The NAB Online Retail Sales Index continued to grow in December (+2.0%) on a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis. This follows on from the upwardly revised strong growth in November (2.7% mom, s.a.). The strength in December was boosted by the weekend continuation of the Black Friday sales event into the Cyber Monday period.

In year-on-year terms, the growth in the NAB Online Retail Sales Index strengthened (+13.3% y/y s.a.) in December, and continues to outpace the broader ABS retail sales series.

All categories, except fashion, recorded sales growth in month-on-month growth terms. The largest sales category, homewares and appliances (+1.5% mom, s.a.), continued to grow at a rate lower than the overall. Growth was again strongest in the month for the smallest spend share category, takeaway food, followed by second smallest spend share category, games and toys, and larger spend share category, department stores. Grocery and liquor sales accelerated in the month (+1.2% mom, s.a.), and is approximately 17.8% larger compared to the same period 2018. For more detail, see Charts 3, 5, 7 & 8 below.

In month-on-month terms, all states and territories except Tas. recorded sales growth. QLD and ACT grew fastest in the month, though Vic, which had a much slower sales month, still leads in year-on-year terms.

Sales growth in metro areas grew faster than regional areas on a month-on-month basis. In year-on-year terms, Qld was strongest for metro areas, while Vic was fastest for regional growth. See Charts 15 and 16 for more detail.

The slightly slower growth for domestic merchants in December was in-line with the overall index. International merchant sales, while still positive, slowed far more than the total. In year-on-year terms, international merchant sales continue to recover from a sales slump in the first half of the year. In contrast to the headline result, fashion for international retailers recorded growth in the month, and personal and recreational outpaced domestic retailer growth. See charts 13 and 14, and table 3 for category growth and share.

We estimate that in the 12 months to December, Australians spent $30.53 billion on online retail, a level that is around 9.3% of the total retail trade estimate (November 2019, Series 8501, Australian Bureau of Statistics), and about 9.7% higher than the 12 months to December 2018.

ZipMoney and ZipPay are platforms that can help Online Retailers increase sales by giving customers another way to pay. With the recent introduction of “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) solutions in Australia, many businesses are now adapting to integrate these programs with their Online Store to increase their services can be very beneficial for increasing sales revenue

It’s easier than ever to get those tricky customer conversions when your business offers an interest-free layby service such as zipMoney or zipPay. Both options allow customers to pay off the item that they’ve purchased in instalments, which results in more sales for your business.

Why integrate “Buy Now, Pay Later” services? 

The main benefit of such services is that they have the potential to substantially increase your sales revenue. As has been the case since the advent of e-Commerce, the more checkout options are available to the customer, the better your web conversion rates will be.  

Some of the benefits that come with using ZipMoney and ZipPay include the following:

• Increased sales. It’s easier than ever to convert store browsers into shoppers with interest-free payment solutions like zipPay and zipMoney.
• Available online and in-store. Worried that your brick and mortar business won’t be able to benefit from the joys of layby? Worry no more! zipMoney and zipPay can also be used in store as well as online. You can use it for both your physical and online business.
• Risk-free for merchants. Zip takes all the risk when it comes to transactions. It worries about credit and fraud risk whereas all you have to worry about is when your transaction gets approved since you’re guaranteed payment after that.
• Same-day settlement. Zip makes a point to have every transaction that has gone through your business settled by 4pm the same day. It deposits the money that’s been collected directly to your bank account and then collects what is owed from your customers over time.
• Name recognition. With over 3,000 partnered stores using ZipMoney around Australia, you’re bound to benefit from the name recognition that is associated with ZipMoney.

How does zipPay integrate with your Online eCommerce Store

ZipMoney integrates with a variety of e-commerce platforms. If you have the following platforms, your eCommerce can integrate with ZipPay:

• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Magento
• BigCommerce
• Neto
• Many more…..

Online Retailers With Zippay

Invitations to a Made By Google launch were sent out late Thursday afternoon. The event will be held in New York City for the first time – Google has held launch events for its previous smartphones in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Here’s a portion of the invitation that was sent to reporters. Note the “<3,” an emoticon that could hint at what Google has in store.

