Technology

1 – 0 In England Vs World Cup Hackers

It has been reported that the England football team have been briefed before flying out to their World Cup base in St Petersburg about how they and UK fans can avoid falling victim to Russian hackers.

NCSC Advice

The briefing has been delivered by The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ. The advice will focus upon cyber security e.g. for mobile devices and using Wi-Fi connections safely while in Russia.

The same advice has been included in an NCSC blog post that is aimed at anyone travelling to Russia to watch any of the World Cup game, and is entitled ‘Avoid scoring a cyber security own goal this summer”.

The NCSC suggests that is it should be read alongside other UK government online advice pages such as the “FCO Travel Advice” page relating to Russia (https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia), and the “Be on the Ball: World Cup 2018” pages (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/be-on-the-ball-world-cup-2018).

Why?

Many security experts and commentators have noted that sporting events have become a real target for cyber criminals in Russia in recent times. Russia-based security company, Kaspersky, reported seeing spikes in the number of phishing pages during match ticket sales for this year’s World Cup. Kaspersky reported that every time tickets went on sale, fraudsters mailed out spam and activated clones of official FIFA pages and sites offering fake giveaways, all claiming to be from partner companies.

Kaspersky says that criminals register domain names combining the words e.g. ‘world,’ ‘worldcup,’ ‘FIFA,’ ‘Russia,’ etc, and that if fans look closely they can see that the domains look unnatural and have a non-standard domain extension. The Security Company advises that fans should take a close look at the link in the email or the URL after opening the site to avoid falling victim to scammers.

The general advice from Kaspersky is to give cheap tickets a wide berth, not to buy goods from spammers in the run-up to kickoff (because the goods may not even exist), not to fall for spam about lotteries and giveaways because they may be used for phishing, not to visit dubious sites offering cheap accommodations or plane tickets, and only to watch broadcasts on official FIFA partner websites.

Kaspersky also advises visitors to use a VPN to connect to the Internet, because, in the aftermath of the government’s attempt to block Telegram, popular sites in Russia are either unavailable or unstable.

England Team’s Briefing

England team Manager, Gareth Southgate, has noted that the England team players are young people who will look for things to occupy their time while in hotel rooms e.g. playing video games, and using multiple devices such as smartphones, tablets and gaming devices. The fact that technology will play a big part in the England team’s downtime throughout the tournament is the main reason why the FA is taking cyber security so seriously.

It is understood, therefore, that the NCSC has been advising the players on the rules to follow on e.g. which devices they can safely use and where. Also, the devices belonging to players and staff will be thoroughly screened to make sure they have the right security software installed.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Anyone travelling abroad for business or pleasure, particularly to countries where certain cyber security threat levels are known to be high should read the UK government’s advice pages relating to cyber security while travelling.

In the case of travelling to Russia for the World Cup, some of the measures people can take before travelling are to check which network you will be using and what the costs are, to make sure all software and apps are up to date and antivirus is turned on, to turn on the ability to wipe your phone should it be lost, and to make sure all devices are password protected and use other security features e.g. fingerprint recognition.

On arriving in Russia, the advice is to remember that public and hotel Wi-Fi connections may not be safe and to be very careful about what information you share over these connections e.g. banking. Also, don’t share phones, laptops or USBs with anyone and be cautious with any IT related gifts e.g. USB sticks, and to keep your devices with you at all times if possible rather than leave them unattended.

The full UK government advice can be found here https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/avoid-scoring-cyber-security-own-goal-summer.

Tech Tip – Alexa Skills Commands That Could Help At Work

Amazon’s Echo speakers may be used mainly in the home, but putting the listening / privacy fears aside, they can be useful in a business setting, particularly in small business settings / home offices. With this in mind, here are four skills commands that could help you:

Create Reminders – Alexa can act like a personal assistant. For example, you can tell Alexa exactly what you need to remember e.g. business appointments on certain days / times and it will remind you of that task and time. To create a reminder, say the task and its time such as, “Alexa, remind me to review customer accounts 10 a.m. every Monday”.

