SUPERMARKET giant Woolworths is quietly trialling beacon technology that will notify selected shoppers of special offers or product updates on their smartphones while they walk through shopping aisles. The trial is restricted to people who were chosen to participate in the pilot. Customers not in the pilot will not be affected by the technology. The beacons are small, low-cost location-based devices that use Bluetooth to communicate with other devices. In the retail sector, customers usually opt in for the service. Beacons work within a 100m radius and are usually discretely placed on shelves where they gather and beam information …

In addition to the well-understood mobile shopping use cases, proximity platforms could also transform digital out-of-home, or even traditional billboard marketing. Proximity marketing can be done at bus stops, sporting arenas and events are all areas where beacons or even near field communication chips could create multichannel campaigns. Many proximity marketing companies are providing add-on features which help in measuring advertising and promotion effectiveness and better understand the customer journey. In the case of proximity marketing which was initially driven by SMS and WiFi, transformation started with the introduction of NFC. BLE technology gave a meaningful direction to proximity marketing.

Chinese Internet juggernaut Tencent issued a disappointing third-quarter earnings report today, missing profit estimates. This was due in large part to slowing revenue from mobile gaming, which generates more than half of its sales. The company also disclosed that it had spent less money advertising its messaging app WeChat in the West because of sluggish adoption in those markets. Tencent’s third-quarter net income increased 46 percent year-on-year to 5.66 billion RMB ($924 million), behind the 6.1 billion yuan analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted. 

According to a report that has been published by eMarketer, retailers that are hoping that their holiday shopping sales will be better than ever, this year, will likely want to look into targeting moremobile commerce campaigns toward shoppers within the Hispanic community. The eMarketer report revealed that in the U.S., Hispanic consumers have a greater likelihood to make a purchase by way of a smartphone or tablet than their non-Hispanic counterparts.

Consumers are extremely connected through many different digital touchpoints and it is up to retailers to use these opportunities to connect with their clients, according to a new report from IDC. The report highlights the top 10 critical decisions retailers must make for the upcoming year. It may help luxury brands better understand how they should adjust their initiatives to best accommodate the evolving consumer.

Smartphones have changed Chinese consumers’ shopping habits. As of the third-quarter this year, mobile accounted for one-third of total online shopping there, data from iResearch show. In the third-quarter, mobile e-commerce rose by 251% (!) from a year ago to 231 billion yuan ($37.9 billion), well surpassing the overall e-commerce’s 50% growth rate. Alibaba Group (BABA) remained the clear leader in China’s mobile commerce space, with an86.2% market share versus second-quarter’s 86.1%.

Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Tissot is planning a new mobile-optimized site that will launch in the coming months to give its customers a convenient way to conduct product research before making a trip to the store. Shoppers will also be able to make purchases on the site, which will feature large images and a simple design. Through this attempt, Tissot aims to provide around-the-clock access to its products for customers, making a purchase made via a mobile device more likely to occur.

Target is testing mobile payments application CurrentC in several of its stores, enabling employees to pay for purchases using their smartphones. Target is using a different mobile payments solution, Apple Pay, in its iPhone app. The dual strategy is the latest example of how the jockeying for control of mobile payments is causing a confusing landscape for consumers that could slow adoption.

Starbucks will launch a new app in U.S. by next year’s second half aimed at its loyalty program members. The app will not only let you order and pay but will also trigger an additional service of having your beverage and food delivered to your location. Previously, Starbucks had announced a new mobile ordering and payment app set to release that would enable users to place their orders ahead of time and skip waiting in the lines endured by walk-ins. There is no clarification on the ‘select markets’ where the delivery service would be launched. 

Mobile marketing is quickly becoming a contact sport. Automakers such as Ford and Toyota are illustrating how static ads on screens and billboards can quickly generate dynamic ads for the smartphone through the use of near-field communication, the short-range wireless communications technology that's behind Apple Pay and works with a quick tap of the phone. By 2018, IHS expects global shipments of near-field communication-enabled phones to soar to 1.2 billion, up from 275 million in 2013. That opens a wealth of possibilities for marketers to turn smartphones into a more robust marketing medium