Showing posts with label e commerce applications. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e commerce applications. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

E-commerce – Shopping of the Future

What is important to know about your favorite E-Commerce shopping websites

“The e-commerce industry is a force that no investor can afford to ignore” © Cushla Sherlock, Corporate Communications, Credit-Suisse. One of the most significant trends of the 21st century is characterized with replacement of traditional retailing with online shopping, gaining the central stage. Ensuring the highest level of convenience for customers has become a motto for thousands of companies offering their products and services online. Why? A happy customer means more sales!  
  While millions of consumers agree that online shopping is convenient, many people still avoid it, as they don't want shipping fees, want to pick up the item immediately or see it in person before purchasing. However, one of the biggest factors is security concerns. Here Blueninja.io provides few useful tips that will help you to determine whether the online shopping website you are going to buy from is a reliable site:

Domain name (URL)

If you’re wondering whether a particular website is legitimate, however, probably the most important thing is the domain name. Look in the address bar of your browser and see what the URL is. For instance, you have found a great deal on a Zara website. The website was complete with Zara logo, product search, online shopping cart, and more. But a closer look revealed that despite of Zara logo, the URL of the website was not www.zara.com, but rather www.NewPerfectStyle.com. (This website has been shut down and is now facing legal action for selling counterfeit goods, but beware of others like it that still exist today.) It’s not unusual for merchants to offer their products on third-party sites, thus, being familiar with this tip will help you to discover a fraud website.

Source code

When you visit a website, right click on the main page and have a look at the source code. Most professional and trustworthy websites are created by web design companies from scratch, therefore, if you see there a sentence that looks like this “Created with HTML Generator Plus”, it might be a sign that something is wrong.

Detailed information

The detailed information provided on the website is another important aspect of any online shopping website. Thus, if the online shopping site is reliable, you can easily find information about the seller, how to contact them, origin of the product, terms of service and privacy policy. However, if such information is hard to find, this should be an ‘alarm’ for you.

Check the SSL Certificate

Look at the URL of the website. If it begins with “https” instead of “http” it means the site is secured using an SSL Certificate (standing for secure). SSL Certificates secure all of your data as it is passed from your browser to the website’s server. To get an SSL Certificate, the company must go through a validation process.

Too steep discounts & coupons

Looking for cheap and affordable goods? Be careful when you see ‘too-good-to-be-true’ discounts. The unrealistic prices can be a warning sign of a fraud. Can a dress of a good quality cost RM10? Is it possible for a new smart phone to be RM100? Of course, no! Discounts are good, but only when the price remains realistic enough.  
  The most common examples of fraud e-commerce websites involve huge discounts, but what happens next? You pay for your goods online and patiently wait for delivery – but it does not happen. You check the website, but it is empty! Your ‘sellers’ spend your money, while you are trying to find out what happened. Be careful and check twice before pressing “Purchase”.

Gift card scams

There is no doubt that you love gift cards – but not only you: online scammers who want to steal your information and money love them too. You may get an email or SMS with an offer for a deeply-discounted gift card. It might say you won a $25 gift card for $1. Or it might say you won a $100 gift card for free! However, be careful. If the email asks for banking or credit / debit card information, delete it straight away. A legitimate and trustworthy company would never ask for that information. We admit that some online stores do have real gift card giveaways. So, how can you tell if your gift card prize is the real? Some online shops do offer gift cards delivered by email. So, for example, someone can order an Amazon gift card for you and have it appear in your inbox instead of your mailbox. First, call the person to ensure they actually sent it (also, it's a good opportunity to thank them). Besides, a real gift card will have a special code you can put in on the website to claim the money. The reliable e-commerce store won't ask you to supply any identity information, download an attachment or take you to a third-party site. _________________________________________ According to the website, Finder.com, below we provide the list of the most well-reputed online shopping websites:
  • Missguided
  • PrettyLittleThing
  • Boohoo
  • Showpo
  • Forever 21
  • com
  • ASOS
  • Urban Outfitters
  • Uniqlo
 