At the event, Google is expected to unveil the Pixel 3 smartphone in both regular and the larger XL sizes. However, Google’s thunder may have already been stolen: In the weeks and months leading up to the event, numerous photos and videos have leaked that appear to reveal the design and specs of the upcoming phone. In fact, over the weekend, someone seems to have left one of the new phones in the back of a Lyft car.

So far, looks like the Pixel 3 XL will have a design similar to the Pixel 2 XL, except for a notch at the top of the device similar to the iPhone X. The standard-sized Pixel 3 will likely look similar to last year’s Pixel 2.

Overall, the Pixel 3’s specs look like an upgrade over the Pixel 2’s, bringing it closer to other flagship smartphones released this year.

While previous reports hinted at a Google-branded smartwatch that would be announced at the event – possibly called the Pixel Watch – Google confirmed it will not be releasing its own smartwatch this year and will instead continue to focus on adding its technology to third-party smartwatches.

The launch of Amazon Prime in Australia turns the heat up further on local retailers with the US giant taking away some of the costs and inconvenience of waiting for delivery when shopping online.

Prime members in Australia will get free delivery on millions of local and international items, access to exclusive and award-winning Prime Original series and other popular movies and TV shows with Prime Video, access to more than 1,000 e-books with Prime Reading, benefits for gamers with Twitch Prime, and access to discounted priority delivery.

Prime starts here with a 30-day free trial, then $6.99 a month, or save 30% with an annual payment of $59. But until the end of January 2019, the price is discounted to $4.99 a month.

“We hope that Australians will love free two business day delivery on products from Amazon Australia and free international delivery on products from Amazon U.S., all available to customers on Amazon.com.au,” says Jamil Ghani, Vice President, Prime International, Amazon.

“We are really proud to bring Australians the most extensive set of Prime benefits at launch for any country – ever. This is just the beginning for Prime in Australia, as we will keep making Prime better, adding even more selection and benefits.”

Prime members will enjoy free expedited delivery with no minimum purchase. Prime Expedited Delivery reaches nearly 90% Australians in two business days.

Free two business day delivery is available in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney and regional cities such as Albury-Wodonga, Bendigo, Gold Coast, Gosford, Newcastle, Shepparton, Toowoomba, and Wagga Wagga.

Those in more remote or rural locations get free shipping in four to five days.

Prime members in Australia will have access to 4 million products from Amazon US sold via Amazon.com.au. These will benefit from Prime free international delivery on orders over $49.

Prime-eligible products span all 23 shopping categories currently available on amazon.com.au, including clothing & accessories, electronics, books, toys, consumables, and beauty.

At launch, brands eligible for two business day delivery include Blackmores, Bonds, Sol-Sana, Breville, Bose, L’Oreal, Tommy Hilfiger, Nintendo, Disney, Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Huggies.

“We are thrilled to bring Prime, our premium membership program and its many benefits, to Australia, little more than six months after the launch of our Marketplace and Retail offering,” says Rocco Braeuniger, Country Manager of Amazon Australia.

“We have been working hard to expand selection, ensure customers get great value, and improve the Amazon shopping experience for Australians.”

Social information

"We ask whether punctuation – specifically, the period – may serve as a cue for pragmatic and social information", researchers say on ScienceDirect. "Participants read short exchanges in which the response either did or did not include a sentence-final period. When the exchanges appeared as text messages, the responses that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than those that did not end

Social information

"We ask whether punctuation – specifically, the period – may serve as a cue for pragmatic and social information", researchers say on ScienceDirect. "Participants read short exchanges in which the response either did or did not include a sentence-final period. When the exchanges appeared as text messages, the responses that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than those that did not end

The study was conducted by a team of five researchers from the Department of Technology within the Binghamton University in the United States. Remarkable is that for handwritten notes, no such difference was to be found. On the flip side, text messages ending with for intance exclamation marks are interpreted as more profound.

Social information

"We ask whether punctuation – specifically, the period – may serve as a cue for pragmatic and social information", researchers say on ScienceDirect. "Participants read short exchanges in which the response either did or did not include a sentence-final period. When the exchanges appeared as text messages, the responses that ended with a period were rated as less sincere than those that did not end