Plastic Jungle, a site where you can sell unwanted gift cards or buy those cards at a discount, has raised $7.4 million in a second round of funding.




I actually wrote about new site with a similar idea called CardPool just a few hours ago. Both CardPool and Plastic Jungle are part of a larger category of gift card marketplaces, which also includes Swapagift. One of Plastic Jungle’s more attractive features is the ability to not just sell a card for slightly less than the official dollar value, but also to receive a higher amount in the form of an Amazon gift card.

The Mountain View, Calif. company says that during the 2009-10 holiday season, it made 450 percent more revenue than during the same period in 2008-09. The site also reports that it saves $35 on average per buyer, and that sellers usually receive an average of $110 per card.

Plastic Jungle previously raised $6 million from Shasta Ventures, who also participated in the new funding. This round was led by Redpoint Ventures.

[venturebeat]

The attitudes and behavior of Japanese consumers are shifting dramatically, presenting opportunities and challenges for companies in the world’s second-largest retail market.

After decades of behaving differently, Japanese consumers suddenly look a lot like their counterparts in Europe and the United States. Celebrated for their willingness to pay for quality and convenience and usually uninterested in cheaper products, Japanese consumers are now flocking to discount and online retailers. Sales of relatively affordable private-label foods have increased dramatically, and many consumers, despite small living spaces, are buying in bulk. Instead of eating out, people are entertaining at home. Workers are even packing their own lunches, sparking the nickname bento-danshi, or “box-lunch man.”

This fundamental shift in the attitudes and behavior of Japanese consumers seems likely to persist, irrespective of any economic recovery. That’s because the change stems not just from the recent downturn but also from deep-seated factors ranging from the digital revolution to the emergence of a less materialistic younger generation. An examination of the strategies of leading Japanese and multinational companies, along with interviews with more than two dozen executives of the most significant retail and consumer industry players, shows how consumers are changing and why (view our video interview with three of these executives, below). It also suggests the kinds of moves—such as rethinking relationships with customers and becoming more flexible about sales channels—that businesses must take to seize the opportunities created by Japan’s new normal.


How Japanese consumers are changing

Japanese consumers have long been both distinctive and reassuringly predictable. Unlike their counterparts in Europe and the United States, they eschewed low-priced goods, preferring high-end department stores and pricier regional supermarkets. They were willing to pay high prices for quality products, and their love of brands sparked the emergence of a mass-luxury market where owning expensive, exclusive products seemed essential rather than aspirational. This combination helped boost the country’s retail sales to an estimated ¥135 trillion ($1.48 trillion) in 2008, second only to the United States. Yet Japan’s consumers are rapidly changing, in four primary ways.


Hunting for value

Japanese consumers are reducing costs and questioning their famous inclination to pay for convenience: a September 2009 MyVoice Internet survey found that 37 percent had cut overall spending, while 53 percent declared themselves more likely to “spend time to save money” rather than “spend money to save time.” In apparel, high-end department stores concerned about the vanishing shopper have started leasing space within their stores to value-focused competitors such as casual-clothing chains Uniqlo and Forever 21, hoping that this will revive customer traffic. Japan’s leading skin care companies are more aggressively introducing lower-priced products. Luxury-goods companies are watching a decade of growth disappear, with year-on-year sales declines of 10 to 30 percent.

What’s more, sales of private-label products are booming. Experience in many North American and Western European markets suggests that once people switch to private brands, they rarely change back. Japan is in the early stages of this transition: until recently, the private-label penetration rate was just 4 percent, compared with the global average of 20 percent.¹ Japan’s largest retailer, Seven & I, which operates 7-Eleven convenience stores and Ito-Yokado general-merchandising stores, expects private-label sales to grow by about 60 percent, to ¥320 billion, this fiscal year.


Spending more time at home

The Japanese used to spend little time at home, as a result of factors such as long work hours and small living quarters. Yet almost 50 percent of a representative sample of consumers across a range of age groups and geographies are now spending somewhat or significantly more time there (Exhibit 1). The suddenness of this behavioral change has prompted a term for it: sugomori, or “chicks in the nest.” In fact, a September 2009 MyVoice Internet survey found that the top four ways people chose to spend their days off were surfing the Internet, watching television or reading the newspaper, sitting around the house, or listening to music. “I’ve seen people staying in more,” said Ernest Higa, CEO of Higa Industries, which operates Domino’s Pizza in Japan. “They’re not going out, because of the economic crisis.” (Hear more from Higa in our video interview, “Learning from the Japanese consumer—Three executive perspectives.”)

[mckinseyquartely]

World of Good Inc., a five-year-old social venture that connects artisans from developing communities with mainstream retail markets, announced today that eBay has fully acquired its brand and related assets.




World of Good Inc. also announced that GreaterGood/Charity USA has acquired its wholesale division and line of designer, Fair Trade products which will be re-branded, while existing relationships with retailers and artisan partners will be maintained. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

eBay's acquisition of the brand results from a two-year long collaboration between the two companies that led to the development of WorldofGood.com by eBay, the world's largest multi-seller marketplace for socially and environmentally responsible shopping. The transaction reflects eBay’s growing commitment to engaging consumers to affect social change through sustainable commerce. It also represents World of Good’s commitment to creating the greatest market opportunity for small, Fair Trade and environmentally responsible producers around the world. The online marketplace hosts hundreds of sellers, with tens of thousands of sustainable products from 85 countries.