_______________________________________ Interestingly, in the arena of the world online shopping, not only buyers but also sellers can become the victims of online scams. eBay scams committed by buyers are one of the most well-known examples we are going to discuss further:  

Item is not received

Scammers often take advantage of new sellers that don't understand the rules of using PayPal (e-commerce website payment system). Many new sellers don't know about delivery confirmation. The scammer will use PayPal to pay for the item and wait for it to be delivered. Once the package arrives, the scammer will check if delivery confirmation was used. If it was, then you are safe and the scammer and will try to find another victim. However, if delivery confirmation is not used, the scammer will open a dispute with PayPal and claim the item was not received. Unable to show proof of delivery, PayPal takes the funds out of the seller's account and returns it to the scammer. There is nothing the seller could do other than learn a hard lesson. To prevent this type of scam from occurring, clearly state delivery confirmation will be used in the item listing. This will prevent scammers from bidding on your items in the first place. Shipments using UPS, FedEx, and DHL automatically come with delivery confirmation. You must add delivery confirmation for packages shipped by USPS. Keep the delivery confirmation number for at least 45 days after the payment was received. This is the time limit for buyers to initiate claims against sellers.

Buyer asks for shipping to different address

This scam usually occurs when an innocent victim's PayPal account has been hijacked. The scammer will not change the hijacked account's shipping address as this will send an email to the true account holder. Instead, the scammer will try to convince a seller to ship the item to a different address which is often in another country. Typically the scammer will claim that he is moving or that the item is for a friend. Don't fall for any stories. Ship your items only to the confirmed address. If the buyer want to ship to a different address, insist that the buyer change the shipping address on their PayPal account to where they want it shipped and reconfirm it. Otherwise you will be liable if a chargeback occurs.

Blame the Shipper for Damaged Item

A scammer will have a broken or damaged item that he wants replaced for free. The scammer will search for an eBay seller selling exactly the same item and offering shipping insurance. After the item is received, the scammer will switch the unbroken item for the bad one and claim it has been damaged. If the shipper grants the insurance claim, the scammer will get his item replaced for free. If the insurance claim is denied (because there is no damage to the box and the scammer forgot to smash it), the scammer will have the credit card company reverse the charges. If the purchase was eligible for seller's protection, then you will be protected and PayPal will eat the loss. Otherwise, PayPal will take the money from your account. This is a tricky area as PayPal will not cover claims of shipping damage. You can protect yourself from this scam by taking pictures of serial numbers or other unique identifying features. Be sure to include them in your listing. Scammers will avoid listings that can prove the item has been switched. Knowing more about these types of scams will help you to prevent any of those situations to occur. Tips provided by Blueninja.io are your key guidance in the world of online shopping websites. Explore new opportunities and ensure your security in the internet arena! Want to create an e-commerce website that will earn the trust and win the hearts of thousands of customers? Call Blueninja.io!

Thursday, August 30, 2018

MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES NEWS


LATEST MOBILE NEWS & UPDATES | SUMMARY

Introduction

Nowadays, more than five billion people have a mobile phone connection today. There are more mobile subscriptions than there are human beings on the planet Earth. Today’s 4G connectivity will give way to higher-bandwidth 5G access in the near future, ushering in another mobile technology boom that will further revolutionize the way we work and live (by Mobilebusinessinsights.com). Today we will have an overview of the mobile technologies news, that are directly related to SECURITY & SAFETY: safety of your data, business and even live. The current article is the summary of the major mobile news and latest updates (sources of the news are provided within the article), created by one of top mobile app development companies in Malaysia – Blueninja.io.

Better data security?

