Businesses Are Making Mobile Apps to get more customers

Nowadays retail competition is taking over old stores, pushing them to make their shutters down one by one. Walmart is taking interest in online more, whereas Amazon is spreading its wings offline as well via stores and buying whole foods. The retail dollars are in a heavy war-zone where customers will soon get the whole battlefield amidst their fists with the advent of Smartphone apps.

This is not the picture with just mega-retailers, movie chains. Pet supply stores are also stepping in the scenario by connecting with more customers with their personal branded apps. Specific clothing brands in the U.S. like Zumiez are developing apps along with their several on-ground stores. Also, coffee brands like Scooter’s Coffee from Omaha and pizza stores from New York are getting into this bigger picture.

Gradually mobile apps are becoming the prior instrument of communication and interaction between brands and their consumers. According to some research analysis of data from a classified big U.S. retailer of video games and electronics, mobile apps can also affect the offline buying habits of consumers.

Mobile Gaming App: Changing the Old Market

The gaming industry isn’t also lagging far behind. Nowadays online casinos have become immensely popular, taking over the traditional casinos. Gamers find its more fun with fewer restrictions to play online than in some old shop. Online games also provide all the benefits of extra bonuses, welcome offers and easy deposit terms along with simple cashing out. Several popular casinos therefore now have launched their own apps to attract gamers from worldwide. One can easily download these gaming apps from online sites or play stores and play their favorite games anytime and anywhere. You can easily play Baccarat online if you have gaming app loaded on your Smartphone. No need to wait anymore in line! Games like roulette, blackjack, poker and several slot games are right there in Smartphone now with mobile apps.

Growth in Usage & Spending

Millions of people from all across the world are now having the option of using mobile apps. According to surveys, over 70% population of the world will have a Smartphone by 2020 and they will indulge over 80% of their on-phone time in using task-specific apps.

It’s undoubtedly a great business opportunity if brands allow customers to learn details about the products, know deals, trace nearby stores and also offer to place orders in advance. For example, many brands allow their customers to order and pay on their go via their personal branded app. Buyers can just come to the store and get their parcel immediately – no need to wait in long lines anymore for ordering. In this way, they have been able to get 20% of its sales via online transactions.

Some research also shows that people tend to buy more things online via mobile apps than they might in stores. When buyers started to buy from eBay via their mobile app, eBay’s sales increased from their website. Again, customers spend about US$923.5 million more each year as they started to buy from the tablet app of Alibaba, a large Chinese e-retailer. A large part of this increased spending is due to impulsive marketing of the shoppers. Sometimes they make one-off purchases of items that they are interested in and also sometimes they add more items to make larger orders.

App Users Frequently Return Products

As the buyers do more shopping with mobile apps than in shops, it has been also noticed that they are also more prone to return their purchased products in the same way. Particularly buyers who do shopping with mobile apps tend to return products often when they have bought those kinds of stuff on discount and within seven days of the main purchase. Apps drive customers to do impulsive marketing. But many times they regret buying the things when received and hence return the products.

But putting into account the rate of returns too, it is established that app users spend more while buying online than in stores. It only works when the apps work as the customers want them to.

App Failures & Consequences

The apps that take a longer time to load or often tend to crash, not only lessen online purchasing but also affect the in-person spending amount. According to surveys, 60% of the users expect their apps to load within 4 seconds. Also as per some ongoing research, half of the users tend to dump the apps that often freeze or crash.

The slowdown of the apps can cost their brands dearly. According to an estimate, Amazon will have approx. $1.6 billion sales a year if its webpage takes just 1 second longer to load.  For smaller retailers too, a similar drop of 2-3% can cost them significantly though the price amount in dollars would be smaller.

As per specific ongoing research, poor app performances reduce users’ in-store spending as well. It has also been studied how users react when they can’t get access to an app for 5-6 hours due to server errors. According to the primary results of that research, users spent 3-4% less in stores than general in the following couple of weeks. Less-frequent customers spent even lesser than the company’s regular customers.

