Norton, has released its latest Cyber Safety Pulse Report, which gives an in-depth look at the most recent scams, including those surrounding online retailers, sextortion, tech support, crypto, business emails and more.

With the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT, cybercriminals now have added support in creating sophisticated scams which has led to a surge in prevalence. What’s more, according to data from Gen, 75% of all cyberthreats on desktop are now scams. Norton experts identified some of the most prominent online scams people are facing today, including:

• E-Shop Scams: Scammers create fake online stores, offering products at unbeatable prices. Once a purchase is made, the product is never delivered, and the website disappears.
• Sextortion Scams: Cybercriminals threaten to release private or compromising information unless a ransom is paid. These scams often begin with phishing emails and exploit human emotions like fear and shame.
• Tech Support Scams: Fraudsters pose as tech support agents from reputable companies. They deceive victims into granting remote access to their computers, leading to data theft or ransom demands.

“We’ve found scammers are leaning on old methods to lure victims, but they now have a more sophisticated arsenal at their disposal to make these schemes more realistic,” said Luis Corrons, Security Evangelist for Norton.

“Leveraging AI, criminals are creating scams that are not only more credible but alarmingly real, making scams more convincing and harder to detect, which is why it’s so important that consumers know what to be aware of. In addition to giving people the know-how, we want them to have the latest security tools they need to be safer. We recently released Norton Genie, a free AI-powered scam detection tool, to help people in the fight against scams and make it easier to navigate today’s threats. You can even ask Genie follow up questions so that over time you can become better at spotting scams with the naked eye too.” 

Norton recommends a variety of tips to help protect against scams, depending on the type. These practices include:

• Verify before you buy: Check the retail website’s authenticity through reviews and ratings.
• Double-check who you’re talking to when you receive unknown calls: If contacted by “tech support,” for example, verify their identity by contacting the company directly through official channels.
• Add security layers to purchases: Use multi-step verification before making any financial transactions and only use secure payment methods, such as credit cards, which offer fraud protection.
• Be careful what you share: Regardless of where or with whom, always think twice before you share personally identifiable information online.

AI for Good: Norton Genie Provides Free Scam Protection for iOS and Android 

While cybercriminals are using AI to help improve their scams, Norton is tapping into the technology to help consumers protect themselves against them. The newly launched Norton Genie is an AI-powered tool that detects text, social media and email scams. While consumers are inundated with scam messages every day, Genie helps people determine if the messages they see are potentially dangerous. Genie takes the topic a step further by answering follow-up questions like “How do you know it’s a scam?” and “What should I do next?” to help empower people with the knowledge they need.

Norton Genie early access in English launched in August for iOS and is now also available on Android. Visit genie.norton.com to learn more and download today.

2023 Cyber Safety Pulse Report Threats by the Numbers

The latest Pulse Report reveals Norton blocked over 1.5 billion threats globally, with 48.8 million being blocked specifically in Australia, in the first half of 2023. Scams make up the majority of these threats.

From January 1 through June 30, 2023, Norton blocked:

• 117.8 million global and 4.1 million Australian phishing attempts

• 88.9 million global and 2.1 Australian desktop threats
• 680K global and 16K Australian mobile threats
• Norton AntiTrack blocked over 2.6 billion trackers and fingerprinting attempts

For more information and Cyber Safety guidance, visit the Norton Internet Security Center.

Australian tech scale-ups me&u and Mr Yum have joined forces in an all-stock merger, to become the world’s number one mobile ordering, payments and marketing platform for the hospitality industry.

Both companies were founded in 2018 – me&u in Sydney and Mr Yum in Melbourne – and now power mobile ordering and guest marketing for over 6,000 venues collectively, processing over AUD $2B of restaurant transactions annually across Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. The combined company is on track to reach profitability in 2024 with significant cash reserves.

The combined company will be led by Kim Teo, Mr Yum’s co-founder, as CEO. Stevan Premutico, me&u’s founder will sit on the board as a non-executive director, with me&u Chair Damian Smith appointed as the Chair.

“We’re both incredibly excited to join forces with another leader in this category. Over the years of competing in the marketplace, we’ve always had a deep respect for each other and are excited to learn from each other,” said Mr Yum CEO Kim Teo.

“From our international expansion efforts, we learnt that Australia has the highest penetration of QR code table ordering globally. We’re humbled that two Aussie-founded companies have built the best & most adopted platforms in our sector – used by thousands of venues and millions of guests.”

