The post Amazon Unveils AI Tool That Builds Entire Ad Campaigns For Merchants appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Sellers can now describe an ad concept in plain text and let Amazon’s chatbot generate taglines, images, scripts, music, and even full video storyboards.
Amazon says the system reduces costs and speeds up production, turning what once took weeks into hours.
Ads can then be distributed not only across Amazon’s own marketplace, but also on platforms like Prime Video, Twitch, Netflix, Roku and Disney+.
The move raises questions about how AI will reshape digital advertising and small business operations worldwide.
The tools are powered by Amazon’s Nova AI model alongside Anthropic’s Claude and are integrated with Creative Studio, Amazon’s suite for image, audio, and video generation.
Early testing shows promising results. One brand, Bird Buddy, saw a 338% jump in ad click-through rates using the AI-built campaign.
But the push goes beyond advertising.
Seller Assistant can now manage inventory, flag products at risk of breaching safety rules, suggest pricing changes, and even propose new product categories based on shopper behaviour.
Amazon says the system is designed to free up small and medium businesses to focus on product development while AI handles day-to-day operations.
The upgrades arrive as Amazon’s ad business continues to soar, generating an estimated A$90–100 billion annually with 23% year-on-year growth in its most recent quarter.
Locally, Amazon has not yet confirmed when the new AI-powered features will launch for Australian sellers, but the company has promised a global rollout in the coming months.
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]]>The post Mosman Restaurant Basil Nut, Still Ripping Off Customers With High Credit Card Charges appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Basil Nut a local Thai resturant is charging 5% on transactions and they are not advising customers of the additional charge, they appear to have ignored the recent 1% and 1.5% rule introduced in Australia.
I discovered the rip off when I recently ordered a takeaway meal at their Mosman restaurant.
After totalling the bill I queried why there was an additional 5% charge for using a credit card Vs paying cash.
They claimed it was “because of bank fees”.
When we explained that the law has recently changed and that business such as Basil Nut can only charge a maximum fee of 1.5% they claimed that because they were a small business they felt they could charge the additional 5% fee.
When it was explained that From September 1, all Australian businesses will be banned from slugging customers with excessive surcharges for using EFTPOS and credit cards to pay for purchases management at the business who go out of their way to solicite cash sales said that this was “The way we do business”.
It appeared that management were not interested in the new laws especially as they were netting an additional 5% on credit card transactions.
When we asked whether the 5% additional fee applied to orders placed over the phone on a credit card management did not answer my question.
Ban on excessive credit card surcharges extends to all Australian businesses September 1
Customers should expect credit card surcharges to be no more than 1-3pc, depending on the type of card
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the ban, which has been in effect for large businesses since last September, will extend to all businesses that are either based in Australia or use an Australian bank.
The ban means businesses will only be able to charge customers what it actually costs them to process payments for EFTPOS, MasterCard, Visa and American Express cards, including bank fees and terminal costs.
“For example, if a business’s cost of acceptance for Visa credit is 1.5 per cent, consumers can only be charged a surcharge of 1.5 per cent on payments made using a Visa credit card,” ACCC deputy chairman Michael Schaper said.
“Our message to business is that you are not allowed to add on any of your own internal costs when calculating what surcharge you will charge customers.
“The only costs businesses can include are external costs charged to you by your financial provider.”
The ACCC says businesses that want to set a single, flat surcharge across multiple payment methods must set the surcharge at the level of the lowest cost method, not an average.
“Our advice for businesses wanting to set a single surcharge regardless of the type of card their customers use, is it must be the lowest of all the payment methods,” Dr Schaper added.
“You can’t use an average of all payment methods or you will land yourself in trouble.”
That means if a business’s cost of processing for Visa debit is 1 per cent, while its cost for Visa credit is 1.5 per cent and for American Express is 2.5 per cent, the single surcharge would need to be 1 per cent, because that is the lowest of all payment methods.
Small businesses ‘can’t afford not to pass costs on’
The ACCC said the changes will affect billions of transactions each year and are a big win for consumers.
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]]>The post Singles Day Rakes In $25bn Haul appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Once a celebration for China’s lonely hearts, Singles’ Day 11/11 has become an annual 24-hour buying frenzy that exceeds the combined sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the USA, offering a barometer for China’s consumers.
At midnight pre-orders drove Alibaba’s platforms to ring up $10 billion in just over an hour.
