Skyscanner Reveals: 54% of Indian Travellers Prefer Flat Discounts over Packaged Deals

A recent survey commissioned by Skyscanner, a leading global travel search engine, revealed that 54% of Indian travellers prefer flat discounts when it comes to travel bookings. The survey which studied the booking habits and preferences of Indian travellers, highlighted that 38% seek flexibility of cancellation and rescheduling of their flights, while 37% hunt for packaged deals and offers.

"With over 116 million internet enabled smartphones, more and more Indian travellers are moving away from traditional methods of booking to a more evolved eco-system where they complete their transaction after browsing through all the available deals and discounts available. With the advancements in technology and increase of mobile and smartphone adoption, travellers now have the flexibility to plan a trip according to their budget – all at the convenience of their fingertips. Skyscanner saves people time by enabling travellers to search for flights, hotels and car hire options in one place by comparing results from over 1,000 partners – offering them the cheapest prices to choose from. Moreover, our “Price Alerts” enable travellers to monitor flight prices in real time," said Kavitha Gnanamurthy, Senior Marketing Manager, Skyscanner India.

The future of travel bookings
The survey revealed that while 45% of Indians prefer to make their travel booking on PCs, increasingly more travellers are booking through apps via their mobile and tablet devices (27%), followed by mobile web (13%). The same trend is reflected in Skyscanner’s data as the number of sessions recorded on mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) were 56%, followed by desktops at 44%. Convenience being the contributing factor to this trend, regular updates on promotional offers have also prompted the shift in how Indian travellers plan and book travel.

With credit card penetration at 21 million3, the survey also witnessed a changing trend among Indian travellers when it comes to payment methods. According to the survey, credit cards (49%) and debit cards (32%) are the most preferred modes of payment by travellers. 31% of Indian travellers prefer completing their transaction through Internet banking, while a small percentage (5%) of respondents favour PayPal as a mode of payment. On the other hand, the survey highlighted the barriers which hinder Indians from completing their transaction on their mobile device, with 38% of Indian travellers believe there are accompanying security issues, and 33% of respondents find it inconvenient.

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Remote Control Functionality is the Top Driver of Smartphone Upgrades: Peel Global Survey

New Delhi, India-- A global survey by Peel, the California-based company funded by ecommerce giant Alibaba, shows that infrared-based universal remote control functionality has emerged on the top of the list for buyers looking to upgrade to a new smartphone. The online survey had participation from 2140 smartphone owners worldwide. At 58%, users rated remote control capabilities way ahead of mobile payment capabilities (19%), finger print sensors (13%) and heart rate monitors (10%) as the feature they would be “most likely to use”.

Smartphone users in India, which is among the fastest growing smartphone markets, expressed a keen interest in remote control features, with 84% of respondents saying they were an “important” factor in their decision to purchase a new smartphone, just behind China (89%) and South Korea (85%). In the U.S., 52% said it was an important factor in their next smartphone purchase.


“While they have emerged globally as a major new use case for smartphones, universal remote capabilities are even more desirable in countries such as India because of the wider range of devices they can control in the home such as air conditioners, ceiling fans and heaters,” said Peel co-founder and CEO Thiru Arunachalam.

When asked to choose just one new feature to be available on their smartphone, 41% of the respondents from India chose “controlling their TV, etc. with IR remote,” followed by mobile payment capabilities (29%), fingerprint sensors (24%) and heart rate monitors (7%).

Remote control capabilities were first introduced on Android smartphones over two years ago and seem to be growing popular among users very fast. Today, many of the latest Android smartphones come equipped with an IR port which enables users to dump their plastic remotes in favor of using their phone to control their TV, set-top box, DVD player and other home electronics. Smart remote apps also allow users to find content to watch more easily, set reminders and even program DVRs.

In contrast, European smartphone owners surveyed by Peel appeared less aware of or interested in smart remote options with mobile payments ranking ahead of remote control features, followed by fingerprint sensors and heart rate monitors as influencing purchase decisions.

Where on one hand, IR remote capabilities are available in the U.S. and other developed nations only on high-end phones such as the Galaxy S and Note series from Samsung or the HTC One M8 and M9, yet on the other, several manufacturers in China, including Xiaomi, ZTE and TCL, and in India (Celkon, Panasonic, Alcatel OneTouch, Xolo) have begun to offer Android phones with advanced IR capabilities for as little as Rs.3199, including the recently announced A35K Remote from Celkon. The Peel Smart Remote has become the most popular app globally taking advantage of IR capabilities, with more than 115 million registered users who have generated over 100 billion remote commands to date.