“This is a rare opportunity to see two strong Australian companies coming together to take on the world. A shared ambition to blend together technology & great experiences to build a better, smarter future for our industry. Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a crazy exciting new era that will benefit customers & business owners around the world.” said me&u founder, Stevan Premutico.

The deal is testament to me&u and Mr Yum’s exceptional global growth over the last four years. For both companies, this will lead to accelerated product innovation for their customers through collective investment in one set of features rather than a duplication of efforts.

“Four types of customers interact with our products today – the venue operator, guests, staff and head office teams. Over the next few months, our combined company will launch a number of new products/features focused on elevating the interactions between staff and guests, as well as marketing tools to help increase foot traffic and revenue,” added Kim.

Quotes from our partners and investors:

“Merivale has partnered with me&u across our portfolio since the very beginning. Used across countless venues and our stadia offerings, it has been a game-changer to our business and transformative to the customer experience, providing guests with a best-in-class ordering and payment system. It’s exciting to see two Aussie-born start-ups join forces to unlock the future of hospitality on a global scale. Together they are revolutionising service, operations and experience in the hospitality industry – I look forward to seeing what lies ahead.”

— Justin Hemmes, CEO, Merivale

“I vividly remember the day in 2019 when we implemented Mr Yum in our venue Hopscotch for the first time. Not having to leave your seat to get a beer still feels as magical to me today as it did that day. Having known Kim for many years we knew that we had to be involved as founding shareholders of Mr Yum and are proud to have played a small part in an incredible Australian technology success story. Now seeing the two global leaders in the space come together to further develop the mobile ordering space is exciting for the Australian hospitality sector and our customers.”

— Paul Waterson, CEO, Australian Venue Co

“Kim and the Mr Yum team’s ambitions have been global since day one, so we’re excited to see how this next chapter by joining forces with me&u will accelerate their innovation and impact.

The two companies are seen as global leaders in the category and have already demonstrated that the combination of Aussie tech and hospitality is a force to be reckoned with around the world.”

— James Cameron, Partner, AirTree Ventures

“The merger of me&u and Mr Yum is an audacious move on the part of the Founders and Shareholders of both companies.  The combined business is an even more formidable force in spearheading the global transformation of technology-driven hospitality services.  Acorn looks forward to continuing to support this remarkable Australian success story.”

– Robert Routley, CEO, Acorn Capital 

New research from leading business financing company OptiPay has revealed the top 5 cash flow hurdles facing Australian SMEs as more business owners are being forced to dip into their personal savings to make ends meet. 

“A smooth and reliable level of working capital is essential to the success of any business and with the current economic challenges it’s becoming harder for SMEs to maintain this,” says OptiPay CEO Angus Sedgwick.

Recently released data from accounting platform Xero shows one-third of Australian small business owners are unable to pay themselves due to cash flow challenges and 27% are being forced to dip into their personal savings to mitigate rising costs.

“Inflation has had a huge impact on cash flow for Australian businesses over the past six months,” says Mr Sedgwick.

“Rising costs and changing consumer behaviour have seen a shrinking profit margin for many businesses putting a strain on working capital but conversely it is also during periods of growth where we see SMEs really struggling with their cash flow,” says Mr Sedgwick.

“It’s important for business owners to realise that profit and cash flow are not the same thing. You can have a profitable business on paper and not have a dollar in the bank.”

OptiPay has seen a huge increase in the number of SMEs seeking invoice financing as a way of maintaining their cash flow and enabling growth.

“Invoice financing allows a business owner to unlock the cash that’s tied up in their unpaid invoices, providing a line of credit secured by the Accounts Receivables ledger” says Mr Sedgwick.

“The financier gets paid when the debtor makes payment so there are no repayments to be made. Typically, businesses can access up to 90% of the sale value of an invoice whilst continuing to offer credit terms to customers.”

“It’s a widely used form of business finance overseas and Australian SMEs are starting to realise the benefit when faced with current cash flow challenges,” he adds.

Top 5 Cash Flow Hurdles:

• Lending Restrictions

It’s a tough time for any SME to obtain bank finance with access to working capital becoming harder to come by. Banks have tightened lending criteria making it difficult to obtain loans or raise credit limits. 

• Slow Paying Customers

Many large companies have invoice terms as high as 60 days which is a long time to wait to be paid after you have delivered your goods or services to your customers. Slow payments can hurt a businesses cash flow if they don’t have a facility like invoice financing in place.