"We are excited about the opportunity to scale the World of Good mission to an unprecedented degree through eBay," said World of Good co-founder and CEO Priya Haji. "Also, we are confident that GreaterGood will be an excellent steward of the retail partnerships we’ve built and will continue to grow Fair Trade through mainstream retail channels."

GreaterGood's acquisition of World of Good's wholesale division reflects its growing Fair Trade business, including its Global Girlfriend apparel line. Since 2004, World of Good has developed extensive retail product lines for partners like Whole Foods Market, Hallmark and Disney, among others. GreaterGood will continue to work with the same retail partners and artisan groups in order to grow market access for small artisan suppliers around the globe.





World of Good was founded in 2004 by U.C. Berkeley’s Haas Graduate School of Business MBA’s Priya Haji and Siddharth Sanghvi with the mission to help small artisan producers improve their livelihoods by providing them with access to mainstream retail markets. The company has impacted more than 40,000 individual artisans across 70 countries by connecting them with millions of U.S. consumers. Haji also founded World of Good Development Organization, a sister non-profit focused on improving the lives of low-income women in the developing world. In December 2009, the Development Organization was honored by The Tech Museum of Innovation for its Fair Wage Guide, a free, open-source platform that calculates fair wages for artisans around the world and specific to their locations. The organization will continue its work to create technologies and tools that help companies ensure fair wages to informal sector workers.

Robert Chatwani, Director of eBay Global Citizenship said of the acquisition, "We look forward to this next step in our commitment to building an integrated, sustainable shopping experience within the eBay marketplace and are dedicated to applying our reach, resources and business model to create a positive impact for people, the planet and communities throughout the world."

"GreaterGood is excited to grow the retail partnerships that World of Good built and to continue to help small artisan and Fair Trade producers reach these important retail channels," said Stacey Edgar, founder and president of Global Girlfriend and director of the GreaterGood Wholesale Division.






About eBay:

Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce and payments. Building on this positive foundation, eBay’s sustainability efforts harness our technology and reach to extend this positive impact into vibrant, sustainable commerce experiences. Our sustainability portfolio includes WorldofGood.com, the eBay Green Team, the eBay Foundation, eBay Giving Works and MicroPlace.


About GreaterGood/Charity USA:

The GreaterGood Network of websites (including TheHungerSite, TheBreastCancerSite, TheAnimalRescueSite, Global Girlfriend, and others) offers the public a unique opportunity to support causes they care about through a free daily click and Gifts that Give More™ (100% of these donations go to the cause of the patron's choice).  The GreaterGood Network's online stores offer more than 3,000 Fair Trade items, with up to 30% of the purchase price going to charity. In fiscal year 2009, the GreaterGood Network gave more than $3 million to more than 50 charities around the world.

  TRENDBIRD Exclusive ! 

Placecast has launched a new location-based mobile marketing service, called ShopAlerts, that aims to enable retail outlets to drive potential customers into their stores. The service uses SMS, which means that it will be available to all phone users, and not only Smartphone owners.

ShopAlerts works by allowing retailers to create their own version of the service, entering their location and brands. Consumers to opt-in to the brands they want to be notified about via SMS, social media sites, in store, the mobile internet or online.

Once a consumer has opted-in to a brand he just needs to go about his daily life, in the same way that he would have previously, and the service will automatically send him an SMS when he is near a location that he has opted-in for or when the brand is offering sales.

“SMS is already very effective marketing platform and by adding location to the proposition you’ll see even greater consumer response,” said Greg Sterling, senior analyst for Opus Research’s Internet2Go program.

The key to the service is that it creates a “geo-fence”, which is a virtual boundary around the retail outlet that allows retailers to talk to consumers who enter this virtual area. Entering the virtual boundaries triggers a customised SMS that is delivered automatically to shoppers.

“Geo-fence technology represents the next frontier for digital marketing as consumers expect to connect with brands at the right place and time, all via their mobile device,” said Alistair Goodman, CEO for 1020 Placecast.

The service has been running a pilot program across the US with brands such as SONIC, American Eagle Outfitters and REI since September 2009. Participants in the trial who were surveyed have given very positive feedback:

• 60% of participants found the location-triggered messages to be cool and innovative
• 79% said it increased their likelihood of visiting a store
• 65% made a purchase as a result of a ShopAlerts message
• 73% of participants would definitely or probably use the service in the future

To view how the service works, take a look at the following video:

About 1020 Placecast, Inc.

1020, Inc. is the developer and owner of Placecast, the first location-based platform specifically designed to use digital marketing on mobile to drive consumers into physical environments. 1020’s groundbreaking Placecast service recently earned the company the OnMedia Top 100 Award, given to game-changing companies in the marketing, branding, advertising, and PR industries. Current partners include NAVTEQ and Alcatel-Lucent, and marketers include The North Face, FedEx Office, Avis and Budget Rental Cars and Hyatt Hotels. 1020 is funded by ONSET Ventures, Quatrex Capital, and Voyager Capital

 

[mobiadnews]