In Germany, the managers of upscale restaurants take great pride in their ability to recall the names of the majority of their regular customers and to be able to remember each of their preferences in terms of seating, drinks, and meals, and now geolocation technology will be used to help to give them a bit of an edge. The Mook Group, which owns five high end restaurants is now testing the geolocationtechnology from Apple called iBeacon. The owner of the company, Christian Mook, will be using this technology to track the customers who enter one of his restaurants. Should this prove to be …

StubHub has launched a music-centric application that enables users to explore local events and have a more end-to-end music experience, taking fans through the process from discovery to ticket purchasing during a time when standard retail search and discovery experiences are falling behind customer expectations. Today’s shopping and decision-making process is increasingly being driven by non-retail technology advancements such as next-gen semantic search capabilities offered by Google, Apple and Walmart, or the highly engaging visual shopping and personal content curation provided by Pinterest, as well as voice search capabilities powered by technologies like Siri.

Zealios Skin Care is offering a 50 percent discount on select sunscreen products to those who use their mobile device’s ambient light sensor to download the coupon. The Web app, which does not need to be downloaded, uses an ambient light sensor found on the Android operating system to activate the offer when it senses a certain level of light. Running off a responsive design platform, the initiative shows how RWD is about more than just designing for different screen sizes.

Payment systems globally for decades have been on a constant path in transforming traditional paper-based transactions into electronic ones, with payment cards as one of the chief drivers. More recently, mobile-based payments have done the job in less-developed countries, particularly in Africa. As a result, one might expect cash use to be on the decline, with the potential for paper currency altogether to be on its way to extinction. Yet despite all the effort to displace it, cash use has not disappeared, and it likely won’t any time soon, new research suggests.

Popular messaging service Snapchat has a feature in which messages disappear as soon as they are read. This basically means that the message gets deleted from Snapchat servers and cannot be retrieved. Marketers can use this feature to send time-sensitive deals to customers, thereby maintaining a sense of excitement in a campaign. This was what attracted Groupon to the Snapchat app, with which it is teaming up to broadcast exclusive offers to its followers. The partnership kicked off when Groupon wanted to offer a first-come, first-serve deal for a concert. All a Snapchat user had to do was follow the …

The addition of Walmart’s Savings Catcher feature to its mobile application earlier this week pushed the app to the top of the Lifestyle category on the Apple App Store for the first time. The news points to the significant potential that lies in the convergence mobile and consumers’ love for a good deal as well as how bricks-and-mortar retailers can embrace in-store price comparisons. Savings Catcher is a receipt comparison tool designed to take the work out of finding the best price for an item.

Berlin-based e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet has received funds from a Philippine telecom operator to develop mobile payment systems in emerging markets. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company is investing 333 million euros (US $445 million) for a 10% stake in Rocket. The deal will combine the Philippine telcom operator’s expertise in mobile payments and resources with Rocket's global e-commerce and web services footprint. The two companies say they will develop mobile and online payment technologies and services in emerging markets. 

A new report from Juniper Research has found that there will be 1.05 billion mobile coupon users by 2019, up from just under 560 million this year. The report, Mobile Coupons: Consumer Engagement, Loyalty & Redemption Strategies 2014-2019, claimed that the surge in user numbers would in large part be driven by increased retailer engagement with various mobile channels, as retailers are now integrating coupons into loyalty programs to a greater extent, while focusing on delivering coupons direct to consumers rather than relying on aggregator sites. 

Auto glass repair brand Safelite has launched an improved Web site experience that includes reduced steps and faster functionality to obtain a price quote and schedule an appointment via mobile. The enhancement includes a more visual process to help customers enter the right information to ensure part accuracy, while also eliminating forced bail-outs that require follow-up phone calls. A series of videos featuring Safelite technicians further supports the self-serve capability, explaining what to expect during, before, and after service and also answering common customer questions about vehicle glass repair or replacement services.

Mall owner and manager Simon is expanding its use of Bluetooth-enabled iBeacon technology to create 200-plus  retail destinations in the United States and help bricks-and-mortar retailers evolve the shopping experience. Simon’s deployment of Mobiquity’s Mobi-Beacon network, already in place in 75 of its premier shopping destinations, provides a unique, opt-in opportunity for customers to engage with retailers, brands and mall apps for timely and contextually relevant personalized offers, information and real-time experiences. Operating off the Mobiquity network retailers in Simon mall locations are able to reach numerous shoppers every week on their mobile phones.