• Rapid Expansion

Companies that grow too quickly can find themselves struggling to maintain cash flow. A combination of increased overheads like materials, equipment, staff and expanded equipment sees them drain their cash supply to meet orders. Without a cash flow injection these companies may have to turn away orders as they wait to get paid from the last.

• Seasonal Income

Businesses that raise most of their income in one part of the year can find they run out of funds if they don’t diligently manage their expenses. Companies making seasonal goods such as beachwear, Christmas items or seasonal rural products are examples of this. They are usually an excellent candidate for invoice financing so they have the cash at hand to fulfil orders when the season changes and their business picks up.

• Lack of Customer Credit Checks

Many Australian businesses experience cash flow problems because a major customer goes bankrupt and leaves them exposed to bad debt. Do your due diligence when it comes to customer credit checks and set reasonable limits for companies with poor credit history. Avoiding defaults and late payments could stop your company from going broke. All invoice finance facilities provided by OptiPay have the added benefit of Trade Credit Insurance included, thus mitigating this risk.

Contributed by Optipay

As trading conditions get tougher for Australian businesses, it becomes even more important to have a holistic view of the trade payments data behaviour of your clients and customers. They might be paying you but do you really know if they’re paying their other suppliers on time?

Using trade payments data in your credit risk management process helps you minimise financial risk and maximise cash flow by revealing the true financial health of a business, its intentions when dealing with you and your relationship with it. It should be considered a non-negotiable tool of any good credit control process.

Breaking it down, trade payments data has five key benefits to businesses looking to minimise their financial risk:

ONE: Providing data to make more informed credit risk decisions  

When onboarding a new customer, deciding what credit terms should be extended to them can be a crucial step in protecting your cash flow. Reviewing trade payments data before deciding on credit terms to offer is an easy defence against potential late payment and cash flow issues down the track. Reviewing a prospective customer’s trade payments data will give you insight into whether they typically pay suppliers promptly or whether they regularly fall in the late payers’ bucket. From this knowledge, you will be able to decide whether your standard credit terms can be extended to them or whether it’s more appropriate to offer cash on delivery until you can see improvements in the way they pay suppliers.

TWO: Revealing early warning signs that a customer could be in trouble  

Once you are trading with a customer you aren’t guaranteed their financial situation will remain stable. Ongoing monitoring of customers’ financial and operating situation is crucial in being first to know when things are deteriorating. Not all changes are bad, and this should be considered as you monitor financial activity. Points to monitor include:  

• A continued, new trend of late payments when they used to pay on time.  
• Smaller or less frequent orders  
• Making payments on time, but not in full  
• Payment behaviour that is significantly worse than the industry average  

THREE: Highlighting customer behaviour that warrants further investigation  

Sometimes customers can do puzzling things. Sometimes they’re trying to (not so subtly) send you a message. Sometimes they’re doing the opposite and trying to hide something. Whatever the situation the following behaviour spotted through trade payments data should raise a flag:  

• A change in how they pay you, for example they consistently paid on time and now they’re paying late (or the opposite).  
• The timeliness of how they pay you is worse than how they pay other suppliers  
• Their payment behaviour is significantly worse than the industry benchmark  
• A change in their regular order with you. For example, they’re consistently ordering less from you or more time is passing between their regular orders. Or the opposite and there’s a consistent trend of larger and more regular orders.  

Why should this sort of behaviour raise flags? Well, if they’ve turned their payment behaviour around and have now been paying you consistently on time (perhaps coupled with increasing order sizes or doing more business across the board) then maybe it’s time to reassess their credit terms. If they’re on cash on delivery, maybe you can strengthen your relationship and start offering trade credit.   

On the other hand, if they use to be an all-star customer and are now appearing on you overdues list it might be worth a phone call. Sometimes these situations are caused by a change in staff or someone on holiday. Other times, it can be a first indication that the customer is unhappy with the goods and services supplied. It may mean there’s a dispute on the cards. In any case, the only way to speed up payment in these instances is to investigate further – pick up the phone, have a chat, dive into the detail.

FOUR: Reducing the risk of engaging with a fraudulent customer  

Reviewing trade payments data prior to onboarding and agreeing credit terms with a new customer is an important step in minimising your risk of being a victim of B2B fraud. Establishing that a prospective customer has an active payments history and good payment behaviour should give you confidence that you’re dealing with a business in good faith.

