Extreme couponing isn't just the theme behind a TV reality show. As mobile commerce becomes a mainstream channel for retail transactions, more than half of US consumers will redeem a digital coupon or code at least once in 2014. That number is projected to rise to over 82 percent by 2016, according to Emarketer. Among retailers, luxury brands are leveraging consumers' desire to use their smartphones in-store for mobile commerce, according to L2, a New York-based luxury consultancy. Brands like Nordstrom, Piaget and Louis Vuitton have translated the desktop e-commerce experience to mobile, allowing consumers to access reviews and stock …

Web-only bookseller Alibris Inc. launched a tablet-optimized site, joining the merchant's m-commerce site for smartphones launched in November. M-commerce platform provider Moovweb Inc. built and hosts both sites. Book buyers on mobile devices often have a title or author in mind, and shoppers who use site search convert at much higher rates than those who do not, so site search gains prominence over browsing in m-commerce, says Travis Alderman, mobile marketing manager at Alibris, No. 236 in the 2014 Internet Retailer Mobile 500.

A new report from the People's Bank of China shows that mobile payments are growing at a rapid pace in China. Many people have become quite comfortable with the idea of purchasing products online using their mobile devices. A growing number of retailers are beginning to accept mobile payments in their physical stores as well, making it easier for mobile commerce to flourish. Mobile banking is becoming particularly popular among consumers who tend to manage much of their finances with the aid of a smartphone or tablet. According to the report from the People's Bank of China, nearly $500 million …

Marketers continue to be confused by conflicting messages around data privacy, with consumers expressing a desire for relevant offers driven by tracking their behavior, while the Federal Trade Commission is dialing up its demands for tighter controls on the brokers who handle much of this data. The confusion over how to proceed in terms of data-driven marketing is particularly significant in the mobile space, where the volume and sensitivity of data are both much greater at the same time that consumer expectations are elevated due to the personal nature of the devices. The lack of a clear mandate is causing …

While consumers love the convenience of mobile remote deposit capture, the service has not been universally adopted by financial institutions because of perceived potential risks but this could change, with virtually all financial institutions expected to soon offer such capabilities, according to a new report. Adoption of remote deposit capture is expected to accelerate as it becomes clear that benefits associated the service outweigh any risks, with the survey from RemoteDepositCapture.com and Mitek revealing that 80 percent of financial institutions offering mobile remote deposit capture report no losses and 90 percent say the benefits outweigh risks and costs.

With some brands now amassing a sizable SMS database, marketers need to put in more marketing muscle and churn out content that is segmented towards specific groups to keep the momentum going around mobile messaging. SMS is a tried-and-true tactic for marketers in driving time-sensitive messages that have close to a 100 percent open rate within minutes. However, the number of alternative messaging options available nowadays means that marketers need to work harder to make SMS work in conjunction with email, print and in-store efforts to get the most out of the medium.

American investors may be strongly interested in Chinese Internet companies, thanks to the recent success of JD.com's IPO. JD.com is an e-commerce organization based in China, which launched an initial public offering recently to great success. The IPO raised some $1.78 billion for JD.com, which exceeded the company's expectations by a significant margin. The warm reception that JD.com has received may bode well for other Chinese companies that are preparing to launch their IPOs in America. Like other companies that have placed a priority focus on e-commerce, JD.com has been working to engage the mobile audience in China. More consumers …

German mail order and e-commerce association Bevh and Creditreform Boniversum have published the results of a survey on shopping by mobile phone and tablet. It found that 57 percent of respondents use their mobile device to purchase goods, up from 40 percent a year earlier. The rate rises to 73.9 percent among people aged 18 to 39. Among women, the rate surged by 20.3 percentage ponts to 56.2 percent. Among users aged 40 or over, 50.5 percent bought goods via their mobile device, up from 43.4 percent last year. It found that 49.7 percent of shoppers paid via payment service …

Mobile commerce has become quite popular, but not everyone is sold on the idea of paying for things with their mobile device. The idea is quite simple: Mobile applications act as facilitators of mobile transactions, allowing people to make purchases while shopping online from their smartphones and tablets. Under the surface, mobile commerce is anything but simple, thanks to changing commerce standards and the ever present threat of exploitation coming from malicious groups that want to get their hands on consumer financial information. Because mobile commerce is not as straightforward as it seems, many people are wondering whether or not …

In the latest example of how fast food restaurants are leading the charge with mobile payments, McDonald's has launched the Quick Mac mobile application to enable customers in Austria to order food and pay for it via their smartphones. McDonald's has been aggressively experimenting with a variety of mobile payments strategies in different markets around the world as it looks to unlock the magic formula for delivering the kind of consumer value that will drive adoption. The Quick Mac app is notable for combining a variety of services, including ordering, payments, offers, push notifications and geolocation.