According to Google & New Atlas, two-factor authentication (2FA) has long been an effective protection against account hacking – meaning would-be intruders need something else besides a username and password, usually a SMS code from a mobile phone, to gain access – and today Google is taking 2FA one step further with its own mobile security keys.  
  If you've set up 2FA on your social networking accounts, or your Google or Apple IDs, you might be familiar with the process of entering a code sent over SMS or generated via an authenticator mobile app. Security keys replace that extra code with something physical that needs to be connected to the computer during the login process. There's always the chance of losing your key, of course, in which case you would need to nominate a backup method for getting into your account again (like a message to a separate email account). In theory though, the technique is more secure than a text or mobile app code, because those codes can be more easily intercepted. What's more, security keys such as the new ones unveiled by Google can work without a network and without battery power, which is useful for people on-the-go. Google's new product in the world of mobile technologies is called the Titan Security Key. Matching up with existing 2FA standards, it comes as either a USB stick for laptops and desktops, or as a Bluetooth dongle for connecting up to mobile devices. "We've long advocated the use of security keys as the strongest, most phishing-resistant authentication factor for high-value users, especially cloud admins, to protect against the potentially damaging consequences of credential theft," says Google's Jennifer Lin in a blog post. Security keys as part of 2FA aren't new, and you can already log into sites like Gmail and Facebook with keys from the likes of Yubico. That Google is now making its own products emphasizes just how secure the company thinks they can be, when used correctly. Earlier this week, Google revealed its employees have been required to use security keys since early 2017, reducing the number of successfully phishing attacks down to zero in the meantime. Even if hackers get hold of usernames and passwords, they can't gain access to any accounts without the physical key. Google is providing them for cloud business customers first, but says they will go on sale to everyone via the Google Store in the near future. Prices will be in the region of US$20-25 for a single key, or $50 for both the USB and Bluetooth models, CNET reports. It's definitely worth the few minutes these keys take to set up to keep your accounts better protected, whether you buy from Google or invest in a third-party alternative. However, the account itself also needs to support security key access: The likes of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Dropbox already do.

Technologies can save lives

App developer magazine, the urgent challenge for security personnel to noninvasively scan people in real time and in public to detect and “see” if they are carrying weapons or explosives without physically searching them could soon be solved with the launch of SWORD by Royal Holdings Technologies Corporation (Royal Holdings).  
  SWORD attaches to a Google Pixel 2 XL smartphone and Apple’s iPhone 8 Plus mobile app. It is accessed and controlled via a fully customizable and dedicated mobile app (Android / IPhone). From a distance of up to 40 feet, security agents or law enforcement personnel can scan individuals in a crowd or an approaching person of interest simply by pointing their smartphone at them with the SWORD device attached. They will be able to non-invasively determine if someone is carrying a weapon or explosive - all without the need for a physical search - and rapidly identify a person of interest. SWORD can be used to scan backpacks and handbags that are being carried or have been left unattended. It can also detect listening devices used for espionage and intelligence gathering. A featureless outline of the person being scanned is displayed, alerting agents to location and type of concealed weapons or explosives. Royal Holdings employs artificial intelligence (AI) to crosscheck and verify weapons and explosives with its cloud-based database. In addition, built-in facial recognition operating in real-time compares suspects to watch lists for positive identification. SWORD operates globally and features real time location sharing and generates real time alerts in the event of a mass shooting, terror threat, or terror attack.

Health and Technology are now interlinked

Healthcare is an area that has embraced mobile (application) technology, and while it's still in the infancy of adoption of this technology, it is already making profound improvements for many.  
  As reported by Duethealth, a full 31 percent of cell phone owners report having used their mobile device to access healthcare information, up from 17 percent two years ago. This growth is led by a diverse group of users: African Americans, Hispanics, people aged 18-49, and college graduates are the groups most likely to have used their phone to look up healthcare information. This presents an unprecedented opportunity for healthcare providers. By utilizing mobile technology platforms such as Duet Health, providers can increase the quality of healthcare in many ways. Mobile technology improves healthcare by solving common problems. 80 percent of what doctors tell patients is forgotten by the time they reach the parking lot and half of what they remember is incorrect. Platforms like DuetHealth allow healthcare professionals to communicate with patients through features like care-focused timelines, surveys, and journals. Now is the time for 21st century healthcare providers to adopt mobile health technologies. One-half of U.S. adults now own a smartphone. This percentage has nearly doubled in just two years, and the growth is driven by a diverse group of users. By offering mobile content, healthcare providers can reduce costs and attract new customers. Forward-thinking healthcare system would be well served to invest in the mobile app space, enabling them to meet the 21st century patient where he or she wants to be met: online, anywhere, at any time.

