EDITOR’S MAILBOX
Dear Editor, Recent research from comScore has
revealed that app-based internet traffic (47%) overtook desktop usage (45%) in US for the first time, while Gartner predicts that worldwide revenues from in- app purchases will grow from $4.6 billion in 2013 to $36.9bn by 2017, an increase of over 700%. This underlines the massive importance of apps to online businesses. But there is currently a disconnect between app development and where apps fit in to the overall strategy for customer engagement. To date it has been difficult to truly
assess the value of the app to the business. Most organisations have developed just one customer-facing app and, if they are measuring at all, are concentrating on download volumes. App creation is also often siloed, sometimes the responsibility of IT rather than a core marketing role; and rarely part of the strategic, multichannel customer experience. The app, however, is fast becoming
an essential component of the overall customer experience. And with apps fast emerging as a clear, distinct tool for marketers to engage with and target customers, it is time to take a far more strategic approach. Organisations need to be able to assess and refine the usability of the app; to determine why high volumes of app downloads are not converting into customer registrations or conversions; and understand the impact of the app experience on the customer’s overall brand perception. Moving forward, as organisations
increase app sophistication it will be essential to that apps no longer simply replicate website content; they form a critical element of key business processes such as booking and payment; and can hold exclusive content to drive brand loyalty. As such, understanding of app performance must improve: analytics and reporting should be far more sophisticated and tie into the business’ overall strategic goals. And this is key: the app is fast becoming a critical component of the
54 Spring/Summer 2014
marketing mix, but it is just one more channel. Organisations need a clear business led optimisation strategy across all aspects of the customer experience, including mobile and apps, to drive improved business performance and deliver a consistently strong customer experience. Yours sincerely, Nick Keating, Europe, Middle East and Africa vice president at Maxymiser
Dear Editor, News that online marketplace eBay is
forcing users to change their passwords after a cyber-attack compromised its systems early this year, shows that all retailers need to up their game when it comes to the operation of security best practices. For example, every website that
requires customer details to be stored for online accounts represents a potential risk. Standard best practice for the handling of customer data is to encrypt user data, but even then because there are only so many methods for encrypting data, it is possible to decrypt passwords through iteration and reverse engineering. In this example, eBay report that
the breach was perpetrated through use of employee access credentials to the customer database concerned, though it is not clear whether this was an ‘inside man’ hack or an external criminal that has acquired the necessary usernames and passwords. It highlights why security best practitioners call for a layered approach to procedural and technological defences. Force users to regularly change passwords but even then monitor user activity for unusual patterns of behaviour. Only provide access to data on a strict needs must basis, and only ever provide users with ‘lowest privilege necessary’ access. Don’t just rely on anti-virus, use file integrity monitoring too. Website providers need to recognise
that threats are more effective than ever and there can be no shortcuts when
implementing measures to protect customer data. The simple fact is that every business
is at risk at all times and defences and change detection mechanisms must be implemented now. Yours sincerely, Mark Kedgley, Chief technology officer at N T
ew N echnologies
Dear Editor, The payments industry has
traditionally been characterised by a growing shift from cash to card and this will continue, however, in recent times this has evolved into a shift from cash to digital use of cards, with the introduction of digital wallets and other alternative payment methods. A host of new entrants are entering
the market for digital wallets and as these players grow and jostle for position a range of mergers and acquisitions will take place as the market consolidates and settles down. As more digital channels open up and converge with established channels, security and compliance will also be paramount. It could be that the role and scope of the PCI [Payment Card Industry] Security Council expands to accommodate this and this will have additional implications for the payments industry as well as retailers themselves. The ongoing challenge for the
payments industry and retailers in particular is the need to keep up with developments, embrace the new technologies and make wise investment choices. The ability to make and accept payments needs to be extended to all retailer touchpoints, including mobile applications and social media, and just as important is the need to ensure retailers can track, update and respond to payments across all channels. Yours sincerely, Fintan Byrne, Ex
director of P T
ransaction N et
ecutive vice president and managing ayment Gateway Solutions at etwork Services
www.retailtechnology.co.uk
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