Create Distinctive Voice Profiles – By setting up voice profiles, Alexa can distinguish who is issuing the command e.g. different people in the office can ask “Alexa, what’s on my calendar?” Ask Alexa for details of how to do it.

ChatBot Skill – By enabling the ChatBot skill, workers can audibly request Alexa to post on their behalf. This can aid productivity. It can be achieved by linking an Amazon account to a Slack account. Users can then post to a specific channel by asking simply Alexa.

Find Your Phone – You can use Alexa to help you find your phone by using your voice. This is a free skill available from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PHYQD2?ie=UTF8&ref-suffix=ss_rw. The phone should ring even if it is on silent. It may not work if your phone is in Do Not Disturb mode, but you can add multiple people by name to call different phones instead of just one.

Fined For Using a Smart Watch At Traffic Lights

In a recent court case in Canada, an Apple smartwatch was classified as being the same kind of distraction as a mobile phone as a student was handed a fine for being observed looking at her Apple watch while waiting at traffic lights.

Distraction Law in Ontario

Student Victoria Ambrose is reported to have fallen foul of Ontario’s strict ‘distracted driving’ law.

In Ontario, the law states that using a phone to talk, text, check maps or choose a playlist while you’re behind the wheel all count as distracted driving, as do other activities like eating, reading or typing a destination into a GPS.

In the case of Victoria Ambrose, the judge likened the Apple smartwatch to being as much of a distraction as a “cell phone taped to someone’s wrist”.

Defence

In her defence, the student said that she had looked at the watch to tell the time, and that, because the watch was securely fastened to her wrist, it should be subject to an exemption in the Ontario law which covers devices that are “securely mounted”.
The Judge rejected both arguments, and said that the amount of time she was observed looking at the watch meant that she was distracted while driving, rather than simply glancing at her watch to find out the time.

According to Ontario’s Ministry of Transport data, deaths from collisions there, caused by distracted driving have doubled since 2000, and 2013 data shows that one person is injured in a distracted-driving collision every half hour, and a driver using a phone is four times more likely to crash than a driver focusing on the road

Fine

In this case, the student was fined Canadian $400 (£230).

Warning In The UK

Back in 2014, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) issued a warning about looking at smartwatches while driving, saying that smartwatches are covered by existing laws designed to stop people checking gadgets while on the move, and that drivers caught texting from a smartwatch will have given police enough material to be able to charge them.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

This story illustrates that while technology can be helpful, it can also be potentially dangerous and / or costly distraction.

In the workplace, for example, studies show that smartphone-users touch their device somewhere between twice a minute to once every seven minutes, and that conducting tasks while receiving e-mails and phone calls can reduce a worker’s IQ by approximately ten points relative to working in uninterrupted quiet.

In an age where 85% of UK citizens use smartphones (Deloitte figures, Oct 2017), there are arguments as to whether they, and other gadgets e.g. with BOYD policies, are helping or hindering productivity.

For companies with employees who drive as part of their work, this story should illustrate the need to warn employees of the current law and safety recommendations regarding distraction, and if possible, to ensure that they have appropriate hands-free equipment to use while handling work calls.

Facebook Losing the Battle For Teenage Attention

A study by Pew in the US has found that Facebook is now lagging behind YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, as a platform where teenagers spend their time.

Down To 4th Place

The study, which involved 750 teens in one month earlier this year, found that Facebook has experienced a 20% point drop since 2015 in its usage by teenagers. Even though 51% use Facebook, this is still a long way behind the 85% preferring YouTube (Google-owned), 72% preferring Instagram (which is owned by Facebook anyway), and the 69% preferring Snapchat.

What’s Been Happening?

An eMarketer report illustrates what’s been happening. The report predicts that in 2018, 2.2 million 12 to 17-year-olds and 4.5 million 18 to 24-year-olds will regularly use Facebook in the UK, but this is 700,000 fewer than in 2017. Most of the young defectors appear to be going instead to Snapchat.

The same report shows that there has been a surge in older users of Facebook, and over-55s will become the second-biggest demographic of Facebook users this year. For example, 500,000 new over-55s are expected to join Facebook in 2018, and this will bring the number of 55- to 65-year-old-plus regular Facebook users this year to 6.4 million.

