Amazon.com Tops UK etailer Customer Satisfaction Index
Amazon.com is the top performing retail website in terms of customer satisfaction in the UK, according to a new study from ForeSee Results. The site got a score of 84 in the fourth annual Christmas Customer Satisfaction Index across the UK’s top 40 online retail websites during December. Measured as a separate entity for the first time, it edged out Amazon.co.uk (83), which was the top performing UK online retailer in 2008 and 2009. Play.com increased two points to round out the top three companies scoring over 80 (last year, just one website scored over 80, generally considered the threshold for excellence whilst using this methodology). John Lewis increased one…
Read MoreMobile marketing spend to hit 13.5bn by 2015 – Berg Insight
Mobile marketing and advertising is set to grow at an annual rate of 41pc to increase from 1.7bn in 2009 to 13.5bn in 2015, according to new research from Berg Insight. By 2015, it will account for 15.7pc of the total digital advertising market or 3.4pc of the total global ad spend for all media. Berg Insight said the mobile channel is becoming an integral part of the marketing media mix, “a progress that is eased by the increasing habitual mobile media consumption exercised by consumers”. “Handsets are extremely personal devices which people tend to always have within reach and most often switched on. This enables marketing opportunities which other…
Read MoreAmericans most likely to be online social networkers
Americans are most likely to use online social networks, according to a new study from the Pew Global Attitudes Project. Of 22 markets (not including Ireland) studied between 7 April and 8 May, respondents in the US most often said they use websites like Facebook and MySpace: 46pc said they use such sites, 36pc use the internet, but do not access these sites, and 18pc said they never go online. Poland (43pc), Britain (43pc) and South Korea (40pc) were relatively close behind the United States in social network usage. And at least a third of all respondents in France (36pc), Spain (34pc), Russia (33pc) and Brazil (33pc) said they engage…
Read MoreLunar eclipse to turn sky red
The sky over Ireland will appear blood-red just before 8 o’clock tomorrow morning due to a total eclipse of the moon. Tuesday is Winter Solstice 2010 and the full moon will turn red just before sunrise, casting a red hue over the whole sky. Astronomy Ireland said the event is a total lunar eclipse as the moon moves into Earth’s shadow. According to the organisation, sky-gazers will be able to see the moon get gradually darker from 6:32am. At 7:40am the moon will have entered totality. This will be the last total eclipse for at least five years. No viewing equipment is necessary to experience the spectacle. Astronomy Ireland will be holding their annual…
Read MoreTemperatures reach record lows of -16degrees
Met Éireann said that record low temperatures were seen in parts of the country last night, with some areas seeing temperatures as low as -16degrees. Sub-zero temperatures are expected to last for a few more days with a thaw not expected until Christmas Eve. Forecaster Evelyn Cusack said that there will be no thaw until Christmas Day, when rain and southerly winds are more likely. The weather continues to cause chaos for travellers. The AA has issued road warnings across the country. Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann have confirmed that most services are running as normal but there are some curtailments. Travellers are advised to check their websites – www.dublinbus.ie and…
Read MoreNew multiplex to make RTÉ and TG4 available across Northern Ireland
The UK and Irish governments have announced the construction of a new, low power TV multiplex in order to continue providing TG4 in Northern Ulster following the switch to digital at the end of 2012. As well as carrying TG4, the multiplex, which will be part of the UK DTT system, will also transmit RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2. It is hoped that this will further increase the coverage of these channels in Northern Ireland, enabling approximately 90pc of the population there to receive their services on a free-to-air basis, either through overspill as before or via the new multiplex. As part of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in April…
Read MoreAnglo Probe Leads to Four Complaints
Formal complaints against former Anglo Irish Bank chairman and CEO Sean Fitzpatrick and David Drumm are to go to an accountancy watchdog’s disciplinary committee. Following an investigation for the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board by former Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell, the two men face complaints, along with the bank’s former finance director Willie McAteer and Irish Life & Permanent’s former finance director Peter Fitzpatrick. Purcell looked at transactions by Irish Life & Permanent to Anglo which improved the bank’s accounts. He found that there was a prima facie case against all four men concerning these deposits. He found no case against the men for the loan taken by ten…
Read MoreSecuring The Future
Concerns over security and data privacy in the cloud need to be seen in the context of what organisations are currently doing to protect their confidential information, says Gordon Smith. Survey after survey rate security concerns as the main obstacle to cloud computing. Whether the risks are perceived or real is to some extent irrelevant; as long as they exist, cloud providers must address them or face reluctant customers, despite a persuasive business case that offers cost savings and flexible technology to meet a company’s needs. A recent report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), while broadly positive about cloud computing, cited significant barriers blocking its widespread adoption. Among the…
Read MoreExports continue to drive growth – Quarterly National Accounts
Ireland’s quarterly national accounts show that both GDP and GNP rose compared with the previous quarter. Seasonally-adjusted GDP and GNP grew 0.5pc and 1.1pc respectively. This is the first seasonally-adjusted increase in both since 2007, according to the Central Statistics Office. At an annual rate, GDP increased by 2pc, while GNP was up by 4.5pc. However, compared with the 2009 third quarter, GDP decreased by 0.5pc, while GNP fell by 1.6pc. Commenting, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said this year-on-year growth will turn positive during the final quarter or early in the new year. He attributed the growth in the economy to the “very strong” performance of the export sector.…
Read MoreGoodman Medical to create 115 Galway jobs
New positions in manufacturing, sales and marketing and research and development will be created in Galway as a result of a €1.1m investment by Goodman Medical Ireland. The medical devices firm announced the 115 high-end jobs today, stating they would be created over the next five years in the Mervue Business Park in Galway city. Recruitment has already begun for the manufacturing positions. The medical group was set up in 2004 in Ireland and currently employs 56 people. It manufactures cardiology products, such as catheters and bare metal stents. The €1.1m investment is supported by IDA Ireland. The Galway operations will be the firm’s sales and marketing centre for the…
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