Battle of the Brands

John Lewis owns Christmas advertising again- but this time in store too!

John Lewis has gone one step further with its Christmas advertising this year- the widely anticipated Christmas ad, starring Monty the penguin, is as usual winning hearts, but they have also turned over their toy department to a variety of interactive technologies. Whether this level of pester power will result in increased sales remains to be seen.

Amazon moves closer to drone deliveries

Amazon this week began looking for aviation experts to move along their Prime Air drone delivery service. It has already asked for permission to test fly its drones, which will be capable of flying up to 50 miles an hour and carrying packages of up to 5 lb.

Microsoft launches “Skype for business”

Microsoft announced that its new instant communication service for business will be available in early 2015. Replacing its existing Lync service that is already integrated into Microsoft office, its new service will include Skype connectivity. Microsoft are hoping to attract the 300 million Skype users worldwide.

Sainsbury’s launch app to link on line and in-store purchases.

Sainsbury’s launched an app to help customers avoid check out queues but still have the in store browsing experience. Aimed at the time poor, cash rich customer, they have linked with Zapp, who allows payment at the checkout via smart phone. In essence, the customer browses for goods, adds then to the phone and pays, cutting check out time to seconds. Nectar card holders should be trialling it in early 2015.

Google glass in trouble

The much hyped Google glass might be in trouble as several developers are losing faith in the product due to a lack of customers and an apparently stalled launch date. Twitter is the latest to abandon the project, with others citing a belief in the business applications, but avoiding the consumer side. This can be seen in the fact that the Google glasses are now available for sale at half the launch price. The Facebook owned “Oculus Rift”, which is a set of virtual reality goggles, is gaining market share and interest.