Tag: Dan Wagner

Smartphone shoppers smarter than average shopper

Posted on January 17, 2014 by - News

Amazon logoResearch from IDC suggests that your average smartphone shopper is smarter than your average bear.

And smartphones are turning out to be a bit of a nightmare for your average high street shop.

IDC analysed app and mobile of over 10,000 smartphone users during the holiday season.

One in three of the people IDC surveyed said they bought more online than from bricks and mortar outfits in the season, compared to the same period the year before.

Amazon did particularly well out of the trend.

Of those that were surveyed, 69 percent believed that smartphones were critical tools when you’re out shopping.  And 70 percent said they’d use their smartphones more in the future.

Five out of 10 people check reviews from their smartphones and shoppers tend to trust social networks for views.

IDC’s results were born out by Dan Wagner, founder and CEO of Powa Technologies. He said: “The traditional stores really need to up their game to compete in the new shopping paradigm that we are entering. Customer engagement is the key to survival in 2014, at present customers who walk through the doors of high street shops are unknown to them.

“This needs to change fast, customer engagement holds the critical path to growth in fierce market conditions. It is vital for retailers to know the buying behaviour of the person who has walked through the door: are they a loyal customer? What are they interested in? Online retailers have all this information and utilise it to engage their customers very effectively as the sales figures have born out.”

High Street must lean on tech to survive

Posted on November 5, 2013 by - News

highstreet South endMonthly figures released by KPMG and the British Retail Consortium show that growth on the high street showed a 2.6 percent increase in October – up from 2.4 percent in September.

According to Dan Wagner, CEO of Powa Technologies, the outlook is bleak.

He said more shops are closing than opening and the figures might look better than 2012 but last year was a disaster, with 48,000 people laid off, 4,000 shops closed and 54 retailers going bust.

Wagner reckons that traditional shops on the high street need to get to grips with new technology.

“This is a crucial time of year for the retail industry. More than ever before it needs a technology driven resolution to create new ways to engage with customers,” Wagner said.

He thinks mobile point of sale is one way for shoips to engage with the technology, with people able to pick up goods without being crushed to death by the festive throng.

Bank of England urged to support start-ups, SMEs

Posted on August 29, 2013 by - News

poundsA tech entrepreneur has called on the Bank of England to ramp up support for SMEs and start-ups, in what can only be a case of stating the obvious. However, every now and then the powers that be need a kick in posterior, as they tend to lose touch with reality quite often.

Powa Technologies CEO Dan Wagner said he would like to hear from the new Governor of the Bank of England and that he would like to see more support for entrepreneurial talent in the UK from Mark Carney.

“We have some fantastic, inspirational entrepreneurs who start great businesses, but unfortunately many of them have to go abroad to get the funding they need to grow and succeed and that is a shame,” he said. “Britain has great innovation across all areas and it needs to be nurtured and supported because it will be the lifeblood for the return of economic strength.”

Of course, Britain is no East Germany and it’s not experiencing a brain drain, but there is always room for improvement. Wagner believes the biggest problem for small businesses and start-ups is the lack of tax incentives for investment. In other words, even if a start-up comes up with a new idea and starts growing, it might choose to expand elsewhere, which means Britain could lose winners – and they are few and far between in the start-up world.

“I would like to see capital gains tax completely removed from the funding of start-up businesses. Any funds that are invested to create opportunities and jobs should see a full capital and profit return because of the great risks involved. This would be a political saviour. Small businesses represent 50% of the economy and its new small businesses that will drive future economic growth,” said Wagner.

Wagner told business leaders at an event in Nottingham that Britain knows a thing or two about coming up with brilliant ideas, such as the World Wide Web, and it needs to tap the potential by providing the right environment for start-ups and tech entrepreneurs. The long term benefits of losing a few quid on lower taxes for small outfits far outweigh the short-term tax revenue generated by such companies.