FIVE: Increasing trust in your business  

If you’re a new business or small business chances are you’re out there hustling. All your hard work though can be curtailed if suppliers and service providers you’re trying to trade with aren’t sure whether to trust you or not. This is where signing up to a commercial credit bureau and sharing your own trade payments data can be advantageous.  

By sharing your own trade payments data, prospective suppliers and customers will be able to review your history and have confidence in your ability and willingness to pay.   

Contributed by Ryan Jones, Account Executive, CreditorWatch

Franchisee and franchisor support for the Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) National Roadshow on the Federal Government’s review of the Franchising Code has been extremely positive with strong turnouts in all States and Territories.
 
The FCA is committed to widespread collaboration and has already held an Online Policy Forum as well as meetings in Perth, Sydney and Melbourn as it gathers valuable input for its submission to the review including insights and concerns on the Code’s potential improvements.
 
The next scheduled session is Brisbane on Tuesday 19 September from 10-1130 after the QLD Insights Breakfast (register https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1106858 ).
 
FCA Chair Brendan Green expressed his gratitude for the members’ participation, saying, “We want to extend our sincere thanks to all of you who have dedicated your time and support to join us in these consultations. Your commitment is essential in shaping the future of franchising in Australia.”
 
The roadshow is focused on the 22 criteria outlined by the Code’s reviewer and aims to gather practical insights from those with direct operational experience in the franchise sector.
 
Brendan Green emphasized the importance of providing real-world examples to support proposed changes to the Code: “Our approach is to highlight the areas where the Code is working effectively and, equally important, to pinpoint those aspects that require improvement through tangible examples.”
 
FCA CEO Matthew Monaghan emphasised the importance of input from both franchisees and franchisors in shaping the submission. “We are determined to ensure that our submission reflects the practical realities of operating a franchise business. The alignment of challenges faced by both franchisees and franchisors and examples of the current frustrations will lend greater weight to our recommendations,” he stated.
 
“We are dedicated to making this consultation process as interactive as possible. Your feedback is invaluable, and we aim to represent a wide range of voices in our submission so please share your thoughts with us via Membership@franchise.org.au.”
 
To maintain transparency and inclusivity, the FCA encouraged franchisees and franchisors to hold advisory council meetings to discuss and compile common challenges and concerns.

As the retail market continues to evolve, the pursuit of consumer loyalty intensifies. An exponential increase in digital touchpoints means businesses must adapt to ensure they remain at the forefront of innovation. With the drive towards digitisation, companies must ensure they invest in supporting tools and technologies that let them continue to deliver frictionless customer experiences both in-store and online with digital loyalty and rewards programs. 

Modern customers increasingly expect convenience at every turn, and payment-linked loyalty—where rewards are automatically applied at the point of sale (POS)—are representative of this new era. However, not every digital loyalty program will meet the unique needs of each business, so it’s important to look for a flexible solution, instead of a one-size-fits-all promise, according to Loyalty Now. 

Anurag Vasisth, Co-Chair and Group CEO, Loyalty Now, said, “Payment-linked loyalty streamlines the user experience while allowing businesses to gather invaluable transactional insights, which can be used to fine-tune offerings, ensuring customers receive relevant, timely, tailored incentives. 

“However, while data-driven insights are essential to remain competitive in the modern retail landscape, the ideal digital loyalty and rewards program should offer more benefits than access to data alone for retailers. Achieving this ensures that businesses gain access to a program that goes beyond data, delivering a solution that considers the business’s specific needs, and that of its consumers, to provide a loyalty program that maps to the customer and business relationship.” 

For the best results, digital loyalty and rewards programs should offer: 