However, customers who face app failures though spend less in stores, but their spending amounts on the Internet remain the same. A deeper analysis suggests that when a retailer’s app fails, buyers go to their website directly to complete their necessary transactions often. But the app failure leaves a negative impression on their mind that discourages them to buy more from the retailer’s store.

Conclusion

The research, therefore, shows that in some ways or another, mobile apps can be a double-edged sword for both retailers and customers. Shoppers can enjoy the benefits of using apps to learn more about prospective purchases, get inspired on the run and also save time at the cash register. However, when the app fails, they get discouraged and get frustrated about buying at physical stores too. Retailers can enjoy higher sales, faster transactions and making more money – but also get prepared to handle more returns.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/tech-and-gadgets/businesses-are-making-mobile-apps-to-get-more-customers/

Gamers are simply going to love this untold story – The Advantages of Gaming!

Samantha warned Nick, her 5 year little kido, to immediately  turn off the mobile game, else she would complain to his Dad and then, Dad will ‘teach him a lesson’! Unfazed by her remarks, Nick continued his Car chase, “ Mom, just two mare stages and I shall beat my previous best…”

Mom was unimpressed, she didn’t cared about the scores and standings of a stupid mobile game; she was more concerned about the eyes and health of his kido. It was well over two hours and Nick has not done anything except facing the mobile screen and murmuring and shouting “Yes… No… Oh…” every now and then. She was about to scream wildly at Nick, when Dad entered the scene. Nick sensed the Savior in Dad, who was experienced enough to  understand the situation and more importantly, smart enough to handle it aptly..!

“I will take care of Kido, you just prepare some snacks and shall have a lil family party..” Samantha reluctantly stepped towards kitchen as Nick looked at his Dad admirably; he was then quick to concentrate back to the Car chase. After all, he was about to beat his previous best!

“What’s the score…?… Ah… final stage… yes common Kido…” Mom signed helplessly as she understood that it is useless to reason with them. “Like Father, like son…” she muttered to herself, before entering the living room with snacks and then reluctantly joining them…

It won’t be hard for anyone to identify with above situation. Though, it is a created act, yet, it do reflects the emotions and dilemma of a family and also, the problem of computer and mobile gaming addiction that the world faces today. Although, it looks like there is nothing appreciable about electronic gaming, yet, we would attempt to put the brighter side, or framing it more aptly, the other side of the gaming, which, most of you have not observed. This article is exquisitely dedicated to the unseen and unaddressed advantages of gaming!

Gaming Improves Concentration – If you are worried about your child spending hours continuously on TV, computer or mobile screen playing his/her favorite game, then you would be happy to know that this activity could indirectly help him or her in their studies. Indulging in anything continuously is a simple sign of concentration. If a child is spending hours on gaming, you should appreciate the fact that he has got a natural tendency to concentrate. Now, you first need to learn to appreciate this gifted feature of your child and then sensibly try to motivate him to concentrate in studies, in the same way as he is doing on gaming. It might sound more easily said than done but as a parent, you surely have the capacity to understand the emotions and behavior of your child; after all he is your offspring!  Just think about it and try to resolve this situation tactfully and sensibly.

Gaming is a Great Stress Buster – This is scientifically proven fact. Different researchers have been continuously made to study the effect of gaming on different people and all of them have unanimously stated that gaming acts as a great source or mode of fighting stress. Anyone, who is stressed or had a bad day would be able to re energize himself or herself by just playing his/her favorite game for an hour or two.

Gaming has got Nostalgic Value – Lots of people complain that getting addicted to machines and gadgets would alienate the user and retard his emotions. But the research says otherwise. It has been found that with certain exceptions, the Gamers who spend more time playing games have comparatively more emotional quotient than a normal person. This conclusion is attributed to the fact that most of the people play a game that has got some kind of nostalgic value. They are able to identify something emotional with a certain game and hence they get attached and connected to that particular game.  However, this does not profess addiction to gaming. It is good to play a certain game for certain period of time but addiction of anything, including gaming, is always going to have much more hazardous effects than benefits.

