They want it, but don't quite know what it is. A recent survey commissioned by Verifone, conducted online during the holiday 2014 shopping season, found that, while 53% of people want stores to install smartphone payment devices, and 84% would use their smartphones to pay for things like coffee or pair of jeans, half of consumers polled were unfamiliar with mobile technologies.

Most credit decisions are based on the borrower's FICO score. Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Ally Financial Inc. said they will offer the score free to some of its customers this year. Discover Financial Services already offers a free FICO score to its credit card customers, and Citigroup Inc. will offer it to most of its Citi-brand credit card customers this month.

Quiznos has named Doug Pendergast president and CEO, following the resignation of Stuart Mathis, who has left to pursue other opportunities. The announcement followed staff cuts at the Denver-based QSR. Quiznos officials declined to give details. Pendergast joins Quiznos after leaving The Krystal Company, where he was president and chief executive. Last week, Krystal named Omar Janjua president and CEO.

The restaurant business is flat, so to speak, but places like Hooters, Tilted Kilt, Twin Peaks and Brick House are doing well. Sales at so-called "breastaurants" have grown at a double-digit pace over the last year, according to Technomic's projections. While sales overall at restaurants are down 0.4%, they are up between 3% (for Hooters) and 30% (for Brick House). And, they serve food.

Whole Food Market's Coddingtown store in Santa Rosa, Calif., is a fully stocked brewing supply store. Not only does it sell brewing equipment, but also bulk grains, yeast and other ingredients. It also hosts homebrewer how-to classes. Other Whole Foods stores have similar offerings. The Whole Foods website even includes a video of the founders of the Brooklyn Brew Shop, which markets home-brewing kits.

This year, swim gear maker Speedo's ads are turning the focus from the Michael Phelps super-swimmers of the world and instead focusing on real people and everyday water sports. There's a new Speedo spokesman, who is, in fact, unusual: a 91-year-old swimmer. Jurgen Schmidt is a Huntington Beach, Calif., retiree who still swims about a mile almost every day at a Masters team practice.

The latest hacking scandal involves airlines and free travel. Both American and United have confirmed that thieves used stolen usernames and passwords to book free trips or upgrades. Thieves were able to access customer account and used accumulated miles to make purchases without the account holder's consent. Reportedly, about 10,000 AAdvantage accounts were affected.

Hilton Worldwide has signed a five-year deal to become the "official hotel" of entertainment event company Live Nation. The hotelier plans to take advantage of the global music firm's platform via concerts, VIP access, digital media, ticketing and performance venues. Live Nation gets access not only to Hilton HHonors' 42 million-member loyalty rewards program, but other Hilton partnerships.

Higher education is in a pinch, with articles, research and pundits saying, almost daily, that traditional college is overpriced and overvalued. In that environment, the University of Oregon is undergoing a long-term branding campaign along the lines of what the University of Florida embarked upon earlier this season. Oregon, like Florida, is partnering with marketing agency 160over90 to grow the university's brand.

In a 2014 study by Dalziel and Pow, 41% of respondents said they valued the ambiance of a retail store more than location, friendliness of staff and customer service. Techorating, which is what it sounds like, may be the next advance in that realm. Digital signage with updated lottery jackpot numbers, for example, have raised the number of lottery tickets purchased by 10% to 12%, per Kevin Goldsmith, of Ping HD, a digital strategies company.