Boku Inc.

Apr 3, 2020

Here is an update on the impact of Government social distancing measures on the demand for home entertainment services delivered by our Merchants.

The charts below typically look at new user data comparing February, when the restrictions primarily affected a few countries in Asia, and March, when the pandemic reached Europe and the US. (We acknowledge that the charts do not have a Y Axis, we’re explicitly aiming to show trends not disclose detailed user acquisition data).  Some of the charts show the number of new users accumulated through the month, others show a day of the month comparison.

Which sectors are affected?

Boku operates two business lines: an Identity business that uses phone operators to verify possession, integrity and ownership of mobile phone numbers, and a Payments business that allows people to buy digital goods and charge them to their phone bill. We’re seeing that demand for Identity services is broadly unaffected; people are still using their mobiles to do things.

For video and games, by contrast, demand has increased. It seems that if you’re confined to your home, a favoured way to kill time is watching streaming TV or playing games, especially games with a social element such as MMPORGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). Read full post

Apr 2, 2020

It may seem like an unusual time to talk about gratitude, but it is at times like these that showing others our gratitude for the things they do to help us, is most important. When this is all over, we’ll remember the people who thought of others rather than themselves..

As lockdowns extend and tighten, we are seeing the economic impact that Coronavirus is having not just on major industries like airlines and hotels, but also on local businesses whose services Boku offices have long relied on. The people who clean our space, water our plants, stock our kitchens, and cater our lunches that are suffering

We are very aware and grateful that Boku is among the fortunate – our business and way of working has been less affected and more adaptable to the current state of affairs than others, we are still able to serve our merchants and carrier partners so that they can provide the services that people stuck at home need access to.

We have always prided ourselves on wanting to do the right thing, a notion that spurred us to join other companies in instituting mandatory working from home well ahead of government mandates. But we realise that from our position, we can go beyond ensuring our employees doing their part to stop the spread of Coronavirus and supporting our frontline healthcare workers by staying home. Read full post

Mar 19, 2020

Jon Prideaux, Chief Executive Officer

19 March 2020 – We are in trying times. In addition to the global health crisis, the coronavirus is wreaking havoc in the business world. Many sectors and industries are in life or death struggles as they try to cope with a cashflow crisis caused by fractured supply chains and plunging demand.

Amidst all this chaos Boku, through a combination of good luck and good design, finds itself in a strong position. Boku’s partners, users and suppliers can be reassured that we will be able to continue to deliver uninterrupted service.

Uninterrupted Supply Chains

Boku’s services are consumed and distributed digitally; we are resistant to physical supply chain disruption. Our merchants from the digital ecosystem share the same characteristics allowing them to operate without interruption and to scale as the market demands.

Changes in Consumer Behavior & Demand

Some industries are dependent on close and physical interaction with their customers. For others, their business model involves large groups of people gathering in the same place. Sectors such as airlines, entertainment, hotels, tourism, and restaurants are all threatened by the restrictions put in place to control the pandemic. Read full post

Mar 19, 2020

Jon Prideaux, Chief Executive Officer

The arrival of the coronavirus has seen whole cities and countries shut down with billions of people across the world now confined to their homes. Instead of spending their day to day lives in the face to face environment, consumers have had their daily activities (schooling, work, commerce and entertainment) directed towards the digital space.

This change has destabilised the global economy and had particularly shocking impacts on the travel, tourism, hospitality and entertainment industries while putting increased strain on global supply chains. For instance:

• Hong Kong has seen a 96% drop in arrivals since the start of the COVID-19 crisis.¹
• The outbreak has cost US cruise lines nearly $750 million since January and shares of Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have dropped 60% to 70%.²
• The International Air Transport Association has predicted that global airline revenue losses would probably top $113 billion.³

However, when people aren’t traveling, they’re in their homes. And this has caused an increase in demand for digital commerce (both digital goods and physical goods ordered from the digital domain). Amazon in the US is hiring 100,000 extra workers ⁴.   Read full post