Amazon swamped by ‘fake’ five-star reviews
Amazon’s product review system is being inundated with “fake” five-star reviews for unfamiliar brands, according to an investigation by Which?.
The consumer group analysed the listings of popular tech products in 14 categories including fitness trackers, smartwatches and headphones. It found that items with the best reviews were dominated by brands such as Aitalk, Vogek and Itshiny, none of which are well known.
In many cases the reviews were unverified – meaning there is no evidence the reviewer had bought or used the product – and posted within a short period of time. For example, a set of headphone from the brand Celebrat had 439 five-star reviews all unverified and posted on the same day.
“Our research suggests that Amazon is losing the battle against fake reviews, with shoppers bombarded by comments aimed at artificially boosting products from unknown brands,” says Natalie Hitchins, the head of home products at Which?.
“Amazon must do more to purge its websites of unreliable and fake reviews if it is to maintain the trust of its millions of customers. To avoid being misled and possibly buying a dud product, customers should always take reviews with a pinch of salt and look to independent and trustworthy sources when researching a purchase.”
Amazon responds: “[We] invest significant resources to protect the integrity of reviews in our store because we know customers value the insights and experiences shared by fellow shoppers. We have clear participation guidelines for both reviewers and selling partners and we suspend, ban and take legal action on those who violate our policies.”
READ MORE: Flood of ‘fake’ five-star reviews inundating Amazon, Which? finds
Publicis makes biggest ever acquisition with deal for Epsilon
Publicis Groupe has made its biggest ever acquisition – and one of the largest ever in the ad industry – with a deal to buy Alliance Data Systems’ Epsilon unit for $4.4bn.
The purchase is part of Publicis’s strategy to become the “preferred transformation partner for our clients” and will give the agency holding group access to a lot more first-party data. Epsilon specialises in loyalty and CRM and has data on more than 255 million people, as well as employing a huge number of data scientists.
Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun tells the Financial Times: “With the acquisition of Epsilon, Publicis Groupe is bringing the necessary technology, expertise and the talent to complement our offer in creativity, media and business transformation.
“The new market imperative is to deliver personalised experiences at scale. There is no way our clients will continue to grow and reduce costs if they can’t deliver this in their own markets.”
Publicis believes the acquisition will boost a number of its businesses. On creative, it claims Epsilon will offer customer insights that can help brands build more relevant campaigns. On media, the data will help improve segmentation and maximise media ROI. And on digital transformation it claims the deal will allow Publicis to deliver deeper insights to optimise business models.
Social media sites may be forced to turn off ‘like’ function
Social media sites including Facebook and YouTube may be forced to turn off the ‘like’ function for children in the UK over concerns the buttons keep young users online for longer.
The proposed guidelines, drawn up by the Information Commissioner’s Office, suggests 16 online standards that social media companies should meet, including settings defaulting to ‘high privacy’. It also suggests location-tracking should be off my default, more robust age-verification systems and informing children if parents are monitoring their online activity.
Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham says: “This is the connected generation. The internet and all its wonders are hardwired into their everyday lives. We shouldn’t have to prevent our children from being able to use it, but we must demand that they are protected when they do. This code does that.”
Monsoon Accessorize joins retailers launching CVA
Monsoon Accessorize is gearing up to launch a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) as it considers ways to restructure the business that could include the closure of up to 50 stores.
The retailer has appointed Deloitte to look at options to reduce its costs, including on rent and leases. Stores across the UK could be closed, although a report in Drapers says a list of target stores has not yet been decided.
Monsoon Accessorize has almost 270 stores in the UK and around 4,000 employees. It has already closed 40 stores as it fights falling high street footfall and weak consumer spending.
A spokesman for Monsoon Accessorize says: “The UK retail trading environment is tough and we are continuing to look at options to reduce our overall costs as we restructure the business in the UK and internationally. We have made no secret of the fact that we have steadily reduced our store portfolio in recent years and shall continue to do so as leases expire. We are looking at options to accelerate these store closures.”
Monsoon Accessorize is the latest in a growing list of retailers looking for ways to cut store numbers amid tough conditions on the high street. Deloitte is also reviewing Topshop-owner Arcadia’s business, while Debenhams brought in consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal’s MD to restructure the business.
READ MORE: Monsoon Accessorize plans to launch CVA
JD Sports sees off high street challenges to report record performance
JD Sports has seen off the challenges on the high street to report record profits as it benefited from acquisitions in a difficult retail market.
Headline pre-tax profit jumped 15.5% to £355.2m for the 53 weeks to 3 Feb, while revenue was up 49.2% to £4.72bn. Both were ahead of analysts’ expectations of profits of £349.2m and revenue of £4.56bn.
The company has bought firms including US-based Finish Line and Footasylum in the past year. It has also benefitted from a trend among consumers for ‘athleisure’ and a more international footprint.
Its performance is in stark contrast to much of the rest of the high street, which as been hit by lower consumer spending and higher costs.
READ MORE: JD Sports posts higher full-year profit in tough retail space
ASA wins judicial review over use of the term ‘fibre’ in broadband advertising
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has won a judicial review into its decision to allow companies to use the term ‘fibre’ in broadband ads even when the service offered was only part-fibre.