Passing Over Instagram For Snapchat

One of the reasons why Facebook bought Instagram was so that it could at least keep some of the young people who were deserting Facebook as customers as of one of its services.

Unfortunately, what’s been happening is that young people appear to have been leaving Facebook, and going to Snapchat instead of Instagram. For example, in the last 3 years Snapchat has more than doubled its take-up rate among UK users of social networking sites and apps to 43%.

Why?

It is an age-old feature of teenagers and young people, because of a need for independence and privacy, they would prefer not to go to the same places as their parents, and this is what has been happening on Facebook to some extent.

Also, many more young people have smartphones, and they use them to go where other members of their age / peer group go i.e. on Snapchat. It doesn’t help also that Facebook has received a lot of bad publicity recently over its involvement with the sharing of user data with Cambridge Analytica, and the part it played in allegedly being used by representatives of certain foreign powers to help sway the election result towards Trump.

Facebook has also proved particularly attractive in recent years to older people who have found that its video and photo features are easy to use, and enable them to keep up with the social lives of their older children, and grandchildren,

Facebook For Kids

Facebook has long known that it has been attracting an older demographic, and that young people have been leaving the platform in pursuit of a new experience, and to stay in touch with other members of their peer group.

Attracting a new, young group of Facebook users looks likely, therefore, to be one of the main reasons why, back in December 2017, Facebook announced that it was launching a kind of Facebook for children the form of ‘Messenger Kids’. Some commentators said at the time that it appeared to be a way for Facebook to recruit its next generation of users, and to capture the attention of 6 to 12-year-olds before Snapchat or a similar social network competitor

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

For Facebook, even though it recognises (and is trying to solve) the problem that it faces in attracting teenage users, it still remains the most popular social networking sites in the UK by a long way, boasting 32.6 million total regular users this year. Also, Facebook’s Instagram is looks likely to grow its user base from 15.7 million to 18.4 million this year, although it also appears to be losing young users to Snapchat.

For businesses wishing to advertise, Facebook is likely, therefore, to be a way to advertise to older age groups e.g. those in their 40,s, 50s, and above. In fact, Facebook has also announced an overhaul of its news feed algorithm to prioritise what friends and family share, and to reduce the amount of non-advertising content from publishers and brands.

Businesses with older customer demographics may also want to keep making the most of their company Facebook business page.

Google Accused of Being ‘Unethical’ Over Cryptocurrency Ad Ban

Some industry commentators have suggested that Google’s motives for introducing a blanket ban on cryptocurrency ads may not be all they seem, and could make the company appear unethical.

What Ban?

Back in March, Google followed Facebook’s lead (from January) and imposed a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency adverts on its platforms. The ban, which starts from this month, was announced following reports of scammers using adverts on popular platforms to fraudulently take money from people who believed they could cash in on the massive rise in the value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

A popular con has been to use scam ad campaigns to sell units of a cryptocurrency ahead of its launch – known as initial coin offerings (ICO). Research has found that 80 per cent of ICOs have been fraudulent.

Also, the cryptocurrency value bubble led to the rise of ‘crypto-jacking’, where devices are taken over by people trying to mine crypto-currencies e.g. using Android phone-wrecking Trojan malware ‘Loapi’.

Why Unethical?

Online tech commentators have been quick to point out that even though Google has said that it made the move to ban cryptocurrency ads to confront criminality, protect web users, and to regulate what their users are reading, Google is also believed to have an interest in cryptocurrencies itself.

For example, back in May, Google is reported to have approached the founder of the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency, Ethereum, to explore possible market opportunities for the two companies. In fact, some commentators believe that Google may be acting unethically by banning cryptocurrency adverts because it is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency and, therefore, wants to give its own product the best chance in the marketplace.

This idea has been strengthened by the fact that Google continues to show adverts with links to gambling websites and other services which some would describe as unethical. It has been suggested that Google appears willing to ban cryptocurrency adverts, but still allows job postings, and adverts for anti-virus software or charities, all of which can also be known entry points for scammers.