While Apple so far has chosen not to include an IR port on any of its competing phones or tablets, two in five iPhone users surveyed said they would be interested in the same remote capabilities enjoyed by Android users.

Peel makes it easy for Indian consumers to switch to a smartphone remote because it works with all popular brands of TVs and air conditioners sold in India, and 600 set-top boxes, including those from Airtel, Tata Sky, Dish TV, Hathway, DEN and Siti Cable. For Indian consumers, Peel features TV listings from WhatsOnIndia. India is one of the fastest growing markets for Peel with users doubling every six months.

The use of smartphones to control the home is expected to continue to increase in popularity as more consumers add Internet connected household devices such as thermostats, plugs and lighting. Many believe that remote control will emerge as one of the valuable use cases driving the adoption of smart watches as well.

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Economist Intelligence Unit Survey – More Retailers Using Analytics, but Barriers to Effective Use Remain

A new survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit finds that nearly all respondents’ businesses have seen a positive economic return from investment in data analysis for the strategy area. Also, the single biggest barrier to retailers making effective use of data is figuring out what is useful amidst the overload—a problem cited by half of the respondents. These are among some of the major findings of The Data Storm: Retail and the Big Data Revolution, a new report from the Economist Intelligence Unit, commissioned by Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT), a leading global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company.

The report based on a survey of C suite executives from the retail sector in North America and Europe examines how retailers are reacting to, and how leaders are benefiting from, increasing volumes of data. It examines the role of data in customer experience, the benefits it is delivering in omni-channel commerce and corporate strategy and the regulatory challenges facing retailers, as they accrue greater and greater quantities of information.

Seventy-eight percent of all respondents’ businesses have seen a positive economic return from investment in data analysis for the strategy area. However, only 46 percent are confident that their firm’s analytical abilities are keeping up with data volumes. Tied for the second-biggest barrier to using large volumes of data is concern over whether doing so would really help improve decisions (32 percent). Nevertheless, respondents all say their firms are prioritizing data collection, but still only 36 percent of respondents believe that they have a well-defined policy for analysing the most valuable information.

“This research shows that while retailers realize the value of maximizing their use of big data and analytics, many are still unable to utilize the data they are collecting in full,” said Srini Pallia, Senior Vice President and Global Head, RCTG (Retail, Consumer Goods, Transportation and Government) Business Unit, Wipro. “To get the full value from the data they are collecting, retailers need to explore new avenues to apply data analytics throughout the organization that will improve decision making, efficiency and interaction with customers.”

Key findings of the report include:

Marketing is still the main focus: Marketing is the most common priority for data analysis spending by retailers in recent years: 46 percent of respondents put this spend amongst their top three areas of focus. Marketing also remains one of the core areas of big data spend in future, cited by 40 percent.

Using data to improve strategy is increasingly important: For the past two years, data analysis has been used more often in marketing than in strategy, which is on par with store operations. But in the next two years, strategy is set to take the lead, with 62 percent expecting to see relevant investment in data analysis to support strategy. Some 78 percent of all respondents’ businesses have seen a positive economic return from investment in data analysis for the strategy area, the highest figure for any function or process.

Data analysis is helping drive brand loyalty, but respondents think it can do more. Sixty-four percent of respondents report increased brand loyalty as a general gain from data analysis and 52 percent say big data has enabled them to expand their sales by offering the next logical item. Yet respondents remain uncertain that they reaping the full benefit of their data. Only 30 percent are confident that big data is delivering the sales increases that they had hoped, and most respondents (52 percent) simply are not sure.

Many retailers are still at the early stages of using big data: Only 46 percent of retail CXOs are confident that their firm’s analytical abilities are keeping up with data volumes. Meanwhile just 36 percent believe that they have a well-defined policy for analysing the most valuable information and 30 percent admit that they are not consistently obtaining value from it.

Data delivers in coordinating omni-channel commerce: Over half of respondents say that big data has brought gains in multi-channel sales (54 percent) and has made multi-channel customer tracking and management more profitable (52 percent). But 38 percent agree that managing differing pricing and margin strategies over varying channels is a major headache.

Legal restrictions on data usage are a major concern: Two-thirds of retail CXOs say that they have increased the amount of stored information on individual customers in the past year; 64 percent of them cite legal problems with data collection as a major barrier in its effective use. Data protection laws are tied for the second-biggest impediment to making effective use of use of large amounts of data in strategic planning and decision making in general, cited by 32 percent.


The Data Storm: Retail and the Big Data Revolution, is available free of charge at:
http://www.wipro.com/retail-big-data-revolution/

About Wipro Ltd.

Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of "Business through Technology" - helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner's approach to delivering innovation, and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of 140,000 serving clients across 61 countries. For more information, please visit www.wipro.com.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the world's leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis. It provides accurate and impartial intelligence for companies, government agencies, financial institutions and academic organisations around the globe, inspiring business leaders to act with confidence since 1946. EIU products include its flagship Country Reports service, providing political and economic analysis for 195 countries, and a portfolio of subscription-based data and forecasting services. The company also undertakes bespoke research and analysis projects on individual markets and business sectors. More information is available at www.eiu.com or follow us on www.twitter.com/theeiu

The EIU is headquartered in London, UK, with offices in more than 40 cities and a network of some 650 country experts and analysts worldwide. It operates independently as the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group, the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs.

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.

Media Contact Details: Vipin Nair, Wipro Limited, ,+91 (80) 39916260 , vipin.nair1@wipro.com , Subhashini Pattabhiraman, Wipro Limited, ,+91 (80) 39916558 , subhashini.pattabhiraman@wipro.com

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People in favor of NDA: Survey

The Zee Media Studies has conducted a survey about the current political scenario in India and they are going to choose which party to rule the country. Around 12,000 responded have participated in the survey, most of them choose the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to back to power in the next general election.

The UPA II has completed it four years tenure in the centre for the second time and it is on the way to complete it tenure by 2014. Most of the respondents also agreed that the UPA II government would complete it tenure.

If the survey taken in to consideration, then in the election NDA would be getting majority to form the government and Narendra Modi was the prime chose among the other candidates for the top job.

Around 45 percent of responded have voted in favor of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister of the India. While 10 percent of the respondents have selected L K Advani . Interesting few other have also selected some industrialists as the Prime Minister candidate, as they would like to top industrialists for the best job in the country.

Coming to the NDA, the coalition may become stronger after projecting Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister. However, there may be difference among coalition parties in NDA over the PM projection.

Few leaders do believe that projecting Naredra Modi would bring Hindu voters together as it was happen after the Ram Janam Bhumi issue. BJP and its allies may get the majority of Hindu votes upon projecting a strong saffron leader as the Prime Minister candidate.

However, election is an uncertain game for all, where projection could be right some time but may times the voters swing could not be conjecture.

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10 million Indians want to move to US: Gallup Poll

According to a latest opinion poll, More than 100 million people from across the world, including 10 million people from India, would like to move permanently to the US.


The Gallup poll said that 19 million Chinese would like to move to the US, followed by 13 million from Nigeria, 10 million from India and six million from Brazil and Bangladesh, each. The poll said about 13 per cent of the world's adults or about 630 million people, said that they would like to leave their country and move somewhere else permanently.



That somewhere else would be the US, for roughly 138 million people. The poll said that the US is the number one desired destination for potential migrants. Among other top rank choices for potential migrants are The UK, Canada, and France it said.

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Top 3 Trusted Brands in India- Nokia, Samsung and Sony

Brand Trust report is prepared by Trust Research Advisory, a part of the Comniscient Group. According to Brand trust report 2013, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony are India’s three most trusted brands this year. For 3rd straight year Nokia leads the ranking, while Samsung and Sony occupy the second and third positions.

• Bajaj has climbed down the ladder to 8th position from 7th position, in the previous year. 
• LG lost seven ranks when compared to last year and stands in the 10th place of most-trusted brand. 
• Airtel was consistent and maintained its position at number 9. 
• Reliance has made a progress of three ranks in comparison to 2012 and ranked 7th. 
• TATA again slipped three positions and was in the 5th position. 
• Godrej managed to move up to five ranks and stands out as the 6th most trusted brand. 
• BMW climbed 20 ranks and became India’s 4th most trusted brand.

The Brand Trust Report, India Study, 2013, lists 1,100 most trusted brands in India in 211 categories. And is the third in its series.

The report includes primary research based on 6 attributes, which is known as Brand Trust Matrix. Research was conduct from 16 different cities, and was conducted among 2,505 influencer-respondent and generated more than three million data points.

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Mobile Transactions to increase in India by 2015

According to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm, the mobile phone banking including the payments and transactions in India to grow by Rs.20,250 crore nby 2015.

Internet has brought the revolution in the banking sector too. And the advancement of technology in the telecommunication sector also brought revolution in mobile banking.

The banking industry has been growing as the internet usage for banking transactions.

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FMCG Sector booms in Rural India: NSSO

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has released the survey 2009-10 on household consumer expenditure on Friday.

According to the survey of NSSO, the FMCG sector has been booming in the rural India. As the rural India people have been spending more on consumer goods like durables, beverages and services for last five years.

It is believed that the high influence of advertisement may cause the boom in the FMCG goods in the rural market; however it was not confirmed in the survey.

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