The review was instigated by CityFibre, which believed the term should only be allowed to be used when providers were offering a full fibre broadband service. The ASA had based its decision on research which found that consumers did not identify the term ‘fibre’ as one of the priorities when choosing a broadband package, did not notice it in advertising, and did not change their decision on which broadband package to purchase when they knew the meaning of fibre.
The ASA says: “We welcome the court’s decision which finds in the ASA’s favour on all grounds and dismisses CityFibre’s arguments.
“The review of the evidence we undertook to arrive at our position on the use of the term ‘fibre’ to describe part-fibre services in ads was based on robust methodology and open minded analysis of all of the arguments. The process we followed to test if the average consumer is being misled by the use of the term ‘fibre’ to describe part-fibre services is the one we have used to protect UK consumers from misleading advertising for many years and we are pleased that the Court has supported our approach after a hard fought legal process.”
Monday, 15 April
L’Oréal launches AI-powered spot-scanning tech
L’Oréal skincare brand La Roche-Posay is launching the first spot-diagnosis tool engineered by artificial intelligence to provide skin diagnosis and recommendations for spot and acne-prone skin.
The free Spotscan tool, available on Boots.com, contains extensive data sourced by dermatologists, including more than 6,000 dermatologist patient photos of all ethnicities, sourced and graded by acne experts.
Using an iPhone or Android device, Spotscan will take three images of the user’s condition. The user will receive their grade and a total count of the number of blackheads, inflammatory spots and brown marks left by spots.
Following this the tool will educate with tailored skincare advice as well as La Roche-Posay product recommendations based on their skin type and grading. Where appropriate the tool will redirect patients with more serious acne to a specialist.
The results can be saved as a screenshot and the tool re-visited at any time, allowing users to track their skin progress as they incorporate the Spotscan tool’s recommendations.
Diageo to remove plastic from Guinness multipacks
Diageo is removing plastic from multipacks of its Irish stout brand Guinness as part of a £16m initiative to reduce its plastic footprint.
The plastic will be replaced with 100% recyclable cardboard in Ireland from August and in the UK and across the world next year.
The global drinks giant is also ditching plastic ring carriers and shrink wrap from its beer brands Harp, Rockshore and Smithwick’s.
“Managing our environmental impact is important for the planet and the financial sustainability of our business,” says Oliver Loomes, country director of Diageo Ireland.
“We already have one of the most sustainable breweries in the world at (Dublin’s) St James’s Gate and we are now leading the way in sustainable packaging. This is good news for the environment and for our brand.”
READ MORE: Guinness maker Diageo removes plastic from multipacks
Manchester United unveils diversity campaign
Manchester United is building on its commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion with a new campaign that launched for the weekend’s Premier League home game.
The #allredallequal campaign, which was first developed during the 2016/2017 season, includes a film featuring members of the men’s and women’s teams addressing the message, showing the players’ reaction to discriminatory opinions and social posts.
The club’s website and social media will feature messaging around the club’s opposition to discrimination and promoting the #allredallequal commitment to its diverse global fan base.
Banners were also displayed on the Old Trafford East Stand, outlining United’s promise to equality, and a centre-circle flag was placed on the Old Trafford pitch to mark the occasion.
“The club has worked closely with equality stakeholders to ensure our inclusion and diversity work supports a wide range of initiatives,” says Manchester United’s Group managing director, Richard Arnold.
“We’re privileged to have players, staff and supporters from diverse backgrounds, and embrace the responsibility we have to make a positive impact on everyone who visits Old Trafford and supports the club, no matter where they are in the world.”
TSB to refund fraud victims
TSB has become the first British bank to promise to refund customers who become victims of fraud.
Under the fraud refund guarantee, TSB will reimburse customers who are tricked into authorising payments to fraudsters, as well as unauthorised transactions. Currently customers who move money to fraudulent accounts are less likely to be reimbursed because they carried out the transaction themselves.
The bank’s acting chief executive says it is “about giving piece of mind” to customers and “doing the right thing”.
“It’s a major societal blight. Innocent customers are being tricked,” he says. “If you [crooks] come for one of my customers, we will hunt you down.”
The guarantee comes into effect from 14 April. TSB is also investing in education for customers and staff about fraud.
READ MORE: TSB pledges to refund fraud victims
Better weather puts spring in high street footfall
High street footfall increased by 2.5% over the five weeks between 24 February and 20 March, a marked change from the 8.6% decline for the same period last year.
According to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium, overall footfall increased 1.4% compared to a 6% decline in March 2018. On a three-month basis, it dropped by 0.3%, with the six and 12-month averages both at 1.4%.
Retail park footfall was up 1.5%, while shopping centre footfall entered its 24th month of consecutive decline, down 1%.
“Retailers will be relieved to see footfall up from last year though this is was heavily influenced by the weather: while shoppers in 2018 were contending with the “Beast from the East”, this March has been mild by comparison. Unfortunately, the higher footfall has not translated into higher spending,” says Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.
“The data also showed that shopping centres continue to suffer, with 24 consecutive months of decline in footfall. It is vital that all different shopping locations are fit for the future, offering the mix of retail and experience-led opportunities that generate the necessary footfall to succeed. Furthermore, Government can support this transformation by reforming the outdated business system which holds back firms from investing in physical space.”old