Blockchain Ambitions

Google is also thought to have ambitions to make use of blockchain, which is among other things, the underlying technology behind the bitcoin currency. It is interesting that this interest follows Facebook, which is reported to be setting up a blockchain group that will report directly to the company’s CTO, Mike Schroepfer.

Circumvented

Putting a blanket ban on cryptocurrency adverts does not appear to have been an entirely successful strategy for others i.e. Facebook. For example, some advertisers have been able to circumvent Facebook’s cryptocurrency ad ban by abbreviating words like cryptocurrency to c-currency, and by simply switching the letter ‘o’ in the word bitcoin to a zero.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Google is a powerful private company, and with other big players in the market, it is looking to make the most of market opportunities e.g. Facebook, and it is only natural that Google is likely to also want to explore the potential of those opportunities, even if it has made an ethical stand in public about cryptocurrency adverts.

This story does illustrate, however, that ethics play an important part in business, and can play an important role in supporting the value of a brand, particularly in a digital world where inconsistencies can be spotted and widely reported immediately.
When you think about it, Google has a trusted brand and is well placed in the market to perhaps get involved in, or even produce its own cryptocurrency, particularly where there are profits to be made and when cryptocurrencies appear to have an important future beyond the initial bubble of bitcoin-mania. The important thing for Google is that it, along with Facebook, was seen to be doing the right thing when cryptocurrency scam adverts began making the news, and there is still no real, firm proof that Google will commit itself to its own cryptocurrency yet.

It is also not surprising that companies such as Google and Facebook would want to explore the huge potential opportunities that blockchain offers. It is worth remembering that blockchain has shown itself to have many great uses beyond just cryptocurrecies e.g. enabling students to share their qualifications with employers, recording the temperature of sensitive medicines being transported from manufacturer to hospital in hot climates, as a ledger to record data about wine certification, as a ledger for ownership and storage history, as a system for tracking consignments that addresses visibility and efficiency, and for sharing information between energy suppliers to speed the supplier switching process. Dubai has also invested in using blockchain to put all its documents on blockchain’s shared open database system by 2020 in order to help to cut through Middle Eastern bureaucracy, speed up civic transactions and processes, and bring a positive transformation to the whole region.

Both cryptocurrencies and blockchain have a long way to run yet, and Google and Facebook will certainly not be the only web giants exploring their potential.

Visa Crash In Europe Causes ‘Cash Only’ Chaos

On Friday 1st from 2.30pm, a Europe-wide system failure at Visa that left shoppers embarrassed as their card payments were declined and stores switched to ‘cash only’.

Not Just Visa Customers

To make matters worse, because a range of different banks and other financial institutions use Visa’s payment system, even those making transactions using non-Visa branded cards were affected and were unable to make purchases.

The problem was compounded by the fact that it happened at a time when many people were leaving work on a Friday. There have also been reports circulating that even if some card purchases were declined, the money may still have been taken from accounts, and customers have been urged to check.

What Happened?

There are no precise details as to the reason for the system crash other than Visa’s explanation as a “hardware failure”.
Visa has also been quick to announce that it has no reason to believe that the system crash was associated with any unauthorised access or malicious events.

ATMs Still Working in UK

In the UK, although many customers found themselves in extremely awkward situations e.g. unable to pay for meals or petrol, customers were still able to take cash out of ATMs (if there was one nearby). This led to large queues forming at ATMs in towns and cities across the country.

Queues

Whereas many customers faced the embarrassment and inconvenience of having their cards declined in shops across Europe, others found themselves being forced to wait in queues because of the disruption. For example, in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, it was reported that Primark customers had to queue for 20 minutes to pay, and staff were unable to note the reasons why transactions were failing. Also, it was reported that the Visa system failure caused a 45 minute wait for those trying to use the Severn Bridge as drivers were unable to pay the toll by card.

