Mobile payments technology vendor DoubleBeam Inc. has acquired GoPago Inc., a mobile point-of-sale software and services provider that enables retailers and restaurants to use card reader-equipped tablets and smartphones to check out customers. GoPago also allows shoppers to use an app to order and pay for goods and services before they arrive at a business. DoubleBeam says it will incorporate GoPago's mobile point-of-sale software and services into its portfolio, and that the deal will let it offer merchants an integrated point-of-sale and mobile commerce platform across bricks-and-mortar, online and mobile channels.

Uniqlo recently broadened its mcommerce reach to the United States by adding the feature to its iOS and Android applications that are being promoted on Facebook. The move positions the Japanese bricks-and-mortar and online retailer to compete with Gap, Joe Fresh, Zara, H&M and others for the ever-growing mobile sales. Uniqlo was already competing for mcommerce space in China. "Mobile commerce is a major trend in the Chinese market and an important channel for brands such as Uniqlo," said Kevin Gentle, digital strategy director at Labbrand Brand Innovations at Shanghai. "Figures show that after consumers make their first purchase on …

Bud Light is scoring touchdowns before Super Bowl 2014 kicks off in a multichannel campaign that offers an overnight hotel stay and game tickets via a mobile application. By taking its campaign mobile with applications, videos and a sweepstakes, the Anheuser-Busch label beverage is meeting consumers wherever they may engage with their smartphones and tablets. This is a prime example of mobile's growing presence in brands' marketing strategies.

Markets and Markets has released a new report concerning the global NFC market. NFC technology has served as the foundation for mobile commerce for several years, but the technology can be used for much more than facilitating mobile shopping and payments. NFC is also quite capable when it comes to data sharing, allowing consumers to send digital information in a relatively easy and efficient fashion. The report shows that NFC is beginning to gain momentum around the world, even as its uses in mobile commerce diminish. According to the report, the global NFC market will hit $10 billion by 2016, …

Pepsi is activating nearly 20 million cans in the Northeast United States with augmented reality as part of a bigger digital push around the Super Bowl XLIX in 2015. The soda giant is enlisting mobile leading up to its 2015 sponsorship of the National Football League's Super Bowl XLIX. The augmented reality is powered by the Blippar application. "CPG brands are recognizing that the package itself can be a vehicle to spark consumer engagement and interaction," said Ambarish Mitra, CEO/founder of Blippar, London.

Guess has updated its mobile application with a new loyalty program and newsfeed to incentivize in-store and online shopping. The app's newsfeed now contains customized messages, event notices, behind-the-scenes videos and exclusive shopping offers. It also lets consumers connect their Guess List account and store offers, receipts and gift cards in a mobile wallet. "The Guess brand is aimed at the young and the hip," said Mark Ghermezian, CEO of Appboy, New York. "Young people are constantly on their smartphones.

Braintree, a mobile payments processor, has high hopes for the holiday season. The firm has already been seeing a great deal of activity come from mobile consumers who shopped online during the Thanksgiving holiday and notes that mobile commerce is becoming much more common than it was in the past. Braintree expects to see mobile payments play a much more significant role in the retail sector, especially during the holidays when mobile shopping is favored as a convenient alternative to traditional shopping. Cyber Monday, one of the most significant days of the year for consumer electronics, was Braintree's most successful …

At a Christmas gathering among friends in Singapore, I was surprised to learn that a couple of them have begun selling second-hand stuff on Carousell, a consumer-to-consumer mobile marketplace app. Neither are in the internet industry, and only got to know about the service through word-of-mouth. One friend has already sold over S$600 worth of items, and most of the goods he's put up has at least one enquiry. That got me curious. So I checked out the app, and it turns out that I have quite a sizable group of non-tech female friends who are using it to sell …

Sports Authority expanded its integration with the shopkick application to all stores nationwide Dec. 19, just in time for the holidays. Now shopkick app users will earn "kicks" - virtual credit or "kickbucks" - on their mobile devices as they walk in any Sports Authority store, instead of the limited number that offered it before. Mobile incentives such as this drive sales and can help increase foot traffic in bricks-and-mortar stores.

NFC technology has been attracting a lot of attention for some time. The technology is quite simple in that it is capable of facilitating the transfer of digital information over short distances. NFC is most commonly seen in the mobile commerce field and therein has attracted the majority of its support. It is in the mobile commerce sector that questions regarding the safety of NFC came to prominence. Because NFC deals with the financial information of consumers in the mobile sector, the technology's capabilities to protect this information have become a serious issue. The security issues of NFC are difficult …