A Web-only retailer has given its e-commerce and m-commerce sites a brand new look and added new features continues to focus on speedy mobile page loads. The e-retailer's sites feature a new design, colors, logo and branding slogan: "Search faster, done faster." The merchant overhauled its mobile and desktop site search function with technology from Solr, which enables Toolfetch.com to tailor search results by weighting specific product attributes and breaking down results by facets such as category, price and brand.

Allstate Private Car & Limousine Inc. has created a faster way for customers to request rides with its new mobile application. The black car fleet has partnered with iRide Mobile to create the app that lets users book car services straight from their smartphones. Customers can request that a car pick them up from any location in New York. "We got this app for the convenience of the client," said Eddie Slinin, president/CEO of Allstate Private Car & Limousine Inc., New York. "We've been in business since 1983, and we want to provide quality service to corporate America.

Danone yogurt is linking QR codes with its loyalty program in Spain, enabling customers to scan the 2D bar code appearing on its products with their smartphones as a way to earn points. Each Danone pack will feature a unique code with consumers able to earn up to $50 per month in discount coupons. Danone has also launched its first multiplatform mobile application so that users can quickly and easily scan the QR codes. It has been downloaded more than 30,000 times in the first three weeks.

Target has announced the winner of the $75,000 grand prize in its Retail Accelerator contest: a mobile retail concept called "Divvy." Jointly promoted by Target and Fast Company, the Retail Accelerator competition was designed to foster digital innovation in retail by challenging developers to build a new mobile experience for Target. The Divvy concept is designed to improve the group shopping experience by allowing multiple users to update a shopping list in real time while making it easier to split the bill and distribute receipts. A group of New York-based digital developers and co-workers called Team Pilot submitted the winning …

E-commerce sales are expected to grow by 17.5% to $963bn globally in 2013, with mobile commerce being the fastest growing channel, according to a new study. However, the report by Siemer & Associates noted that online sales rose by 20.6% last year, indicating that the general weakness in the global retail industry has hit e-retail as well. The report added that e-commerce sales are expected to account for 9.3% of total retail sales by 2016. It also expects mobile commerce to be the fastest-growing online channel, accounting for 56.2% of all online sales by 2016, up from 20.9% in 2012.

7-Eleven is continuing to pull out all of its mobile bells and whistles this summer with a multichannel campaign that is aimed at driving in-store traffic for its 7-Eleven Day this week. The convenience store chain is using a combination of SMS, mobile Web, social media and mobile advertising to get the word out about the campaign. In particular, video is also playing a big role for 7-Eleven this year.

Anheuser-Busch is one of the few marketers today that is not only experimenting with augmented reality at scale, but is also banking on the technology as instrumental to driving retail sales. Beer brands are at the forefront of digital innovation with new technologies such as augmented reality driving engagement with their consumers. One of the more interesting growth opportunities for augmented reality and Anheuser-Busch is around the growing smart device area with tools such as Google Glass.

A growing number of major sports venues across the UK, which play host to some of the biggest football clubs on the planet, are turning to m-commerce to seek new ways to engage with fans. Marketing Week reports that Premiership sides, including Manchester City and Liverpool in the UK, as well as Celtic and Rangers up in Scotland, have adopted Wi-Fi networking at their stadiums, to give spectators free network connectivity and an incentive to use bespoke apps on their smartphones, while watching big games.

Ingram Micro just made life a little easier for its resellers with the launch of its new mobile ecommerce apps for iOS and Android devices. The new apps, available now from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store, allow resellers to search and browse products from Ingram Micro's e-commerce store, check pricing and availability, order products and track order shipments in real time. Ingram Micro New Zealand managing director, Gary Bigwood, said this was a first for the New Zealand IT wholesale channel.

Leading online pan-European Flash Sale pioneer vente-privee.com has found that, of the eight main European markets in which it operates, the UK is by far the most mobile-orientated, with 37% of its UK turnover coming from mobile. Looking at how it operates in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, UK, Belgium, The Netherlands and Austria, vente-privee.com has found that overall 32% of its sales come from mobile devices. This is up six per cent on the end of 2012. Breaking down the mobile turnover figures by device, 53% of turnover came from tablets, 47% from smartphones.