New data out this week from Marin Software shows mobile devices are now pushing more conversions. According to researchers smartphones and tablets now account for about one-third of conversions on Google (30%) and Facebook (35%). There are some interesting takeaways from the report. 

Convenience store retailer 7-Eleven is working with Japanese soft drink manufacturer Pocari Sweat on a beacon campaign in Singapore that tracks runners’ progress and offers rewards when they pass one of the chain’s locations. The retailer’s efforts are due to a desire to promote healthy lifestyles and maintain a presence in the mobile fitness space, given the prevalence of consumers using their mobile phones to track their running.

Expedia.com and Egencia, Expedia’s business travel brand, have released results from a global study on mobile-device-related behavior indicating consumers’ deep dependence on mobile devices while traveling. Expedia discovered that 94 percent of individuals worldwide bring at least one mobile device with them on personal vacations, with 97 percent doing the same for business trips.

Apple Pay, the mobile payment service set to launch soon, is coming to McDonald’s drive through. The fast food giant is currently in the phase of training employees on how they have to actually receive payments via Apple Pay. 9to5Mac leaked one of the training documents citing instructions. Here are the actual steps as instructions for McDonald’s employees.

Shoppers are in more of a hurry than ever before, especially when it comes to mobile shopping. And the unfortunate reality for many retailers is that their online pages are just too slow for the mobile crowd. That is one of the findings of the new Radware study, "2014 State of the Union: Mobile Ecommerce Performance," which looks at how consumers perceived their mobile shopping experience. The firm shared highlights of the new study in an email to FierceMobileIT.

Sweden has been considered as one of the most progressive countries when it comes to payments. Now the country is going to set itself apart from the rest of the world in a new way. It would be the first country to go cash free. Sweden has been taking a clear path towards digital payments. As per new estimates, four out of five transactions are made electronically or by card. Sweden witnesses 260 credit or debit card purchases per person annually. Popular electronic payment services are gaining traction as well, also contributing to replacing cash. 

McDonald’s moved farther into mobile payments by partnering with American Express to let card holders in the drive-thru lane use reward points from their mobile application to pay for food purchases. AmEx card holders also can pay for McDonald’s items with their points by swiping their cards through a credit-card reader.

As mobile’s role in shopping continues to grow - driving trends such as click-and-collect and hyperlocal offers - Black Friday’s significance could further erode, something that started to become evident last year. With shoppers able to research online for items of interest, check inventory at local stores, reserve specific items for pickup at their convenience and receive offers when they arrive, fewer shoppers are interested in navigating massive crowds the day after Thanksgiving in order to shop.

Arts Centre Melbourne is trialling beacon technology during the Melbourne Festival to alert visitors to food and beverage offers from its venue. With a flock of visitors coming to the centre during the festival, which runs until 26 October, the marketing team found an opportunity to see how the technology could be used to promote its cafés and bars, ultimately driving sales. Using iProximity’s iBeacon, visitors download coupons from their iOS or Android phone, where it is stored in their Passbook or the equivalent app in Android. When visitors walk near a café or bar, the beacon triggers the …

Newspaper publisher NDC Media Group has started an advertising trial using iBeacons, Emerce reported. The publisher wants to determine the role iBeacons could play with mobile ads, compared to ads in the publisher's papers. iBeacons are Bluetooth Low Energy senders that can be used for in-shop locatization. They have a reach of 50 metres. The trial will run until the end of the year at 30 shops in Leeuwarden. NDC will use the iBeacon technology of Snakeware's Light Curb System. Alledaags, based in Groningen, has developed an app which can send commercial and informative messages to users in 30 participating …