Gaming is Money! –  The world gaming has expanded tremendously in the last decade or so. The potential of gaming is such that its commercial scope too has expanded substantially. There is scope for profession in the technical aspects of gaming that includes their development, management, marketing, testing and much more. Apart from it, lots of online games nowadays organize tournaments, both at local as well as global level and they have good cash prizes and for winners and also for other participants. There are lots of cards game like live blackjack , where one could play and participate on a regular basis and earn decent money. Some people have become professional in different games and they earn a good living out of it. The scope of earning in gaming depends on individual potential and ability.

Conclusion – We sincerely hope that Samantha has learned a few unaddressed and unexplored advantages of gaming through this article. It is well understandable that addiction to gaming is surely going to be hazardous for health. However, at the same time, Samantha also needs to understand that we live in the world of technology and gadgets and hence we need to adapt ourselves accordingly.  If Samantha wants to ensure that Nick enjoys his life and at the same time pays attention to his studies and health, then she would first need to understand the psychology of a child. There is a reason that her husband too is interested in gaming. You have to accept the fact that there is something nice about gaming and once Samantha understands this fact, and starts to enjoy and appreciate the world of gaming, she would be in a better position to advise his child on this subject. At the same time, she would also be able to occasionally enjoy the amazing world of gaming!

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/tech-and-gadgets/gamers-are-simply-going-to-love-this-untold-story-the-advantages-of-gaming/

How the Economy Impacts Workers’ Compensation Claims

Employment in the United States continues to grow at a steady clip.

The most recent job statistics show over 300,000 jobs have been created in the U.S. during January 2019.

However, the Federal Reserve Bank has recently raised interest rates in an attempt to cool down the hypercharged job market.

In the wake of a campaign of interest rate hikes, the question remains: what impact will it have on the U.S. job market?

Changes in Job Market Affect the Amount of Injury Claims

A changing job market can increase or decrease the number of work-related injuries. The overall economy can have an impact on the number of workers’ compensation claims.

This is felt both in the number of people working as well as the type of work that people are doing.

At the same time, rising employment numbers in the U.S. also lead to an increasing number of workplace injuries.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fatal workplace falls have increased nearly 26 percent from 2011 to 2016.

The increase coincides with a rebound in the U.S. employment picture and surging job creation.

Some of this can be expected since higher employment inherently creates more situations in which workers can get hurt on the job.

This will mean that there are more construction projects since the economy is in the midst of a period of prolonged growth.

It can be expected that if growth slows down in the economy, that workplace injury would decrease given that there is less employment overall.

The business cycle has a definite impact on workers’ compensation claims. These claims typically decline in a recession.

There are several reasons for this.

A Recession Means Layoffs

When recessions happen, businesses tend to keep their best and most experienced workers. These are the ones who are the least likely have any accidents on the job or sustain any injuries.

A Recession May Decrease Claims But Also Means More Claim Appeals

There is a reason why the insurance business never feels the brunt of a recession – not like other companies that are.

Since it’s the law for most if not all companies to hold insurance, insurance companies always have a guaranteed stream of cash coming in.

Then there is the fact that insurance companies fight tooth and nail in order to get out of paying out on a claim, no matter if the case appears pretty cut and dry.

During a recession, you can bet your bottom dollar most companies will also fight harder against employee injury claims since such cases can affect them in several ways.

Furthermore, even though insurance companies have guaranteed money coming in thanks to federal laws, they do lose some income when companies are folding and thus no longer a paying client.

These factors mean both the defendant and the insurance company will do all in their power to either beat the injury claim case or file as many appeals as they can until they’re exhausted.

According to Jason Mills of Jason D. Mills & Associates, “When an injured worker wins an appeal for a denied claim with a hearing officer, an employer or insurer may file an additional appeal or motion of stay that impacts benefit payments.”

A Good Economy Means Deadlines

When economic times are booming, businesses are more likely to be in a rush to complete the job to meet customer demands or to be able to move onto the next job that is waiting for them.

