Shoppers are vowing to stop shopping at discount department store Big W after revelations it has removed the word “Christmas” from the packaging of its holiday tree range.
The Herald Sun reports the new range includes tree names like the “Black Forest Tree” and the “Atlanta Tree”, rather than carrying references to the Christian holiday.
Upset customers have taken to Facebook to tell the retailer they are “disgusted” and “offended” by the decision, with some promising to buy their Christmas decorations from other retailers this year.
A Big W spokesperson has said the retailer is excited about the range and is labelling the trees with “key Christmas themes” this year.
Carnell asks Amazon to play fair on contracts
The Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has warned retail giant Amazon that any standard contracts relating to its Amazon Marketplace product must fall within the bounds of Australia’s unfair contracts legislation.
Kate Carnell has written to the retail giant asking that it makes sure its contracts comply with local laws, saying that after a review of Amazon Marketplace contracts in the US, some clauses would have to change if the same agreements were to be rolled out here.
“I’m interested to see how Australian small businesses can accelerate sales and broaden their customer base though the Amazon platform,” Carnell said in a statement.
Ikea launches augmented reality app ‘Place’
Smartphone users that have updated their systems to iOS 11 will now be able to drag and drop Ikea furniture into their homes without getting up off the couch.
The homewares retailer’s ‘Place’ app allows users to select Ikea furniture from the app and “fit” this into their own homes, with the items scaling to a reported 98% accuracy.
Wired reports this is one of the first attempts by a retailer to use augmented reality technology to solve a real consumer problem: whether a product will work in a space once customers get it home.
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