Anger

Not surprisingly, many people took to social media to vent their anger at Visa for the embarrassment and inconvenience caused. In Spain, the Guardia Civil tried to calm and re-assure people by sending a tweet urging everyone to stay calm, and used a picture of Captain Jack Sparrow to help explain that if they couldn’t pay, it wasn’t because they had been robbed or hacked.
Visa has apologised, and has stated that its payment system is operating at “full capacity”.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Even though the problems only lasted a day, it is only a matter of weeks since TSB’s catastrophic computer meltdown caused misery to customers after the bank tried to migrate its computer systems from its old Lloyds Bank systems to its new core banking system, Proteo4UK.

We are now a society that is moving away from cash, in favour of cards and particularly contactless payments. Also, this move away from cash has meant the closing of many ATMs. Both of these factors mean that system failures of this kind can be particularly disruptive.

For businesses, customers not being able to pay meant that profits were hit, their premises experienced disruption with some staff being left to face angry customers, and unable to offer a clear explanation.

The incident has, no doubt, also illustrated to any potential hackers how interconnected payment systems are across Europe and how many countries could be brought to a virtual standstill if they were able to breach the systems of major payment processing companies such as Visa.

Tech Tip – Create ‘For Follow Up’ Folder In Outlook

If you use Microsoft Outlook and you don’t want an important email that you need to follow up with to get lost among the deluge of each new day’s emails, you can keep track of it by creating a ‘For Follow Up’ folder. Here’s how:

– Click the Folder tab on the top of Outlook: File > New > Search Folder.

– The New Search Dialog Box will pop up.

– Select the ‘Mail Flagged for Follow Up’ option from the ‘Reading Mail’ dropdown list.

– Click ‘Ok’, then right click ‘For Follow Up’ in the Navigation Pane.

– Right click, and then click ‘Show in Favourites’.

– You will now have a ‘For Follow Up’ Folder amongst your other folders.

n.b. If you hover above the time-stamp in the message, you can click the follow up flag to add it to the list, instead of having to choose it from the Follow Up drop-down from the tool bar.

Instant GDPR Complaints For Web Giants

In an almost inevitable turn of events, the social media and tech giants Facebook, Google, Instagram and WhatsApp faced a barrage of accusations that they were not compliant within hours of GDPR being introduced on May 25th.

What’s Wrong?

The complaints, spearheaded by Privacy group noyb.eu led by Max Schrems centred around the idea that the tech and social media giants may be breaking the new data protection and privacy guidelines by forcing users to consent to targeted advertising in order to use their services i.e. by bundling a service with the requirement to consent (Article 7(4) GDPR).

Not Necessary?

It has been reported that the crux of the privacy group’s argument is that, according to GDPR, any data processing that is strictly necessary to use a service is allowed and doesn’t require opting in. If a company then decides to adopt a “take it or leave it approach” by forcing customers to agree to have additional, more wide-reaching data collected, shared and used for targeted advertising, or delete their accounts, the argument is that this goes against GDPR which requires opt-in consent for anything other than any data processing that is strictly necessary for the service.

Austria, Belgium, France and Germany

It is alleged in this case that the four tech giants may be doing just that, and, therefore, could be in breach of the Regulation, and possibly liable to fines if the accusations are upheld after investigation by data protection authorities in Austria, Belgium, France and Germany.

A breakdown of the four complaints over “forced consent” made by noybe.eu shows that in France the complaint has been made to CNIL about Google (Android), in Belgium the complaint has been made to the DPA about Instagram (Facebook), in Germany the complaint has been made to the HmbBfDI about WhatsApp, and in Austria the complaint has been made to DSB about Facebook. Under GDPR, the maximum penalties for this issue could be billions of Euros.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Many commentators had predicted that popular tech and social media giants would be among the first organisations to be targeted by complaints upon the introduction of GDPR, and some see these complaints as being the first crucial test of the new law.

GDPR should prohibit companies from forcing customers to accept the bundling of a service with the requirement to consent to giving / sharing more data than is necessary, but it remains to be seen and proven whether these companies are guilty.

As noyb.eu pointed out in their statement, GDPR does not mean that companies can no longer use customer data because GDPR explicitly allows any data processing that is strictly necessary for a service. The complaint, in this case, is that using the data additionally for advertisements or to sell it on, needs the users’ free opt-in consent.