A rush means that employees are either working longer hours or are otherwise taking measures to increase speed. Sometimes, this comes at the expense of safety.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/business/how-the-economy-impacts-workers-compensation-claims/

How to Look Beautiful in Different Prom Dresses

Your prom event is nearing and it is the right time to buy a nice-looking dress for the event! Having made up your mind to buy a prom dress, you need to look at several factors that will assist in making the right purchase.

So, in this article, we will be sharing a few suggestions with you to select the best prom dress that not just meets all your desires, but also matches your figure and gives a perfect look to your image.

A-Line Prom Dress

This style of prom dress is the most appropriate for girls of different body types. These dresses have a soft texture as it is made from lace and chiffon fabric. This style is considered to be ideal for girls who have imperfect legs.

By wearing an A-line prom dress, you can showcase your waist and upper body. These dresses are the best ones for girls who want to appear taller and slimmer. You can find cheap prom dresses at many local and online clothing stores.

Mermaid Prom Dresses

Another popular type of prom dress is a mermaid dress. This dress is designed to tight-fitting as compared to other types of prom dresses. By wearing it, you can easily show your figure in a better way.

This dress is ideal for girls who are adorned with beautiful body curves. Girls who are bestowed with an hourglass figure should definitely try this dress as it will highlight their curves and beautify their look for a wonderful prom evening.

One important thing that needs to be noted is that mermaid dress is not suited for everyone. This means that girls who have a pear or apple shape body should not go for a mermaid dress. They should instead try the other styles of plus size prom dresses.

Sheath prom dress

A sheath prom dress is seen to very convenient to wear as compared to other prom dresses especially a mermaid style prom dress. A sheath dress is a tailored one that provides a slim fit to the wearer.

For girls who are full-bodied, they can select these gowns. A slim dress is mostly designed to have a high waist that makes your legs appear longer. Also, by wearing this dress, you will look slimmer and taller.

Ball Gown Dress

Ball gown dress is a style that goes best for all body types. In a visual sense, the curvature of this style reflects the skinniness of the waist. This makes the body of the woman especially the back region more elegant and graceful.

To cater to the high-end and luxurious atmosphere at the prom event, some of the ball gown dresses are designed by using expensive and gorgeous materials. This dress is also appropriate for girls of varying sizes.

Conclusion

You can find different styles of prom dresses to accentuate your beautiful body features. Learning about these styles and its design would help you choose the right one for your shape.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/fashion/how-to-look-beautiful-in-different-prom-dresses/

Five Ways to Make Your Marketing Emails Even Better

Creating an email list and sending any kind of email is better than doing nothing at all, but don’t think that just because you send out emails regularly that your emails are the very best they can be.

The truth is, there are probably ways you can improve your emails right now, and it may not include as much time or as much money as you think!

If you want to make your emails even better, and in turn, increase the success of your business, give one or more of these ideas a try.

Make Sure They’re Secure

Online security is becoming more and more important as the years go by. Especially when the news always seems to feature companies who have been hacked, and important customer information has been stolen.

One of the best things you can do for your customers and clients who are signed up for your email list is to take the security of your email seriously.

That includes doing things like safeguarding messages with TLS, authenticating emails with DKIM and SPF, and setting up DMARC. If all this sounds like a lot of mumbo jumbo that you don’t have a lot of time for, hire a trusted email service provider who can offer the right security for your email messages.

Make Them as Personal as Possible

You probably already think you’re personalizing your messages if you address each one to individual recipients. That’s a good first step, but there are a lot more email personalization techniques out there you should be using that will make your email messages more special.

A few examples include:

• Build customer personas based on age, gender, or any other customer segments that would work for your business. Then, send each persona their own emails.
• Use location and time in your emails. For example, make sure your email is sent out at 10:00 a.m. in every timezone.
• Set up automated emails that are based on behavioral triggers. For example, send an email if a customer has items in their online cart, but hasn’t yet completed their purchase.

