With smartphones becoming the most handy and never-forgotten things in the life, companies are leaving no stone unturned at tapping the potential of mobility. One of the markets that is asking for disruption, with great untapped potential is Retail. Yoyo, a London based startup, says their platform enables simpler and faster buying of goods via smartphone. The company announced on 23rd May 2014, that it had acquired $5 Mn in seed funding via Imperial Innovations, new venture platform Firestartras well as existing backer Telefonica Group. Yoyo was founded in the year 2013 by the team of entrepreneurs including Alain Falys, …

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.

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 …

At long last,consumers can pay for their mobile commerce purchases with only the swipe of a finger. Using fingerprint-based identification, biometric technology allows for the ultimate in mobile checkout and, because fingerprints are unique, mobile commerce security. EBay Inc.'s PayPal recently began enabling consumers with the new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone to pay at any e-retailer that accepts PayPal on its mobile commerce web site with just the swipe of a finger. Biometrics is the latest step in the evolution of mobile security, and PayPal's biometric feature is a perfect example of how retailers today are relying on vendors to …

Merchants offering order ahead capabilities via mobile application Q App are seeing a positive impact on both the customer experience and venue operations. A recent Mobile Commerce Daily article discussed how a number of digital wallet providers are adding order ahead capabilities to their own branded apps and suggested these capabilities are not likely to be a killer mobile wallet use case thanks to several challenges (see story). However, a Q App executive argues that by creating a larger ecosystem around order ahead, it can in fact be the basis of a mobile wallet with strong consumer appeal. "I would …

Japan's Line Corp., creator of the fast-growing social messaging app Line, said Wednesday that it will begin a pilot program June 10 to host flash sales for consumer brands in Taiwan, one of its largest markets in the world. Taiwanese Line users can add an official account for the "Line Flash Sale" to their "friends" list from Thursday, which will give them access to exclusive sale events on the platform, including sales of cosmetics, footwear and Line's own branded merchandise.

With mobile bookings growing, United Airlines is ramping up its mobile strategy to help drive sales, having introduced redesigned applications earlier this month for iOS and Android and plans in place to upgrade its Web site later this year. United announced plans last fall for a total revamping of its online and mobile offerings, which came only weeks after it missed estimates for third-quarter earnings, while its competitors experienced record results. "What we've realized is thumbs don't stretch all that far," said Scott Wilson, United's vice president of merchandising and e-commerce, Chicago.

The mobile wallet has not panned out in the way the tech industry expected. But Kenneth Chenault, chief executive at American Express, is not giving up hope just yet. During a conversation at the M1 Summit in New York Tuesday, Chenault attributed the recent failure of some of the most-hyped mobile payments products to a lack of focus and an inability for these services to equal the established ease of the credit card. But he remained confident that a fundamental transformation in the payments industry was still underway. "I don't think [the mobile wallet] is dead. At the end of …

Mobile shopping peaks between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to the Internet Retailer-exclusive monthly Shopgate Mobile Commerce Index. Where people used to just watch TV, they now are dividing their attention between two screens, TV and mobile, enabling more time for online shopping during the course of a typical day, Shopgate says. Who needs the desktop PC all the way back in the spare room when you can simply, and simultaneously, use an untethered mobile device while kicking back on your couch and watching "Game of Thrones"?

SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. has enhanced its Discovery Guide app, with plans to incorporate a mobile wallet and empower guests with on-demand, one-touch purchasing. This summer, the anticipated mobile wallet will allow park guests to instantaneously purchase upgrades to pass long lines with Quick Queue, or buy the All-Day Dining Deal without having to reroute. During visits to SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place, guests who download the enhanced mobile app will be met with a more personalized and interactive experience leveraged by multiple digital technologies.