Since Facebook and YouTube introduced 360-video along with hardware devices from Google, Samsung and Microsoft, marketers are stepping up efforts to leverage virtual reality to connect with consumers, showing the technology's potential beyond gaming.  Virtual reality was originally thought to be a huge innovation within the video game industry, but brands have unlocked its potential for marketing through various video and interactive experiences. 

After electronics and apparel, wearables is the next frontier for the country's largest etailer Flipkart. Going by the current popularity of wearables or Internet of Things devices such as smart watches, bands, shoes or other tracking accessories, Flipkart is expecting the category, which was launched just three months ago, to become the largest for gifting during the next festive season. Flipkart is investing heavily in building this category and is expecting many more products to be added to its catalogue over the coming months, said Ankit Nagori, chief business officer of Flipkart. "People are shopping for these products not just for …

Macy’s keen grasp of mobile’s significant role for Thanksgiving weekend shoppers is evident from a new in-store contest leveraging beacon technology, a focus on Pinterest for showcasing deals and a mobile-enabled shopping list. The retailer, long a leader in mobile shopping, is offering in-store shoppers multiple chances to win prizes by playing the mobile enabled Macy’s Black Friday Walk In and Win game, which is triggered by beacons. Additionally, shoppers can get a sneak peak at Black Friday specials on the Macy’s Pinterest page and build a shopping list from their mobile phones on Macys.com that they can shop from …

German automaker Mercedes-Benz is looking beyond the millennial market with its “mobile club lounge.” The “Vision Tokyo” concept model is an electric-powered, autonomous driving vehicle aimed at the urban trendsetters of Generation Z. A variety of technological advances are presenting automakers with enormous opportunities to redefine the luxury automotive market.

Google added iPhone support to Android Wear smartwatches in August, and Pebble watches have been able to pair with the iPhone since the first version launched in 2013. Samsung’s new Gear S2 doesn’t work with iPhones right now, but the company is reportedly considering it. Given that the iPhone eats up 92% of smartphone profits, it makes sense for companies to target high-end smartphone users who may have more money to spend on accessories. The tragedy here is that these smartwatches are almost always better when paired with an Android phone instead. I’d go so far as to say they’re barely worth considering …

MasterCard is partnering with GM, Nymi, Ringly and TrachR to develop a series of unique connected payment devices, straying from the traditional wristband and mobile offerings in an attempt to transform every device into a payment option. The payment provider is hoping to create a new industry in which all consumer devices can be used as a payment mechanism. A series of devices such as a vehicle key fob, ring and fitness tracker wristband will be developed by the manufacturers as methods of contactless payments powered by MasterCard.

Verizon Communications Inc is trying to pave the way for developers to connect more devices to the Web, as its "Internet of Things" business has touched $500 million so far this year, an executive said on Wednesday. Aimed at connecting to the Internet everything from household devices to industrial machines, the business is growing at a "double-digit" rate, Mike Lanman, senior vice president of enterprise products at Verizon said at an event in San Francisco. "A large portion of our revenue comes through connectivity but a significant part of it comes from the application layer already," he said in a …

Location-based technology and its impact on how your merchant clients can leverage it to enhance customer experience was a topic for a panel at BlueStar’s VARTECH 2015. Panelist Jon Levin, product integration manager at Star Micronics, said beacons are being used in a variety of ways. “We’re starting to see a lot of location-based pushing of product promotion.” Another application is managing hardware in a mobile environment. “When you’re moving around you’re taking the point of sale with you, it gets really hard to manage which printer you’re connecting to and what source you’re connecting to,” Levin explained.

Market research group Mintel has issued its European Consumer Trends 2016 report, identifying beacons and virtual reality as two technologies which will impact travel and leisure businesses. Beacons have been part of the travel tech discussions for a number of years, usually in an airport context, with some hospitality applications thrown in. This year they have become more prevalent and 2016, suggests Mintel, could be the year when they become mainstream. It identifies Google’s launch this summer of an open-source beacon technology – Eddystone – as not only a competitor to Apple’s iBeacon but also a way to open up beacon use to a wider audience.

A scene to be played out tens of thousands of times a day across Metro Vancouver in the very near future: A tired downtown worker gets in her car at 5 p.m. for yet another winter commute along dark, rain-slicked streets to her home in the suburbs. She presses the start button and her car comes to life, a soothing male voice with an English accent greeting her by name and asking her how her day went. Seconds later, the voice informs her there is major traffic congestion on her usual route home so a new course has been programmed …