As tills shut down at midnight on Saturday, Alibaba’s live sales-ticker registered 168.3 billion yuan (A$33 billion), up 39 percent from last year.
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]]>The post JB Hi Fi Charman Talks About Their Youth Brand, Parallel Importing & Selling Appliances Online appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>In an exclusive interview with ChannelNews JB Hi-Fi Chairman Patrick Elliott said that JB Hi Fi was Australia’s most recognised “youth brand” and that the group is still on track to open between 13 and 15 new stores, some of which will be converted Clive Anthony stores.
He said that the youth of today, who are shopping at JB HI Fi will be their customers in the future, if they “do the right thing by them. The opportunity we have to leverage that youth brand into online is significant. This is an audience that is used to online trading and recognise brand values”.
Speaking about retailers who have an older target audience Elliott said: “These retailers will reach a point where they are going to have to renew their customer set”.
He claimed that Internet trading is set to be an issue for many retailers in the future and that parallel importing is a “temporary issue” that will go away as the market re-adjusts to lower prices.
“Local manufacturers realise that they are losing control of global supply. As a result they are already starting to lower their costs in Australia in an effort to stay competitive” Elliott said.
“It will get to the stage where bringing in small shipments of goods from overseas will not be cost effective and due to the lowering of prices in Australia driven by online the market will rebalance itself” he said.
Last week, JB Hi Fi alerted the market to the restructure of their struggling Clive Anthony brand, with Elliott admitting, during a recent interview on the ABC program Inside Business, that some stores will be closed. He described Clive Anthony as an experiment “that hasn’t succeeded in its current format”.
One of the options now being considered by JB Hi Fi is to launch an online appliance store, a move which Elliott admits will appeal to a lot of consumers due to the high replacement factor that appliances attract.
“Going online makes a lot of sense. We want to be a low cost retailer. We are competing against retailers who have expensive property structures such as department stores. If department stores want to carry on selling appliance they are going to have to deliver exceptional in store service to keep attracting customers. The future is low cost which is where JB Hi Fi is operating”.
Elliott said that net profit at JB Hi Fi for the 12 months to June was now likely to be $108.5 million to $113.5 million, compared with the previous forecast of between $134 million and $139 million.
“I think there are plenty of good days still to come, we have an excellent management team at JB Hi Fi, and they love their jobs and are well rewarded for it. I think our model is right,” he said.
Elliott also said that closing down its underperforming discount electrical retailing brand, Clive Anthony’s was “one of the options” that the group was considering.
“The expectation is that we’ll be able to convert quite a few of those stores to JB Hi-Fi stores,” Mr Elliott said during his ABC interview.
“We’re looking at perhaps a change to the format for those stores, but remaining in appliance retailing, although it may be on a somewhat smaller scale, and some of those locations which aren’t profitable we will look to close.”
“The internet model is particularly well suited to do that, whereas the bricks and mortar model is less so, so this discussion is very much more around where we are with currency, perhaps, than any significant change in technology or the uptake in technology.”
Elliott said JB Hi-Fi’s online business was growing, but stressed that its “bricks and mortar” model was “very low-cost”.
“Our cost of doing business, which is everything below the gross margin line, is about 14, 14.5 per cent of sales,” Elliott said. “There wouldn’t be too many online retailers who have that low cost base, and so we’re comfortable that with our scale, our buying power and our low cost to business that we can compete quite effectively with an online retailer, and to that extent clearly pushing our own online model.”
Suppliers of software and possibly cameras would also adjust their domestic prices to match international prices thanks to the “lag effect” of the rising dollar, Elliott said.
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]]>The post GNC LiveWell Sale Campaign Misleading Shoppers appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Currently the Australian operation which is part of a Singapore based GNC LiveWell franchise is running an up to 40% discount sale based on 25% off for two items 30% for 3 items up to 40% off for 4 items. However when customers go to collect the discounts they are told that they are not available.
Renowned for their expensive vitamins and health care products, GNC LiveWell is the world’s largest health retailer specialising in herb, vitamin, weight management and sports nutrition. GNC has over 6,000 stores in 40 countries worldwide.
Investigations by SmartOffice of GNC LiveWell stores such as the one at North Sydney’s Greenwood Plaza found that the stores are plastered with point of sale material advertising the offer. Shelves of vitamins have pointers that say “20% 30% 40% off these items.
 Click to enlarge |
The only problem is that the discounts are not available on many of the advertised items despite advertising indicating that discounts are available.