• Comprehensive security: amid escalating cyber threats and an evolving threat landscape, data protection remains a paramount concern and businesses must be vigilant. As organisations collect and analyse vast amounts of transactional data, it is imperative that this information is kept secure, and businesses must invest in the latest security protocols and ensure rigorous compliance. Loyalty solutions that are Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)-compliant are essential to help maintain the trust and confidence of consumers. 
• Payment agnosticism: the diverse landscape of payment methods—from different cards, banks, and digital wallets—each with its unique protocols and requirements, can be a challenge. The true power lies in being versatile, in being attuned to the myriad ways customers choose to transact and engage with brands. Loyalty programs that are scheme agnostic and not confined to a single mode of payment deliver flexibility and inclusivity for consumers. This lets businesses reach a wider demographic, encompassing varied spending habits and preferences. 
• Demonstrated experience: businesses should look for loyalty program providers who have demonstrated experience in leading complex programs to success. A seasoned provider can navigate challenges, anticipate shifts in consumer behaviour, and innovate proactively. Such expertise is invaluable in creating a loyalty program that resonates, evolves, and delivers consistent value for consumers and merchants alike. 
• Frictionless retail experiences: with the rise of eCommerce, it’s impossible for brands not to ignore the value of a seamless instore and online experience, and loyalty programs must reflect this changing landscape. A fragmented approach can lead to disjointed customer experiences, potentially eroding loyalty. Successful loyalty programs should seamlessly integrate both offline and online experiences, giving consumers a unified experience that ensures continuity, fosters a sense of familiarity and trust, and keeps brands at the forefront of their minds. 
• Direct connection: loyalty programs that directly integrate with merchants and merchant aggregators  pave the way for richer insights, personalised offers, and a smoother overall experience. This ensures near real-time updates, personalised offers, and an enriched consumer journey that minimises layers and results in quicker decisions and more tailored offers.  

Anurag Vasisth said, “The pursuit of loyalty in today’s digital age requires the careful consideration of technology, strategy, and customer understanding. As businesses traverse this evolving landscape, it’s clear that a thoughtful approach to loyalty and rewards programs can foster lasting relationships and unlock untapped potential. Businesses are pressed to remain innovative, constantly adapting to changing consumer behaviours and expectations. Customer behaviours need to be considered in tandem with business objectives, as well as the changing industry landscape. This has highlighted the need for a well-considered choice in loyalty and rewards programs.” 

More than half of Australian businesses (51%) would look to source more suppliers and customers overseas within the next 12 months, according to new research released by Money Transfer Comparison. As the cost of doing business in Australia increases, 85,686 businesses closed their doors permanently between March and June 2023[1]. The highly competitive and costly Australian market could force SMEs to seek resources or customers offshore for business success or survival.

The research comprised of a survey of 202 independent business owners and decision-makers across the full SME spectrum, commissioned by comparison service Money Transfer Comparison. The full survey results, including breakdowns across different business sizes and States, can be found here: https://moneytransfercomparison.com/australian-business-supplies-overseas/ 

More than half of all Australian businesses would seek suppliers and customer overseas. 

With the rising operating costs business owners face, one-third have already reduced spending on non-essentials[2] and are making cost-saving adjustments for their businesses. Money Transfer Comparison’s research found that 51 per cent of businesses are willing to seek resources and customers or clients from overseas within the next 12 months as a response to the escalating costs of operating a business in Australia. One-third of the respondents (33%) indicated that they would choose an offshore supplier instead of a local one, and 18 per cent would seek suppliers and customer overseas.

“There are a number of benefits to outsourcing, such as saving on labour and supplier costs, entering less competitive markets and increasing a business’s customer base,” says Money Transfer Comparison spokesperson Russell Gous.

Across the major states, West Australian businesses are the most likely to source overseas resources and customers or clients in the next 12 months at 68 per cent. Queensland businesses are the least likely to make the switch from local to international suppliers and customers or clients (60%).

Analysing the choices of different business sizes across the SME spectrum, 60 per cent of medium-sized businesses would look offshore. In comparison, only a quarter of micro-businesses (25%) would investigate overseas options.

Russell believes the new findings indicate that business owners are adapting to the rapidly changing financial climate in Australia: “Businesses are proactive in finding solutions to maintain their competitive edge and financial security. Outsourcing could be a short or long-term solution for businesses mitigating increasing costs, as well as to solve the skills shortage.”

Tech industry the most sought after for SMEs looking to outsource

The survey asked respondents which category Australian businesses would look at sourcing cheaper overseas products and services, with tech-related products and services being most likely, specifically software (38%) and IT hardware (31%). A significant proportion of businesses would also source manufacturing (30%), labour (29%), shipping and logistics (27%) and research (15%) offshore.

Russell concludes: “The data provides a comprehensive picture of how Australian SMEs will lean on offshore outsourcing to mitigate some local challenges. The significant trend points towards the need for outsourcing within the next 12 months, and the preference towards the tech industry reflects Australia’s shortage of skills in this area.”

