LOOK: Durian-flavored condoms and other April Fool's Day pranks

MANILA – Ads for a durian-flavored condom, a portable shower with its own bathing assistant, and an oversized "quadruple" fried chicken and bacon sandwich went viral on social media on Monday as businesses posted April Fool’s Day pranks.

DUREX 

A Facebook page promoting the contraceptive brand Durex announced new condom flavors using the popular Filipino delicacy pinipig, and the foul-smelling tropical fruit Durian. 

Over 4,000 Facebook users reacted to the “Kilig Pinipig” and “Dirty Durian” post. It has also been shared over 2,500 times as of writing.

HONESTBATH

Grocery food and delivery platform Honestbee surprised users with an "honestbath" campaign, promising to deliver a portable shower that comes with slippers, a fluffy towel, a shower curtain and even a bathing assistant. 

There's also a cheaper “Tabo bath,” option that still includes a bathing assistant. 

Honestbee confirmed to ABS-CBN News that the promotion was “an April Fool’s Day execution.”

Honestbee even produced a video for honestbath. 

DUNKIN’ DONUTS

Fans of Choco Butternut panicked after the popular doughnut brand said it would remove the variant from the shelves due to a "global Butternut shortage." 

Dunkin’ Donuts was quick to clarify that it was is a joke. Over 34,000 Facebook users reacted to the post. It has also been shared over 25,000 times as of writing. 

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN

On a Facebook post, fast-food operator KFC said it would be releasing a "quadruple" version of its chicken sandwich "Double Down" meant for "hardcore meatheads." 

But KFC had to clarify in the comment section that the post was an April Fool's Day prank after 2,600 users reacted to it.

ZALORA

E-commerce platform Zalora, meanwhile, surprised consumers with an email saying that a “sexy red underwear” was shipped to their addresses.

Once opened, the email led consumers to a 25 percent promo code, which may or may not be another prank. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ayala buys Zalora stake, bets on e-commerce

MANILA - The Ayala Group said Thursday it would acquire 43.3-percent of online fashion retailer Zalora, as it forays into e-commerce.

Ayala Corp. and units Ayala Land, BPI Capital and Kickstart Ventures have signed an investment agreement with BF Jade E-Services Philippines Inc., the owner of Zalora Philippines, according to a stock exchange filing.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the Philippine Competition Commission, Ayala Corp. said.

Zalora is the country's largest online fashion retailer, offering some 120,000 products across 1,000 brands, according to the disclosure.

Ayala Corp. shares were up 1.49 percent to P817 on Thursday.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Christmas 2015: Score deals at Zalora's online fashion sale

MANILA – Fashionistas, mark your calendars. On Saturday, December 12, Zalora Philippines will host what it calls the biggest online fashion sale in the country.

At exactly 12 a.m., Zalora Philippines will hold its 12.12 Online Fever, where shoppers can score deals across categories from both local and international brands.

The sale will go live via the Zalora mobile app and this link for only one day.

“This is the one day of the year when customers can expect the best fashion offers from both local and international brands that are available only in Zalora,” said Paulo Campos, co-founder and managing director of Zalora Philippines.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How online shopping site Zalora chooses brands

MANILA – Online shoppers can find some of the biggest fashion brands like Nike, Levi’s and Ray-Ban on online retailer Zalora. But how does Zalora determine which brands and specific products are sold on the site?

According to Zalora managing director Martin Cu, most of the products featured on the site are determined through extensive research and analysis of online user trends and patterns.

“One of the coolest things about Zalora is we really leverage big data in a way, so we get to know our customers based on what they like to browse, what they like to shop for, and then of course all of this informs our decision-making when it comes to what products make the website,” Cu told ANC’s “Shoptalk.”

“We do carry everything that our customers are looking for. We’d like to believe that we have everything at a price point that they want to pay for,” he added.

Zalora also carries brands like Calvin Klein, Mango, New Balance, Reebok, and The North Face. It also sells items under its own Zalora brand.

Cu said items being sold on the site, except for footwear, have an average price of P1,000.

While most of the items are targeted for the young shoppers, Cu believes that the older generation can also benefit from Zalora’s services because it “takes the hassle out of the shopping experience.”

Zalora is among the first brands to offer cash on delivery service online, which Cu said “has been a major enabler for e-commerce customers to shop online.”

Online shopping, however, does have its disadvantages such as not being able to touch and fit the items.

Cu considers this one of the biggest concerns of online shoppers, prompting Zalora to come up with ways to make the shopping experience more convenient to shoppers.

“We’ve introduced a number of innovative features exclusively available on Zalora. For example, we’ve recently launched our Fit Visualizer, which is a unique feature on the website where you can measure a piece of clothing that you own and like and then you can see how the item that you’re looking at fits against that item,” he said.

Zalora also has a 30-day return policy.

“If a customer is unhappy, we absolutely encourage every customer to send the item back,” said Cu.

Zalora is currently leading the efforts in organizing the country’s first “online shopping holiday” to be held on December 12.

Zalora has partnered with other e-commerce services including ADeals, Food Panda and Easy Taxi for the shopping event.

“We’re talking big discounts of up to 80 percent off for some of the big brands like Mango, River Island and even our in-house collection,” said Cu.

Zalora, which was launched in 2012, also has localized websites for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

In October, it opened its first physical store in Singapore.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Globe releases bundles for Samsung Note 4

MANILA -- Good news for Samsung aficionados! Globe Telecom has launched its Samsung Galaxy Note 4 promo that has a complete postpaid plan bundled with access to lifestyle suites.

For P1,899 a month at Plan 999 with P900 monthly cashout, Globe said customers can get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with the photo and chat bundles, which allow access to a set of lifestyle apps that connect users to mobile Internet anytime. Furthermore, Globe's postpaid plan bundle also comes with additional 1.5 worth of GoSURF data monthly, free three-month subscription to Spotify Premium, and free one-month subscription to Gadget Care.

With the Photo Bundle for P299 a month, customers can access Instagram, InstaSize, PhotoGrid and Photo Repost, allowing them to take and edit photos, make collages, as well as add captions and filters using the 16-megapixel rear camera, 3.7 megapixel front-facing camera, and wide selfie mode of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

The Chat Bundle, on the other hand, gives customers access to top messaging apps Facebook Messenger, KakaoTalk, Line, Viber, WhatsApp and WeChat, connecting users to their contacts not just from other networks but also from around the world. This is available for only P299 a month.

Using the S Pen’s Elaborate Brush Effect with calligraphy feature, Note 4 users can also share their notes, scribbles and photos.

Meanwhile, the Navigation Bundle, available for P99 a month, gives customers month-long access to apps such as Waze, GrabTaxi, Google Maps, MMDA, and Accuweather for a hassle-free transport experience around the city.

For those who use their devices for work and productivity, Globe said subscribers can avail of the Work Bundle for P299 a month, which provides access to Evernote, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail, plus free 10 GB Globe Cloud storage that will let them back up and access their messages, contacts, presentations, and other files from any device.

Shopping addicts who want to engage in e-commerce can subscribe to Shopping Bundle, which extends access to sites such as OLX.ph, Ayosdito.ph, eBay, and Zalora, also for P299 a month. These subscribers also get an extra 5% off with their purchases from Zalora.

The navigation, chat, work, shopping, and photo bundles can be availed as a combo service charged to consumables, or as an add-on booster service charged on top of the monthly service fee.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com