Posts Tagged ‘online’
Monday, October 14th, 2013
Photo credit; Steve on Flickr
If you have been thinking about starting an online business, but you also think you might be a little on the mature side for that, these two Kiwi sisters will be an inspiration to you.
Back in 2001, before online businesses really took off, sisters Rhondda Sweetman and Justine Kingi developed pioneering New Zealand online retailer, KiwiArtz.co.nz when they were in their 50s. They sold the business ten years later, in 2011.
The sisters shared what they describe as an undeveloped interest in NZ art and craft at the time and believed online retailing, although in its infancy back in 2001, would be an interesting way of sharing this work with the world.
They began it at a time when they had eased up on their full time jobs. Rhondda had been head of science at McCauley High School and was then doing part time teacher training at AUT University. Justine lectured in social policy and social work on the Bachelor of Social Practice degree at Unitec Institute of Technology when the two started their business.
The sisters say they got to the stage where they were representing over 100 New Zealand artists and other suppliers. Some of whom did very well out of the business. As the business grew the sisters were consistently busy all year round and rushed off their feet ahead of Christmas and other public holidays.The business grew so much, they had to automate their accounting practices and hired other employees.
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: art, business, KiwiArtz.co.nz, New Zealand, online
Posted in Exporting, New Zealand, new zealand business, online marketing, Online Sales, online shopping, onlines store, shopping, Success story | No Comments »
Friday, October 11th, 2013
Photo credit; Blaise Alleyne on Flickr
New Zealanders spent $5.4 billion online last financial year according to Roy Morgan Research’s Digital Universe report, but despite that seemingly large number, Kiwi money largely remains outside the digital realm.
“The bulk of New Zealand’s net wealth is not yet in the digital universe,” Roy Morgan client services director Howard Seccombe says.
The reason for that is the baby boomers who have the wealth only deal in the fringes of digital technology. That will change over time as the boomers age out and the next generation who is more familiar with digital technologies take over.
Other findings from the report included:
- This year’s survey shows 61% of New Zealanders are worried about their privacy, Â up 11% from the survey carried out four years ago.
- Smartphones have seen spectacular growth, with 1.4 million users. That’s a growth of 227% in four years.
- Right now 39% of New Zealanders have smartphones.
- The Roy Morgan numbers show smartphones amplify people’s digital behaviour. Smartphone owners are ten times as likely to shop online as non-smartphone owners, eight times as likely to bank online and nine times as likely to view video clips.
- Roy Morgan notes a dramatic 20% decline in desktop ownership. This echoes the fall in traditional PC sales. Meanwhile tablets have grown 557% in the past four years.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: baby boomer, business, digital, New Zealand, online, Roy Morgan Research, wealth
Posted in computer, consumers, E-mail & the internet, Going Digital, New Zealand, new zealand business, online marketing, online messaging, Online Sales, online security, online shopping, onlines store, smartphone, smartphones, tablet, tablets, wi-fi | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 9th, 2013
Photo credit; David Antis on Flickr
New Zealand’s answer to eBay, Trade Me, posted slower profit growth for 2013 and said earnings growth would continue to be lacklustre in the coming year as it reinvests in its business.
Trade Me profit rose 4% to $78.6 million in the year ended June 30, slower than the 8.4% pace a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Revenue rose 15% to $164.1 million as classified advertising sales surged 29% while fees from sales of general items rose 5%. Profit was just above First NZ Capital’s estimate of $77.6 million.
“We expect to grow top line revenue and bottom line earnings but these will reflect slower growth than we’ve recorded this year while we focus on reinvestment in the business,” said chief executive Jon Macdonald.
Trade Me, which has attracted about two thirds of New Zealand’s population to its online marketplace, is adding to its core auctions business to drive future growth.
The company said it had agreed to buy online insurance comparison business LifeDirect, adding to its purchase of inventory management company Tradevine and holiday rental accommodation website Holiday Homes in the past year.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, New Zealand, online, Trade Me
Posted in E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, online shopping, onlines store | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 25th, 2013
In a bit of news that will make anyone with an email inbox smile just a little, an Australian man who spammed New Zealand businesses has been fined $95,000 for doing so.
Photo credit; epSos .de on Flickr
Wayne Robert Mansfield of Perth, Western Australia, sent hundreds of thousands of unsolicited emails to individuals ans organisations in New Zealand in 2010. The emails were promoting his company, Business Seminars NZ.
After more than 50 complaints from recipients who said they had no business contact with Mansfield’s company and had continued receiving messages even after unsubscribing from them, the Department of Internal Affairs decided to take legal action against Mansfield under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act.