When SmartOffice visited the North Sydney store we collected two items from shelves marked with the discount offer. At the checkout till the items were rung up with GNC LiveWell staff asking for the full retail price of the items which were not cheap at $89.50.
When questioned why the 25% discount was not being applied the staff said, “The discounts do not apply to these items” When we point to the shelf where the goods had come from along with the poster saying 20% 30% 40% off these items they said, “It is all marketing, we are not giving discounts to items on those shelves. The discounts apply to other products.”
When we questioned as to why pointers were on the shelves where the items had come from indicating that discounts were available a manager stepped in saying, “It is all marketing, everyone does it”.
When we pointed out to her one of the posters that promoted the offer of a 25% discount off two items she said, “Conditions apply”. When it was pointed out that the word conditions apply was not showing she lifted up the plastic display item to show the words in 8point type hidden from view.
Other posters in the store also had the words conditions apply yet when we asked to see those conditions the manager was unable to produce the written conditions.
When it was put to her that this was blatantly misleading she said, “It’s all advertising and marketing, everyone does it we are not alone. If you want to take the issue up with management call our head office.”
The post GNC LiveWell Sale Campaign Misleading Shoppers appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post JB Hi Fi Charman Talks About Their Youth Brand, Parallel Importing & Selling Appliances Online appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>In an exclusive interview with ChannelNews JB Hi-Fi Chairman Patrick Elliott said that JB Hi Fi was Australia’s most recognised “youth brand” and that the group is still on track to open between 13 and 15 new stores, some of which will be converted Clive Anthony stores.
He said that the youth of today, who are shopping at JB HI Fi will be their customers in the future, if they “do the right thing by them. The opportunity we have to leverage that youth brand into online is significant. This is an audience that is used to online trading and recognise brand values”.
Speaking about retailers who have an older target audience Elliott said: “These retailers will reach a point where they are going to have to renew their customer set”.
He claimed that Internet trading is set to be an issue for many retailers in the future and that parallel importing is a “temporary issue” that will go away as the market re-adjusts to lower prices.
“Local manufacturers realise that they are losing control of global supply. As a result they are already starting to lower their costs in Australia in an effort to stay competitive” Elliott said.
“It will get to the stage where bringing in small shipments of goods from overseas will not be cost effective and due to the lowering of prices in Australia driven by online the market will rebalance itself” he said.
Last week, JB Hi Fi alerted the market to the restructure of their struggling Clive Anthony brand, with Elliott admitting, during a recent interview on the ABC program Inside Business, that some stores will be closed. He described Clive Anthony as an experiment “that hasn’t succeeded in its current format”.
One of the options now being considered by JB Hi Fi is to launch an online appliance store, a move which Elliott admits will appeal to a lot of consumers due to the high replacement factor that appliances attract.
“Going online makes a lot of sense. We want to be a low cost retailer. We are competing against retailers who have expensive property structures such as department stores. If department stores want to carry on selling appliance they are going to have to deliver exceptional in store service to keep attracting customers. The future is low cost which is where JB Hi Fi is operating”.
Elliott said that net profit at JB Hi Fi for the 12 months to June was now likely to be $108.5 million to $113.5 million, compared with the previous forecast of between $134 million and $139 million.
“I think there are plenty of good days still to come, we have an excellent management team at JB Hi Fi, and they love their jobs and are well rewarded for it. I think our model is right,” he said.
Elliott also said that closing down its underperforming discount electrical retailing brand, Clive Anthony’s was “one of the options” that the group was considering.
“The expectation is that we’ll be able to convert quite a few of those stores to JB Hi-Fi stores,” Mr Elliott said during his ABC interview.
“We’re looking at perhaps a change to the format for those stores, but remaining in appliance retailing, although it may be on a somewhat smaller scale, and some of those locations which aren’t profitable we will look to close.”
“The internet model is particularly well suited to do that, whereas the bricks and mortar model is less so, so this discussion is very much more around where we are with currency, perhaps, than any significant change in technology or the uptake in technology.”
Elliott said JB Hi-Fi’s online business was growing, but stressed that its “bricks and mortar” model was “very low-cost”.
“Our cost of doing business, which is everything below the gross margin line, is about 14, 14.5 per cent of sales,” Elliott said. “There wouldn’t be too many online retailers who have that low cost base, and so we’re comfortable that with our scale, our buying power and our low cost to business that we can compete quite effectively with an online retailer, and to that extent clearly pushing our own online model.”