Encourage Participation from Your Readers

People like to feel like they matter to the brands and businesses they support. One of the best ways to make your readers feel like they matter is to encourage participation.

Participation from customers and clients comes with many benefits. It can help you develop new products and services, and it can show your customers that you care about their input.

Encourage participation on social media and make it easy for customers to send you a message on your website, but you should also encourage participation through email. It doesn’t necessarily mean they have to respond to your message either. This may not even be an option, depending on the email service you’re using.

Participation can include clicking on a link, taking a survey, or connecting on social media.

Add Something Fun or Unexpected

Most people have been inundated with marketing emails for years. You can stand apart from the crowd if you add something fun or unexpected to your messages.

There are many examples of awesome email marketing techniques. A few include:

• An animation, video, or sound
• Fun facts that catch the readers’ attention
• Explanation of what to expect from marketing emails

Don’t forget about special deals, coupons, and freebies! For something a little different, invite readers into your store to pick up a special gift.

Make It Simple for People to Unsubscribe

It may seem counterintuitive to make it easy for people to unsubscribe, but it is important if you want your company to be successful.

We’re all looking for ways to detox our inboxes. Sometimes, that means unsubscribing from emails that we were once interested in. It may even mean unsubscribing from brands we still like. We just like the brand enough to visit the website when we’re ready to make a purchase instead of getting regular emails.

Make the unsubscribe button easy to find, and allow readers to unsubscribe with a single click. It prevents frustration, which is a good thing. If you make unsubscribing easy, you can actually increase the likelihood of that person coming back to your brand in the future!

Once you’ve created some marketing emails, don’t think your job is done. You should always be looking for ways to make your messages even better. With the ideas on this list, you can make your marketing emails the very best they possibly can be.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/email-best-practices/make-marketing-emails-even-better/

Tips for Choosing a Pet-Friendly Rental Community

According to information compiled by the Insurance Information Institute, sixty-eight percent of households in the United States own pets. That is around 85 million pets. The research cited by the Insurance Information Institute comes from the National Pet Owners Survey from 2017 to 2018, conducted by the American Pet Products Association.

In 1988, which was the first year that this survey was conducted, only around 56 percent of American households reported having a pet.

Of the households with a pet in the U.S., most have a dog. In fact, more than 60 million households have a dog, and just over 47 million households have a cat.

More people are renting in the U.S. than at other times in history as well, making it fairly understandable that renters want pet-friendly features. Rental managers and property owners are focusing more than ever before on delivering desirable pet-friendly features and amenities to remain competitive in the rental marketplace.

If you’re a pet owner and you’re in the market for a new rental, the following are some things to look for.

Pet-Centric Services

A truly pet-friendly rental community isn’t just one that accepts pets—it’s one that embraces pets and makes them part of the lifestyle. Some rental communities will claim to be pet-friendly but there are no amenities or services for pets, and many have strict restrictions such as weight limits.

Your pet is a part of your family, and you want to feel they’re welcome where you live. You also want your rental community to make life easier for you. As part of that, consider a rental community offering concierge services. For example, more communities are starting to offer home cleaning & pet walking services to renters.

Other services might include pet sitting available on-demand, or even pet daycare where you can take your dog during the day while you’re at work or out and about.

On-Site Pet Amenities

Some of the possible pet amenities were described above, but there are plenty of other options as well. For example, does the community offer water bowls or treat stations around the property? Is there a place where you can wash your pets?

Are there baggies and scoopers out for when you take your pet for a walk on the property?

These are all not just conveniences, but they can be tell-tale signs that a community goes beyond marketing to pet owners and really does welcome them.

Narrowing Down Your Search

Sometimes being able to hone in on a community that’s truly pet-friendly versus one that says it is relies on doing some digging. One way to start your search and narrow down the right communities for you can be the use of tools like PeoplewithPets.

PeoplewithPets.com is a nationwide directory of pet-friendly apartments but also rental homes and hotels. You can search by property, state or city.

