International Mail Spain SL placed letterboxes in hotels, camp sites, apartment blocks and supermarkets in major Spanish tourist locations. This allowed tourists to send their postcards abroad using special stamps bought with the postcards.

The Spanish Supreme Court doubted if factors other than financial stability needed to be considered when reserving a monopoly on international outbound mail. One of the other factors suggested by the Spanish Supreme Court included the degree of postal sector liberalization at the time the reservation was made.

The European Court of Justice ruling states that Posts may only reserve cross border mail services if absence of such a monopoly would prevent universal postal delivery. The ruling also states that such a monopoly is only permissible when it is necessary for carrying out the service under economically acceptable conditions.

This effectively means that the Spanish regulator and Correos would need to prove that the universal postal service would be endangered if the monopoly on international mail services ceased to exist.

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