Noybe.eu has also pointed out that, if successfully upheld, their complaints could also mean an end to the kind of annoying and obtrusive pop-ups which are used to claim a person’s consent, but don’t actually lead to valid consent.

Another benefit (if the complaints are upheld) against the tech giants could be that corporations can’t force users to consent, meaning that monopolies should have no advantage over small businesses in this area.

Noybe.eu seem set to keep the pressure on the tech giants, and has stated that its next round of complaints will centre around the alleged illegal use of user data for advertising purposes or “fictitious consent’ e.g. such as when companies recognise “consent” to other types of data processing by solely using their web page.

Now You Can Opt-Out Of Having Your Medical Data Shared

The introduction of GDPR on 25th May has brought with it a new national data opt-out service which enables people to use an online tool to opt out of their confidential patient information being used beyond their own individual care for research and planning.

Replacement

The new ‘Manage Your Choice’ online tool that is a part of the national data opt-out service, follows recommendations by the National Data Guardian (NDG) Dame Fiona Caldicott, and is a replacement for the previous ‘type 2’ opt-out that was introduced on 29th April 2016. That opt-out service meant that NHS Digital would remove certain patient records from data provided where a patient had requested an opt-out.

About The New National Opt-Out Service

The new service applies to those patients in England who are aged 13 or over, and have an NHS number e.g. from previous treatment. Opting out using the new service will not apply to your health data where you have accessed health or care services outside of England, such as in Scotland and Wales.

The opt-out service covers data-sharing by any organisation providing publicly-funded care in England. This includes private and voluntary organisations, and only children’s social care services are not covered.

Using The Online Tool

The online tool for opting-out can be accessed at:

https://www.nhs.uk/your-nhs-data-matters/manage-your-choice/

To use the online tool, you will (obviously) need access to the Internet, and access to your email or mobile phone to go through the necessary steps.

What Else Is Your Data Used For?

According to the NHS, as well as being used for patient care purposes, confidential patient information is also used to plan and improve health and care services, and to research and develop cures for serious illnesses. The NHS has stressed that, for much of the time, anonymised data is used for research and planning, so your confidential patient information often isn’t needed anyway.

The NHS currently collects health and care data from all NHS organisations, trusts and local authorities. Data is also collected from private organisations e.g. private hospitals providing NHS funded care. Research bodies and organisations can also request access to this data. These bodies and organisations include university researchers, hospital researchers, medical royal colleges, and even pharmaceutical companies researching new treatments.
Past Controversy

The new service is likely to be welcomed after several past data-sharing controversies dented trust in the handling of personal data by the NHS. For example, NHS Digital were criticised after agreeing to share non-clinical information, such as addresses or dates of birth, with the Home Office, and a report highlighted how the Home Office used patient data for immigration enforcement purposes.

Also, there were serious public concerns and an independent panel finding a “lack of clarity” in a data-sharing agreement after it was announced that Royal Free Hospital in London shared the data of 1.6 million people with Google’s DeepMind project without the consent of those data subjects.

What Does This Mean For Your Businesses?

The introduction of GDPR has been an awareness raising, shake-up exercise for many businesses and organisations, and has driven the message home that data privacy and security for clients / service users is an important issue. Where our medical data is concerned, however, we regard this as being particularly private and sensitive, and the fact that it could be either shared with third-parties without our consent, or stolen / accessed due to poor privacy / security systems and practices is a source of genuine worry. For example, many people fear that whether shared or stolen, their medical data could be used by private companies to deny them services or to charge more for services e.g. insurance companies. Data breaches and sharing scandals in recent times mean that many people have lost trust in how many companies and organisations handle their everyday personal data, let alone their medical data.

The introduction of this new service is likely to be welcomed by many in England, and it is likely that the opt-out tool will prove popular. For the NHS, however, if too many people choose to opt-out, this could have some detrimental effect on its research and planning.

GDPR will continue to make many companies and organsiations focus on which third-parties they share data with, and how these relationships could affect their own compliance.

92 Carphone Warehouse Branch Closures

Dixons Carphone, owners of Carphone Warehouse stores has highlighted people not renewing their handsets as frequently and a declining market for long-term mobile contracts as 2 main reasons for the planned closure of 92 stores.