The full survey results, including breakdowns across different business sizes and States, can be found here: https://moneytransfercomparison.com/australian-business-supplies-overseas/ 

ECOVACS ROBOTICS, has announced the Australian launch of its revolutionary new DEEBOT X2 OMNI robotic vacuum cleaner. Square instead of round and more powerful than ever before, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI comes with an exciting range of advanced features and new innovations that redefine the design, performance and navigation of robotic vacuuming and mopping.

The DEEBOT X2 OMNI boasts a brand-new design and innovations that set a new standard in home and small business cleaning performance, as more than 100 ECOVACS patents come together in this new flagship. Its new square design is complemented by ECOVACS’ newly-developed Semi-Solid-State Lidar, which is directly integrated into the main body of the robot for the first time, which means that it can deliver true edge-to-edge cleaning precision as well as a lower profile of just 9.5cm to reach every corner and hard-to-reach, low lying furniture which have previously been impossible to reach without manual intervention.

Its 8,000pa of suction is 60% more powerful than its predecessor, it has a 15mm auto-lift feature on its mopping pads, has a run time of more than two and a half hours, and it contains a raft of new and powerful ECOVACS proprietary AI and machine learning technology that sets a new industry standard. The more it cleans, the more experience it gains, refining its autonomous decisions and cleaning performance and recommending optimal cleaning solutions over time, including the best navigation strategy, more precise and flexible obstacle avoidance, faster response times and higher detection sensitivity.

Meanwhile, the all-in-one OMNI station, now with a smaller footprint than its predecessor, offers a fully automatic cleaning solution, washing its mopping pads with 55 °C hot water and then drying them with hot air. The dust container is also emptied automatically, and clean water is refilled into the robot, making the whole process of the DEEBOT X2 OMNI effortlessly simple.

“The DEEBOT X2 OMNI is a clear indication of our commitment to continuously push the boundaries of innovation to deliver a superior cleaning performance, advanced intelligence, and an immersive cleaning experience,” said Karen Powell, ECOVACS Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand.

“With today’s launch we have delivered the ultimate cleaning companion that truly simplifies home cleaning, making everyday cleaning intelligent, effortless, and effective. We have gone well beyond incremental improvements to set a new course for technological advancement and product innovation in the industry, and Australian consumers will be among the first in the world to be able to access these new technology breakthroughs.”

Unprecedented New Design Breaks New Ground in Thorough Home Cleaning

ECOVACS takes cleaning to new dimensions with the DEEBOT X2 OMNI, particularly for those who value edge-to-edge cleanliness, quality and luxury in their living spaces.

Unmatched Cleaning Coverage: The brand-new design of the DEEBOT X2 OMNI features a square design, built-in edge detection sensors and outstretched mopping pads for edge-to edge cleanliness. These features enable the robot to perceive the furniture environment across the home, which provide thorough deep cleaning with edge coverage as high as 99.77% and a 19% increase in cleaning efficiency. The innovative square shape has expanded the width of the front roller brush and allows the mopping pads to move 30mm closer to the corners, resulting in a 45% reduction in distance over its predecessor X1 model. With enhanced proprietary motion control algorithms, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI effectively resolves the “way-out” problem when navigating narrow areas, ensuring a thorough cleaning experience that leaves no dirt or dust behind. The DEEBOX X2 OMNI also integrates ECOVACS’s longest main roller brush, which further elevate its cleaning performance.

·       Effortlessly Thorough Cleaning: ECOVACS has crafted the DEEBOT X2 OMNI with a square and compact design tailored to users’ everyday needs and challenges in cleaning hard-to-reach areas with vacuum cleaners. Measuring 32cm in diameter and 9.5cm in height, the super-thin, low-profile design enables the robotic cleaner to glide underneath all furniture, like sofas and beds, easily, cleaning areas where dirt often hides. This advanced design makes cleaning more manageable and efficient, saving users’ time and effort.

·       Space-saving Elegance: Accommodating the DEEBOT X2 is the new OMNI station, featuring a space-saving form factor of 394mm x 527.5mm x 443.73mm in dimensions. This sleek design allows easy integration in various living spaces, ensuring a clutter-free and organised home.

Industry-leading Technology for Unsurpassed Cleaning Performance

ECOVACS’ DEEBOT X2 OMNI emerges as a powerhouse of cleaning performance, driven by sophisticated tech advancements and user-centric engineering.

·       Maximised Efficiency: The DEEBOT X2 OMNI boasts a wind tunnel and an impressive suction power of up to 8000Pa, tailored explicitly for comprehensive crevice dusting and carpet cleaning. This ensures superior cleaning efficiency and effectiveness, efficiently tackling challenging and large dirt patches.