As well as being a pet-friendly apartment and rental directory, the site also includes details such as whether or not the properties have breed restrictions, and you can search for nearby pet-friendly amenities like dog parks and activities that are pet-friendly.

Think Beyond the Property

If you’re in the process of choosing a pet-friendly rental, you have to think about not only the community itself or the house itself but also the local area. Even if the property is extremely pet-friendly, if the nearby area isn’t, it’s not going to help you very much.

Are there dog parks and pet-friendly outdoor spaces nearby? Will it be easy to walk your dog in the area? Are there dog-friendly shops and restaurants in the neighborhood? What about trainers, groomers and pet-supply stores? Are any of those close to the property?

Do Other Residents Have Pets?

If you’ve found a few communities that you think would be a good home for you and your pet, take a visit during the day and possibly on the weekend. See if there are other residents with pets and if they’re out and about. If there are pet-friendly amenities, are a lot of other residents taking advantage of them?

Does it seem like a place where pet owners and their furry friends are happy?

Even if you find a rental where there are great pet-centric amenities, if you’re one of the few residents with a dog who’s out and walking around, it might not be a great fit. If you move into a community with a lot of pet owners, both you and your pet will have the opportunity to socialize.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/pets/choosing-pet-friendly-community/

Preparation Equals Success: The Importance of Having a Backup and Disaster Recovery Plan

Over 43 percent of the downtime and data loss experienced by small businesses each year is caused by hardware failure. Instead of waiting until disaster strikes to take disaster recovery planning seriously, now is the time to act.

The first step in creating an adequate disaster plan is finding the right online data backup solutions. By backing up your data via the cloud, you can get through disastrous situations like a network crash or ransomware attack with ease.

Before you decide on which online backup system to use, be sure to consider how secure the system in question is. Even if you have to pay a bit more for a system with iron-clad security, it will definitely pay off in the long run.

The following are some of the reasons why having a backup and disaster recovery plan is essential for every small business on the planet.

Hackers Aren’t Picky When It Comes to Stealing Data

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner is abiding by the “it won’t happen to me” philosophy when it comes to data hacks. Cyber-criminals want any type of data and they don’t care what type of business they are getting it from.

Whether you own a law firm, medical practice or a gas station, all of the data you collect needs to be secured. The best way to offer this security is by establishing an online backup of each of the files. Once you have done this, work on developing a plan in the event of a disaster. While this planning may seem pointless now, you will be happy you have it in the event of a data hack, natural disaster or a network outage.

Protecting Against Computer or Mobile Device Failure

Some business owners get so used to their computers and mobile devices working correctly that they fail to prepare for hardware failures. Eventually, the computers you rely on will let you down, which is why you need to be prepared.

Backing up all of the files on your devices and computers can help you deal with outages with ease. If the hardware on one of your machines fails, you can get a new one and load all of your files on it in a matter of hours.

Are you unsure about how to establish a cloud-based backup? If so, working with IT professionals is a good idea. With their guidance, you can get this system in place quickly and correctly.

Preventing the Damage Caused By Human Error

Regardless of how well you think you have trained your employees, they are bound to make mistakes. Accidentally deleting important files or downloading viruses via email attachments can bring your company’s computer network to a grinding halt. Without a backup in place, you may lose important data due to these human errors.

The money you invest in an adequate cloud-based backup system will pale in comparison to what you will lose without it. Human error is unavoidable, which is why you need to work on reducing the damage these errors cause when they occur.

Downtime Affects Your Bottom Line

If you are like most business owners, one of the main concerns you have is keeping productivity levels high. When network crashes happen, it will affect productivity levels greatly. Instead of losing money due to excessive downtime, you need to work on getting a backup and disaster recovery strategy in place. With a bit of professional guidance, you can iron out the details of this strategy with ease.

The time and effort you invest in creating a backup and disaster recovery strategy will definitely pay off in the long run. Allowing IT professionals to assist you during this process can help you avoid costly mistakes.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/business/preparation-equals-success-the-importance-of-having-a-backup-and-disaster-recovery-plan/