Suppliers of software and possibly cameras would also adjust their domestic prices to match international prices thanks to the “lag effect” of the rising dollar, Elliott said.
The post JB Hi Fi Charman Talks About Their Youth Brand, Parallel Importing & Selling Appliances Online appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post ACS Favours Corp Express appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The deal will see the 14,000 members of the ACS get a 10 per cent discount on purchases made while Corporate Express will also donate a percentage of revenue directly to the ACS for industry development.
Jo Cass, Software and Licensing Manager NSW/ACT for Corporate Express, said “We are very confident that this partnership will prove successful for both parties and will drive great benefits through value and efficiencies through the ACS membership.
“Our mission is to provide a single source supply solution to make it easier and more cost effective for our customers to do business. The offer is beneficial to members because by consolidating suppliers they are increasing efficiencies around the procurement and the administration process,” she said.
“We are also providing bi-monthly offers on a variety of products, unique to the ACS membership and will be a significant reduction on current market pricing. Also, by spending with us, members will be putting money back into the IT industry, as a percentage of all ACS membership spend will be donated to the ACS foundation to drive IT apprenticeships,” she said.
Simon Kwan, Marketing Manager for the Australian Computer Society, said they chose Corporate Express due to the demand of their members’ requirements for IT products and services. “We came to the conclusion that the best partner was Corporate Express because it is a reputable organisation and they offer nationwide service.
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]]>The post Get To Indy in October appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>Step one, sign-up here. Step two, sell a heap of gear. Step three, log your sales. Step four, win a trip for 1 adult to the Lexmark Indy 300 on the Gold Coast.
The prize is valued at up to $4,000.00 each depending on point of departure, including return economy airfares from winner’s nearest capital city, 3 nights at the Marriott Hotel, and a VIP ticket to the Acer Chicane Luxury Suite.
Sales made between 15 July and 30 September this year qualify, but it’s not just the volume sales achievers that will be in the running to take the trip.
To give smaller resellers a chance, Acer is dividing the goodies up categories.
The three channel salespeople with the highest unit sales will earn a VIP prize pack. The next 50 channel salespeople with the highest unit sales will receive a minor prize. This consists of two General Admission tickets to the Lexmark Indy 300, valued at $300.
The outright leader, the channel sales person with the overall highest unit sales also receives an Overachievers Pack which includes a 15 minute helicopter ride, a Pace Car ride around the track and an Indy Merchandise Pack valued at up to $2,000.
If you haven’t got a chance at leading the unit sales race, Acer is offering the top three channel salespeople with the highest growth the same package. The outright sales growth winner will also earn an overachiever pack with the chopper, pace car merchandise pack.
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]]>The post In Store Retail Displays Stir Up CE Channel appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post In Store Retail Displays Stir Up CE Channel appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>The post Who ARE Oz Retail Thiefs? appeared first on Smart Office.
]]>When the going gets tough, the thieves get going. So says ARA Exec Director Russell Zimmermann who says stealing from stores is the direct result of when things get tough for people economically.
“There will be a rise in stealing in some areas..especially things that make them feel good,” Zimmermann said when speaking to Channel News.
Indeed, stealing from stores has risen in the past number of years as it is a clear reflection of the uncertain economic environment.
Just last week, JB Hi-Fi said $12 million of stock from its stores in the past year had been stolen, an increase of $4m on the previous year, which it blamed on less staff on the floor. Headphones and DVDs were said to be among the items popular with thieves at JB.
“Its hard to walk out the door with a 40″ TV,” says Zimmermann, but smaller items that are easy to conceal are fair game, as are goods that are easy to remove packaging and electronic barcodes from.
So, who are the thieves scanning the store aisles?
“They could be anyone from your next door neighbour ..its a myth that its unemployed 18-years old..its across the board.”
“There’s no specific demographic profile of thieves,” – for instance women are known to be fond of thieving clothes and other sought after items.
3% of the total Aussie retail turnover of $240 billion is attributed to theft, according to Australian Retailers Association.
In 2010, $5.8bn worth of goods was stolen which has risen to $6bn this year.
The retail boss also said it was “interesting” that Apple recently announced a ‘self-help area’ in its stores, where consumers can virtually check out goods in-store, by downloading an app.
Maybe Apple customers are honest. And really rich.
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