·       15mm Intelligent Auto-Lift Of Mopping Pads: The DEEBOT X2 OMNI, employing ultrasonic technology, has a powerful 15mm intelligent auto-lift feature on its mopping pads. This smart technology prevents dirty mops from staining mopped areas during backwashing and eliminates cross-contamination when navigating. It simplifies the cleaning process by removing the need to detach the mopping plate when encountering carpets during mopping or vacuuming, guaranteeing a seamless and hygienic cleaning experience.

·       Consistent Cleaning Pressure: The unique OZMO Turbo 2.0 Rotating Mopping System provides consistent pressure to the floor for deep cleaning with the unique chenille fabric mop, capable of tackling even stubborn stains. The LiftUp OZMO Turbo 2.0 Rotating Mopping system lifts when a carpet is detected or passing through a clean area, optimising the suction power from mopping mode to vacuum mode, ensuring a clean home in any scenario.

·       Stronger Mobility Performance: The DEEBOT X2 OMNI is built with a superb 22mm obstacle-surmounting capacity, allowing it to ascend 22mm to cross most thresholds easily. It ensures smooth navigation over drops and protruding thresholds, particularly those on high or uneven surfaces. Users enjoy a hands-off cleaning experience as the DEEBOT X2 OMNI effortlessly navigates different home areas of your home.

Intelligent, AI-Powered Cleaning Assistance, Every Day

The DEEBOT X2 OMNI sets new standards in smart cleaning by integrating advanced artificial intelligence, offering cleanliness and the security of your home’s assets.

·       Unsurpassed Cleaning Precision: The DEEBOT X2 OMNI incorporates pioneering Dual-laser Lidar technology. Anchored by a built-in LiDAR sensor – the same technology found in many autonomous vehicles – this feature acts as the DEEBOT’s ‘eyes,’ allowing a 210-degree view, superior navigation, and intelligent obstacle avoidance even for objects 10m away. With its protected, in-built design, the DEEBOT X2 swiftly responds to changes in the home environment, ensuring the safety of your belongings and offering a refined cleaning experience.

·       Exceptional Adaptability:  Alongside, the AIVI™ 3D 2.0, an AI advancement, grants the DEEBOT X2 enhanced spatial perception capabilities. An upgraded RGBD sensor is more capable of identifying and adapting to a specific environment. The new feature improves its recognition of ground barriers and furniture designation for cleaning, significantly reducing the need for additional adjustments and user intervention. With such advanced AI integration, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI maximises the success rate in recognising and adapting to different cleaning scenarios and environments, further enhancing cleaning efficiency.

·       Harnessing Machine Learning: The DEEBOT X2 OMNI employs a new AINA Model (Artificial Intelligence Navigation) machine learning algorithms to adapt effectively to various cleaning scenarios and environments while ensuring the safety of household assets. The more it cleans, the more experience it gains, refining its autonomous decisions and cleaning performance and recommending optimal cleaning solutions over time. Whether it’s swiftly avoiding fast-moving children at home, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI stands ready, ensuring their safety while delivering a stellar clean.

Effortless Cleaning

In tune with the demands of contemporary households, ECOVACS has built the DEEBOT X2 OMNI to deliver unparalleled convenience and efficiency.

·       No Manual Intervention: The all-in-one OMNI station sets a new standard in automation, providing a comprehensive solution that covers cleaning, emptying, hot air drying, and refilling. Every cleaning cycle makes your bot good as new. With its unique 55°C hot water mop washing function, the OMNI station ensures that the X2’s mopping pads are always clean, dissolving oil stains better, leaving them ready for the next use. This frees users from everyday cleaning inconveniences and even the toughest stain removal hassles. 

·       Convenient Maintenance: For effortless upkeep, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI features a detachable cleaning sink and bottom plate components, providing users with an elegant, worry-free, and time-saving way to maintain their vacuum cleaners. With easy-to-maintain parts, home dwellers can keep their DEEBOT X2 OMNI in optimal condition without any stress or effort.

·       Extended Battery Life: Equipped with a built-in 6400mAh lithium battery delivering more than two and half hours of runtime, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI delivers consistent cleaning performance even in large homes without frequent recharging. Its extended battery life promises uninterrupted cleaning sessions with minimal user effort, making home cleaning more effortless than ever before.

