Frozen yogurt franchise Pinkberry is ramping up its loyalty program by driving downloads of its mobile application via email. Pinkberry's app was released last October, and the company is driving downloads by emailing customers that register a rewards card. The free app is available for download in Apple's App Store and Google Play.

Gas prices are on motorists' minds even before they pull up to the pump, as results from a new study indicate. According to the xAd/Telmetrics 2013 U.S. Mobile Path-to-Purchase Study, two out of three gas and convenience searchers are using mobile exclusively for their searches. The study, conducted by Nielsen, also shows that 85 percent of search time is spent on a smartphone with most users conducting gas price comparisons/searches. The gas and convenience category offers one of the highest mobile conversion rates -- nearly 90 percent -- as most mobile users who search for these services ultimately make a …

Zapp, the UK m-commerce company recently set up by VocaLink, has selected Oracle to help build its technology platform. Zapp plans to allow consumers to make real-time payments from their mobile devices, unlocking the money in their current account. Payments will be processed by linking a mobile phone number to a bank account. Payments can be made via smartphone with no need to use a card. Zapp gives consumers direct access to the money in their existing bank accounts through their mobile phone and real-time payments. Zapp will be integrated into merchants' online and mobile checkouts and can be used …

European smartphone shoppers would be even more confident engaging in mobile commerce if they could do so using services provided by their bank, research published by the Future Foundation shows. The research, commissioned by mobile money experts Monitise, reveals six-in-10 UK smartphone users (57%) would feel more confident buying goods and services by mobile if they could use apps provided by their bank.

Lancme Canada is using mobile, Web, social media and email in a new contest that ultimately drives consumers to shop a line of eye makeup products online. The beauty brand's mobile campaign shows off its new Show eye makeup products that were created by Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz. Lancme Canada worked with Tagga Media on the initiative.

Bharti Airtel, through its fully-owned subsidiary Airtel M Commerce Services Limited (AMSL), has tied up with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) to offer railway bookings through Airtel money. With this, commuters travelling by rail every day will now be able to register through their registar option *400# on Airtel mobile phones and book tickets through their mobile phones via airtel money.

Baidu Inc., owner of China's largest search engine, agreed to buy app store 91 Wireless for $1.9 billion in its biggest announced acquisition to gain a greater share of the mobile user market. The company will acquire the majority stake owned by NetDragon Websoft Inc. (777) and all other shares, Baidu said in a statement today. Investors in 91 Wireless on March 27 included companies controlled by PCCW Ltd. Chairman Richard Li and Temasek Holdings Pte, a separate filing showed.

Marks & Spencer is in the final stages of planning the roll out of a mobile payments trial using an app that lets customers pay for goods via payment details stored on their phone, with the process potentially kicking off as early as next month.

M-commerce sales were up 136 per cent year-on-year in June and up eight per cent on May 2013, according to figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index. Online retail sales also grew by 20 per cent y-o-y in June, the highest recorded growth in two years, adding to other recent evidence of economic recovery in the UK.

Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the retailer-led mobile wallet initiative that was launched last year, has added Kohl's and Circle K convenience stores to its merchant network. Collectively, the organization's 30-plus retailers operate nearly 90,000 stores and process more than $1 trillion in payments annually. MCX also announced its selection of FIS, a global provider of banking and payments technology, to provide a payment processing, routing and settlement for mobile commerce transactions. The FIS technology will integrate with mobile wallet software being developed for MCX by Gemalto, offering consumers a personalized payment experience that includes offers, promotions, loyalty and other services.