Annual retail payments on mobile handsets and tablets are expected to reach $707 billion by 2018, representing 30% of all e-retail by that time. According to a new Juniper Research report, "Mobile Payment for Digital & Physical Goods: Opportunities & Forecast 2014-2018," this compares with mobile retail spend of $182 billion in 2012, when mobile accounted for around 15% of e-retail. The report found that leading retailers were increasingly developing strategies built around mobile, using it as a 'hub' facilitating payment, product discovery and customer retention. As a result, the size and scale of purcha

Toys "R" Us is significantly streamlining the coupon redemption process with a new mobile advertising campaign that directly integrates Apple's Passbook so consumers can easily save a limited-time offer. The mobile ads are running inside Kiip's network of mobile applications, including the Unblock Me iPhone app. The campaign supports Toys "R" Us's bigger post-holiday marketing efforts. "We elected to leverage Passbook for this campaign as the earned coupon can easily be stored via Passbook and redeemed later in-store when the customer is shopping, providing a seamless redemption flow," said Katie Regner, spokeswoman at Toys "R" Us, Wayne, NJ.

Square, the mobile commerce platform that was founded by Twitter's Jack Dorsey, recently unveiled a thinner Square Reader. This little gem enables entrepreneurs and small business owners to start accepting payments via their mobile device, and also brings the ability to track inventory and trends through Square Register. Square has announced today a partnership with Griffin that solidifies their strength into the growing mobile transaction space with the "Merchant Case." This is a "protective case optimized for a Square Reader," costs $20, is made of silicone and is compatible with the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. The Merchant Case is …

Monitise, a developer of mobile payments technology, has announced that it has secured a partnership with a leading bank in the United Kingdom as well as extending a commercial contract with one of the country's leading financial organizations. The company notes that the demand for mobile payments technology has been growing dramatically over the past year. With 2013 over, many retailers and other businesses have been exposed to the benefits of mobile commerce and these organizations are showing their eagerness to embrace the mobile space in 2014. Mobile payments are not only growing more popular among businesses. Consumers have become …

While General Electric's latest sweepstakes is running across both desktop and mobile, the experience for the latter is not as robust, a discrepancy the company hopes to address in future campaigns. The contest is running until January 7 and invites consumers to find the Artistry brand's mascot, Artie the Dalmatian, on GEappliances.com for a chance at winning prizes. Consumers can enter via mobile, but the mobile site does not reflect the interactive scavenger hunt that the desktop counterpart provides.

Skinny Cow is asking consumers to make the brand a part of their New Year's resolutions via a mobile, social contest. The daily giveaway is taking place throughout the month of January and will give consumers prizes such as purses, pedicures and Skinny Cow candy and ice cream. To enter, consumers must purchase a Skinny Cow product and type in the bar code from the box or six-digit game code from the wrapper to see if they are a winner.

If only to pique reader interest, Forbes is asking whether Snapchat is a “$3 billion disappearing act,” while suggesting that the social startup’s young founder was less than smitten with Mark Zuckerberg when the latter came calling about a potential acquisition. Short lived or not, Forbes currently believes that “Snapchat represents the greatest existential threat yet to the Facebook juggernaut.” Yet, according to one top venture capitalist, that doesn’t equal the $3 billion that Facebook reportedly offered to buy the company. 

In 2013 the percentage of in-store sales where mobile phones were used as part of the shopping journey stood at 6.8%. This equates to GBP18bn of sales, a figure 45% up on 2012. This comes from a recent study by Deloitte Digital, where 2,000 consumers were polled on their smartphone usage in relation to in-store purchasing. Consumers who used their mobile phones before or during their shopping trip were more likely than the average shopper to make a purchase. Those using a smartphone during a shopping trip were almost twice as likely to make a purchase. Last year, David Moth …

Luxury marketers who focus on beauty product lines have taken notice of how affluent consumers prefer to shop via mobile by continuing to incorporate digital touch points into campaigns and through in-store interactions. Beauty brands can benefit immensely from introducing interactive digital features to campaigns as a way to engage consumers both remotely and within boutiques. Digital touch points allow beauty brands to enhance engagement through exploration, often accompanied by a knowledgeable sales associate.

The Oregon chapter of the Children's Heart Foundation has launched a holiday fund-raiser via a mobile-optimized Facebook application called CafeGive Social. The chapter hopes to raise $5,000 to support research for children with Congenital Heart Defects, the most common birth defect in the United States. Through Jan. 31, consumers can find the campaign online and via mobile to donate towards the cause.