A Truly New-Age Interactive Cleaning Experience

The DEEBOT X2 OMNI ushers a new generation of interactive cleaning, offering a continually evolving intelligent cleaning assistant that is effortlessly controllable and customizable to user needs.

·       Accessible, Immersive Interactions for Tailored Cleaning: Leveraging its newly upgraded 3D map, the DEEBOT X2 OMNI can now identify and clean specific areas, be it a stain under your living room table or a dirt patch in the hallway. Users simply have to swipe their finger over the target area over the app, and the DEEBOT X2 OMNI will take care of it, providing user-centric customisation and convenience.

·       Enhanced Voice Controlled Assistance: The DEEBOT X2 OMNI also incorporates the advanced YIKO 2.0 voice assistant, enabling multiple voice control scenarios, including conversations with numerous commands, offline natural language processing, remote control, cleaning scheduling, task adjustments and more. These features offer an immersive cleaning experience and improve the DEEBOT X2 OMNI’s ability to understand and respond to user commands, serving as an intelligent housekeeper.

Leading the Industry with Strong R&D Capabilities

ECOVACS has R&D centers in Suzhou and Shenzhen, housing the largest R&D teams in the industry, and continues to invest in key technologies such as chips, sensors, visual perception, and voice interaction as part of its commitment to cutting-edge technologies. The company’s R&D expenditure in 2022 was over A$160 million, representing an increase of 35.5% from the previous year. By the end of 2022, it had obtained 1,540 patents, including 531 for inventions.

Through its product R&D and technological efficiency, ECOVACS has solidified its leading position in the service robotics industry. Each breakthrough in key areas like cleaning, navigation, obstacle avoidance, and interaction strengthens the foundation for future technological advancements and are also patented, thus strengthening ECOVACS’ technological advantage in the service robot sector.

Pricing and Availability

The ECOVACS X2 OMNI has a recommended retail price of A$2,499 and is available today through pre-order through all retail partners. It will be on-shelf from September 21 from Bing Lee, Godfreys, Harvey Noman, JB HiFi, Robot Specialist, The Good Guys, Amazon & ECOVACS Online.

The past few years have placed tremendous pressure on Australia’s tradies. Plagued by labour shortages, mass increases in the cost of materials and a shrinking work pipeline, our home improvement industry is in need of support.

Thankfully, tradie shortages are slowly easing and the trajectory for the industry is promising. However, with consumer budgets still incredibly tight due to the ongoing cost of living crisis, the number of larger jobs available such as new builds and renovations is still yet to rise.

Supporting tradies and small businesses in the home improvement sector has always been a core value at hipages Group. With hipages being Australia’s largest online tradie marketplace, we help our network of over 35,700 verified tradies find work to keep their job pipelines flowing.

In fact, in our recent FY23 results we recorded a record 41% YoY increase in tradie sign-ups to our platform. Although the number of bigger jobs has decreased, tradies on our platform have been able to tap into the steady demand for home maintenance and repair jobs that are posted every day.

Giving tradies a platform to be heard

Tradies are at the core of hipages, so we know that the challenges tradies face are dynamic and can change rapidly. We’ve given them a greater voice within our business through the introduction of our first Customer Advisory Board.

A diverse mix of business owners and operators across the most popular trade categories around Australia, the hipages Customer Advisory Board provides feedback on our product features, brings new insights to shape our services, and identifies areas for improvement to directly tackle the issues impacting tradies and businesses.

In less than three months of operation, the board is already making waves by assisting with the implementation of a new profile page on the hipages platform that helps tradies better promote their business. The feedback provided by the Board has been instrumental and our customers are already seeing results.

Through monthly regroups, the Board provides updates on business trends from architecture to plumbing, providing us with a greater understanding of the wider industry.

Having this direct voice for the trade community helps us stay close to the current problems, so we can provide relevant solutions. While we’ve always engaged in two-way dialogue with the tradie community, the Board takes this even further.

Looking to the future

Ultimately, our goal at hipages Group is to take our support of tradies even further in the creation of an end-to-end platform that cements our place in the tradie ecosystem. From quote to invoice, we want to empower our customers with the tools they need on every step of the business journey,

Our Customer Advisory Board will be key to achieving this vision by helping to uncover the many challenges tradies can face, including building a business profile, administrative tasks, job scheduling and more.

As Australia’s home improvement industry continues to evolve, hipages will continue to do the same, fostering a great connection between tradies and homeowners, and providing businesses with a secret weapon for their toolkit.