Conclusion

Mobile technology, in the variety of forms, including mobile apps, software, phones, tablets, and notebooks, is making our lives better than ever before. It happens in many ways, not the least of which is making communications routine. We can be in touch with those we need to reach immediately, whether work-related or personal in nature. Smartphones, laptops, tablets, and PDAs have given businessmen unprecedented access to their employees, customers, and vendors. Would you want Blueninja.io help you with the development of a great mobile application for your business? Give us a call anytime! The highly-qualified team of Blueninja.io provides an unforgettable experience for businesses and their clients through innovative digital solutions. Website design & Mobile Development, Web Application Development services, E-commerce web systems, Progressive Web Applications Development, SEO, Google Adwords and Social Media Marketing are just a small part of a wide service portfolio, opening doors to enormous opportunities for your business success. Stay connected with the best mobile application company, Blueninja.io, and be the first who will read our next article! With creativity in heart, with an idea in mind!

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

The era of mobile apps


Mobile apps are at the center of the developmental push

Morning in the 21st century: the first thing people do when they wake up is checking their smartphones…Gmail, Facebook, Twitter...Whenever we need a taxi or food delivery, we take out our mobile devices and get it within minutes. Sounds familiar, right? It is not possible to imagine our modern world without mobile phones or tablets. Thus, the role of mobile applications has increased in recent years, giving a signal to both small and large companies across industries to pay attention to the rising trend. Mobile application development is no longer an optional investment for businesses, but a necessity. Just look at these statistics for 2017 below, is not it impressive?  
  Many businesses have already started to take advantage of the mobile application development trend and achieved significant results! Let’s explore one of the greatest examples of a mobile app developed by L’Oreal, L’OrealMakeupGenious App. The L’Oreal augmented reality Makeup Genius app is based on innovative facial mapping technology to make your mobile phone camera into a virtual mirror that allows you to try on beauty products in real time.  
  The app scans your face and allows you to virtually apply makeup and try on specific products and looks specifically chosen by L’Oreal experts. Once the app identifies where your mouth, cheeks and eyes are, it’s easy and fun to try on makeup or complete looks. The unique features of the L’Oreal app is that it registers 64 facial data points and more than 100 facial expressions allowing the application to identify the user’s lips, eyes and facial contours. This advanced technology allows the virtual makeup to move with the user, if she turns her head to see how she looks from multiple angles and her facial expressions. You may also share your results and looks with friends on Facebook.  
Here are the major Ways Your Business Can Benefit From Having a Mobile App:
 #1 On-The-Go Marketing:Mobile Application offer On-The-Go marketing, meaning that customers can access your business anywhere and at any time. Regular use of your mobile application helps to enhance brand image or business. Regular use of your app reinforces your brand when they need to purchase something.
#2 Future Marketing Trend: According to predictions, mobile app is becoming a major marketing trend, as more than 1 billion smartphones gadgets are being used in the world and more than 70% of search queries are conducted through mobile devices. #3 Sales Increase:Mobile applications help to sell your products or services and also help to generate new leads for business development purposes. Apart from sales, mobile application also assists to enhance brand awareness among your targeted audience.
#4 Act as Social Platform: Through mobile applications, businesses become social with social networking websites, which allows to communicate with your customers on a regular basis. This ensures both brand awareness and in-depth customer insights, as your business might “listen” to the conversations and opinions of your client base based on their posts, comments and shares.  
#5 Improved Customer Care Service: Mobile apps enhance the customer care service provided by your business, as they enable a customer to order and purchase the product or service from anywhere and anytime. Maximized user experience is the key feature of mobile applications, which is crucial for the success of modern businesses. The mobile application allows customers to have all information at their fingertips.Countless apps and their participation in the various businesses and industries are being observed since 2010. Nowadays, many marketers believe that through mobile applications it is easier to connect with their customers, serving as one of the best marketing tools to contribute to business development.That’s why mobile apps have such a high level of importance for the modern business world. There is no doubt that, the full power and impact of mobile applications on business can be perceived by looking at the examples of companies, which took advantage of technology trend and turned it into multi-million profits. Jaguar Land Rover is one of those successful companies:  