High Court Justice Edwin Wylie imposed a fine of $95,000 and awarded costs of more than $8000 against Mansfield in August 2013.
This wasn’t the first time Mansfield has been fined for spamming.
In 2006, Mansfield and his Perth-based company Clarity1 Pty Ltd were fined a total of A$5.5 million in the Australian Federal Court for sending 70 million spam emails to about 5 million recipients between 2004 and 2006.
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: business, New Zealand, online, spam, spammer, Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act
Posted in computer, E-mail & the internet, email, emails, New Zealand, new zealand business, online messaging | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 28th, 2013
New Zealand businesses have been sluggish in responding to automated cyber attacks, leaving businesses of all sizes vulnerable, cyber security experts have said.
Modern hacking tools mean that cyber criminals can quickly and easily scan the internet for vulnerable websites and launch attacks and New Zealand is becoming a prime target, Mark Kraynak, senior vice president of US- headquartered data security company Imperva, said.
“Now that the bad guys can find anyone online, [things have] changed. They’ve figured out that the little guys are actually pretty good targets,” Kraynak said.
“It’s probably true that criminals weren’t paying much attention to New Zealand but it’s become easier for organisations to find places to attack here.”
Kraynak claims data attacks in New Zealand are ten times higher than in Australia, on a per capita basis and businesses from the largest banks down to the smallest online retailers are at risk because while other countries were diligent about beefing up online security, New Zealand lagged behind.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, hacking, New Zealand, online, risk, security
Posted in E-mail & the internet, fraud, hacking, malicious software, New Zealand, new zealand business, New Zealand government, online scams, online security, onlines store | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 21st, 2013
New Zealand’s Claire Ongley always dreamed of working for herself so when she moved back home a few months ago after six years in Sydney, she decided to start her own online business.
With the help of an online store service, she got IzzyandJean.co.nz up and running, selling unusual home wares and accessories imported from overseas.
The products Ongley sells include cotton fouta towels, which come in all different colours and are like Turkish bath towels, coats for dogs, neck ties from a New York designer and boots from Morocco.
Her first task was to get the website up and running. She used a popular e-commerce platform.
“You can set up your online store quite easily without having any technical knowledge. So that’s allowed me to do it all myself, except the logo that was designed by a friend of mine.”
To read more about this story, click here.
Tags: business, IzzyandJean, New Zealand, online
Posted in New Zealand, new zealand business, Online Sales, online shopping, onlines store, shopping, Success story | No Comments »
Thursday, August 1st, 2013
With so few New Zealand businesses having a true online presence, or extremely limited online presence, the opportunity is there for savvy online entrepreneurs to make a big impact.
Aaron Schiff, an economist and blogger, says internet usage by businesses in New Zealand “sucks” and anyone who has a good idea for an internet business has an almost wide open field in the nation.
Schiff cites numbers from the Statistics New Zealand Business Operations Survey that say nearly a third of businesses don’t have a website of any kind; less than one in five businesses supports ordering on its website, and only around one in ten allow customers to make payments online. These numbers haven’t changed much in two years.
While the current numbers are dire, Schiff says, that does mean that huge opportunities await people willing to take the plunge to create an online business or get their bricks and mortar business online.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, New Zealand, online, statistics
Posted in blogs, E-mail & the internet, New Zealand, new zealand business, Online Sales | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 30th, 2013
Two New Zealand women have tapped into the the country’s tourist trade to create a burgeoning online business.
Wendy London from Hawera and Deborah DeNard of Wellington are set to launch CruiseBubble.com, New Zealand’s first online guide specifically for visiting cruise passengers, in October.
Currently, the two women are accepting registrations from businesses that want to be featured on the site.
“Our target is 1500 for this season and anything above that is really cool,” London said.
The idea was born in 2005 out of Tourism New Zealand’s desire to use the internet more to promote the island nation.
“Tourism New Zealand released the 2005-2015 strategy and one of the key issues there was to ensure tourism businesses could utilise broadband,” London said.
CruiseBubble.com does just that, telling cruise passengers where to shop, what attractions to visit and who to call for anything they might need, all in one handy internet location.
In 2012, 130 cruise ships visited New Zealand with 755 port calls and a total of 209,000 visitors – compared to 17,000 in 1996. Contribution to GDP was $410m with 5633 jobs created.
To read more on this story, click here.
Tags: business, cruise, New Zealand, online, tourism
Posted in broadband, New Zealand, new zealand business, New Zealand government, online marketing, social networking, Success story | No Comments »