Profits Hit – Shares Down

The decision to close 92 of its more than 700 Carphone Warehouse stores this year was announced by Dixons Carphone after a warning that the next year’s profits could be down £82 million led to shares in the company falling 20.7%. Share values had already fallen by 30% over the last 12 months,

No Jobs Lost?

The human cost of store closures would ordinarily be those employed in the condemned 92 stores (part of a 42,000 workforce worldwide). In this case, Dixons Carphone has stated that no jobs will be lost because staff will be offered the opportunity to move to larger outlets nearby.

Sales Up

The gloomy prediction disguised the fact that total sales were actually 3% higher in the year to 16 April, while like-for-like sales were up 4%, and the sales were up by 2% for the year as a whole, and by 1% in the fourth quarter. International sales e.g. Nordic countries and Greece outstripped those in the UK.

Even though pre-tax profit is expected to come in at £382m, this is actually dramatically down from the £501m in 2017.

What Happened?

According to reported comments by new boss of only 8 weeks, Alex Baldock, that even though it is acknowledged that performance has not been good, the problems are all “fixable”.

Market commentators have noted that a fall in the value of the pound (in the wake of Brexit) has made mobile handsets more expensive. Also, technical innovation has slowed, giving shoppers less reason to update their phones, meaning that they have been hanging onto their current handsets for longer.

SIM Free Popular

Market analysts have noted that there is unlikely to be a boost in the market for long-term mobile contracts any time soon. This is partly because many consumers have been opting for the alternative of SIM free phones in an attempt to keep costs down and get the best deals. Sales of SIM free is one area where Dixons Carphone will need to improve in order to make the most of market trends.

A SIM free phone is sold (unlocked) without any SIM card or network attached, so people buy the phone and then choose a SIM only deal for their calls and data, and can choose whichever network they like. The benefits are the ability to own the handset outright and take out a SIM only deal, thereby reducing the cost of a monthly plan as you are only paying the network for your minutes, texts and data allowance. Also, SIM only can give greater flexibility, with 1-month rolling contracts and 12-month contracts are now being commonplace.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

Many UK businesses, like Dixons Carphone, will have felt the pressure of consumers reeling in some of their spending in the wake of the fall in the value of the pound after the Brexit vote. Also, as in the case of Dixons Carphone, they’re in a market where so much innovation has been focused on phones and their features in recent years that consumers are going to be reluctant to swap unless the new model offers a new technological jump or can give them features that significantly add value.

High street retailers / well-known bricks-and-mortar retailers have taken a battering in recent times (e.g. store closures at e.g. Carpetright, New Look, Mothercare, Byron, Jamie’s Italian Marks & Spencer, and soon House of Fraser, and Carluccio’s) as consumers move more towards online digital. A recent British Retail Consortium (BRC) report, for example, showed that footfall in retail stores fell by 3.3% in April 2018 compared to last year because of a shift in consumer behaviour towards digital shop visits rather than physical ones.

Many retailers have realised that to fight back they must rebalance investment in physical and digital infrastructure, and change the way stores are used e.g. by adopting technology to engage people, and to make stores more like centres for experiences rather than just places for purchasing goods. This is particularly important for younger consumer groups.

In the case of Dixons Carphone, new boss Baldock hasn’t really elaborated beyond saying that the business had been too inward-looking and distracted. As part of his proposed fixes for the problems, Baldock has said that the group would also now be investing £30m in improving customer service by retraining staff in stores and at its call centres, and that it would try to renegotiate contracts with mobile networks to reflect the slowdown in phone sales i.e. to adapt to market trends. Presumably, the company will also benefit from increased efficiency after closing the 42 stores.

In today’s challenging environment, as well as simply investing, retailers must now try to embrace technology in the right way as an opportunity to deliver more value to customers whether in store, at home or on the move. Retail commentators frequently talk about the importance of the need to create a seamless customer experience between online and offline, and to develop an omni-channel platform. Improving and optimising the current experience that retailers offer customers, and replicating these as effectively as possible across all channels could be the key to staying competitive in the evolving retail business environment.