The National Anti-Scam Centre launched on 1 July 2023 and will build its information sharing capabilities over the next 3 years. We bring together experts from government and the private sector to tackle harmful scams. Together, we’re making it harder for scammers to take money and information from Australians. Scams are getting harder to spot. Australians reported a record $3.1 billion lost to scams last year. That’s 80% more than the year before. Behind the growing numbers are everyday Australians who lost money to scams – sometimes their life savings. And the true cost of scams is more than a dollar figure. Scams can have a devastating impact on victims’ lives. As scammers become increasingly sophisticated in their tactics, we need to better coordinate our efforts to stop them. The National Anti-Scam Centre has been set up to coordinate government, law enforcement and the private sector to combat scams. It builds on the…

7-Eleven Japan, which is the biggest convenience store operator in Japan, will use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in its product planning strategy, reported Nikkei Asia. The company created its own cloud-based information technology system equipped with generative AI from OpenAI, Stability AI and Google to collect data from customer sales, product manufacturers and social media. The AI will then process the data to recognize consumer trends and draft proposals for new products. In 2024, proposals of new products from the AI will include generated text and images based on the trends AI found in the collected data. 7-Eleven Japan expects the use of generative AI will streamline the current product planning process, which currently uses customer surveys and internal meetings before taking a product to market, according to Nikkei Asia. One department has already begun using the AI infrastructure and experienced an 80% reduction of internal meetings. With that, the system is…

Drive-thrus are more popular than ever before following the pandemic, reported the New York Times. The Times noted that traffic in drive-thrus rose 30% from 2019 to 2022, according to foodservice research firm Technomic. A report from Revenue Management Solutions noted that drive-thrus account for two-thirds of all fast-food purchases. The pandemic expedited technological advancements in quick service that were already underway, industry executives told the Times, causing the drive-thru experience to become faster and smoother. Some of these advancements include better mobile ordering, streamlined kitchens and smarter traffic management. QSR magazine’s editorial director Danny Klein told the Times that it’s “the era of drive-thru optimization.” “The drive-thru is no longer a trade-off that is just fast and cheap,” Klein said. “Now it’s really about the technology. It’s about being accurate and being a good experience.” In 2022, Taco Bell opened its two-story “Defy” location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, with the goal of…

A lot of dedication and effort goes into making main streets attractive. Local governments, planners, place makers, economic development managers, trade associations and retailers work hard to design, improve and revitalise main streets. The goal is to make them attractive places to increase shopper numbers, provide pleasant places for communities, and boost local economies. Despite the efforts that go into planning, maintaining and marketing local shopping areas, the people who use these places are often not consulted about what they actually want and need on their main street. Our research is the only-known Australian study to ask shoppers about the key elements, and shops and services, they regard as contributing to the ideal main street. So what types of stores and services do they want? Pharmacies are the top choice. Intriguingly, four types of stores/services that are disappearing from main streets around Australia – the post office, bank, department store and newsagent…

Viva Energy could be one of the ‘bloke-iest’ companies in Australia; it has a branded motor racing team and sells industrial lubricants and grease. It’s an unlikely suspect to be bridging the gender pay gap — but that’s exactly what’s happening after the company made deliberate changes to get more women into roles traditionally dominated by men. “I don’t particularly like the outcomes that I see for women in our company, and in the country, generally, from an inequity point of view,” says chief executive Scott Wyatt. “The pay gap really helps to crystallise the issues, because it’s material … it’s important to people.”  To reduce its gender pay gap, the company talked to other organisations about what works and what has been a challenge. It then devised a plan, sold it to staff and — as Mr Wyatt describes it — went about putting it into action. “If you make decisions and drive…

Toyota and Hyundai are set to expand their hydrogen car trials in Australia after signing an agreement with energy companies to install more refuelling stations. Japanese car giant Toyota and South Korean automaker Hyundai have put aside their rivalries to sign a deal with two of Australia’s largest energy companies to expand the nation’s hydrogen refuelling network. The two car companies have formed an agreement with Ampol and Pacific Energy to find viable ways to ramp-up the number of hydrogen stations  which, for now, is restricted to just half-a-dozen outlets for the entire country – including one each at Toyota and Hyundai head offices, one in Canberra, and one in Brisbane. Toyota and Hyundai each have about 50 hydrogen cars on Australian roads as part of separate fleet trials. The “memorandum of understanding” between the two car giants and the two energy giants has been described has a handshake deal in writing – because,…