  Land Rover Incontrol Remote Apps technology allows vehicle-optimized apps on your smartphone to be controlled through the vehicle’s touch-screen, including Contacts, Calendar, and Music Player. Land Rover’s InControl Remote app was designed to assist users in staying connected with their car and make their life easier. The app allows smartphone users to check the fuel level and dashboard alerts, locate the vehicle on the map, get walking directions to it, check if any windows or doors were left open, as well as request the Optimized Land Rover Assistance if the vehicle breaks down. In addition, some most recent models support premium features, like locking and unlocking the vehicle, controlling the temperature inside the car and resetting the vehicle’s alarm, if it’s triggered accidentally. The use of mobile apps can also be seen in the areas, such as communication, education, cooking, social media, online shopping, business and banking, however, social media still holds the dominant position:  
  On a regular basis, individuals seek for updated versions of those applications. Therefore, app developers and app developing companies, such as Blueninja.io, are continuously working to keep up-to-date with the demands. Due to this, there has been a recent significant increase in the number of new app developers and app development companies, where Asia in general, and India in particular, hold the dominant position:  
  In terms of communication, Indian app developers have developed apps, such as Skype, Telegram, Wechat, Facetime, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger for easy and better communication with our loved ones. Prior to the emergence of those mobile applications, we depended totally upon computers and laptops for Skype calls and huge charges for long-distance calls. Despite the popularity of social media apps, the mobile application development is also expected to gain significant influence in the educational and financial banking sectors. A wide number of leading app development companies, just like Blueninja.io have designed educational apps that have had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people across the globe. Those applications have become best friends to educationists and students from different countries and regions. EBooks, E-library, education videos, education games and many more are available today for various platforms and provide easy and quick access to high-quality educational materials that ordinarily could be accessed only in the libraries. Are you willing to learn a new language, let’s say Spanish, but don’t have enough time? Download FluentU for IOS or Android and have online lessons while cooking, having dinner or driving! Are you preparing for SAT exam, but feeling that your preparation takes too much time? Download Ready4 SAT and access hundreds of practice tests on-the-go: e.g., while waiting for food delivery or standing at the bus station. These and millions of other useful apps take only few minutes to be downloaded, but expect to have a significant influence on the world’s educational arena. In the banking and financial sectors, efforts have been made to ease the process of monetary transactions. The use of mobile banking is currently on the rise. Today, making bill payments, transfers or withdrawals can be done with the use of your smartphone, which has become a tool for online banking solutions. In terms of financial transactions, there are mobile apps, where an individual can easy make payments for goods and services without spending time in the bank. All these were not possible 15-20 years ago, however, with the advent of mobile apps on our smartphones, these have become possible. As regards to leisure activities, mobile apps offer you a vast number of interesting ways to spend your free time. Today, the emergence and availability of applications, such as video apps, games apps, and music apps to phone users have proven that mobile apps are not just relevant for communication and business, but also for human relaxation. Game apps have gained popularity in recent years,due to their unique transformation from the childish games to more sophisticated ones. For music lovers, there are hundreds of music apps, which they can use to listen to live music or play favourite downloaded songs. We also have access to reading apps that allows access to classic literature, academic materials and other types of books on any mobile device.

Conclusion

Why do we choose to use mobile applications in our daily life? Convenience, correct! The key feature of any mobile app is the high level of convenience it provides, in terms of time & cost saving. Making payments, purchasing products, accessing information and other activities are now possible with just one click on the mobile app’s icon. The nature of the human society implies that people tend to share with others and recommend what they like. In the case of mobile development, applications provide a high level of comfort, that undoubtedly, people like. Therefore, businesses have started to pay more attention to why create a mobile application: e.g., you will get more satisfied customers if you allow them to make online payment, rather than asking them to stand in a long queue in the bank. Let your clients save their time and costs, and you will get your happy customer base that will be recommending your business to others, thus, attracting more and more new customers. Is not it what you are trying to achieve? Yes! So, let’s get started!