Toys “R” Us is addressing consumers’ pain points around holiday shopping, with mobile playing a key role streamlining both the in-store and online experiences. The chain’s “Black Friday Made Easy” initiative consists of a range of new services, including digital store-specific maps that can be accessed by scanning a QR code found near the store entrance.  The location-specific digital maps will help smartphone-armed shoppers easily find a specific toy or deal.

One of the most powerful trends to emerge in the retail space recently is making the purchase process more convenient for shoppers. A growing number of retailers are beginning to embrace mobile commerce, hoping to streamline the checkout process and make it possible for consumers to get into a physical store and complete their shopping faster than ever before. As mobile shopping grows in popularity, so too is digital currency, such as Bitcoin. This currency is seen as massively convenient , which could make it a powerful mobile commerce tool. BitPay, one of the leading Bitcoin payment processors, is working …

Powa Technologies, a British mobile payments and e-commerce company, recently raised $80 Mn from Wellington Management, a public markets investor in a Series C funding round. Wellington had also invested $76 million in Powa last year in the Series A round. Powa will be using the fresh funds to promote its U.S. launch during the holiday season and attract merchants to adopt its platform for selling. Powa wishes to compete against other established players like Square, Shopify, Big Commerce and others. Powa is moving into the U.S. market at a time when Wal-Mart, Target and other merchants under the MCX …

Condé Nast is launching shoppable banner advertisements for luxury beauty marketers, such as Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana to reach consumers and get conversions without leaving content pages. In the next few days, the first ads using Shopbeam’s AdShops technology will appear on the digital versions of Allure magazine, letting readers shop directly from the ad without leaving the page. As brands struggle to find ways to rise above the traditional banner ad, allowing this level of customer interaction will help get consumers engaged.

Uber’s partnership with Resy to let consumers book a prime-time table at a New York restaurant and then order and pay for taxi transportation via smartphone is the service sector’s latest effort to meet the growing demand for convenience sparked by the mobile mind shift. The integration reduces to just five screen taps the process of making a reservation and arriving at the restaurant.

People with Windows Phones will now be able to make mobile payments thanks to a new application from AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. The new Softcard app was released for Windows Phone last week, giving the platform one of its first mobile wallets that is supported by a wide range of retail companies. Softcard, formerly known as ISIS, is a mobile payment company that has been growing in popularity for some time, offering consumers an effective mobile wallet with a wide range of features. Using Softcard, a consumer can store their financial information on a mobile device.

The new Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, is deploying new wireless beacon technology to help fans use a special stadium navigation app on their smartphones and other devices. The beacon signals, which have been in use since Aug. 2, run over Bluetooth Low Energy (4.0) and are being used in conjunction with the 68,500-seat stadium's vast Wi-Fi and switching infrastructure.

What, you ask, is that crashing noise? It's the sound of consumer resistance to mobile shopping crumbling. “Every single transactional property on mobile—whether that's Uber, or Hotel Tonight—is lowering the barrier to make significant transactions on your mobile phone,” says David Tisch. If you can hail a ride and book a room, why would not also want to buy a car or lease an apartment? That's what Tisch is betting on, anyway. He and his brother Alan are the co-founders of Spring, an app that debuted this fall trying to bring the entire world of fashion—high and low—to your phone.

In the gold rush that is the Indian ecommerce, payments solution startups are the ones selling the shovel and raking in the moolah. The rising demand for cashless payments on mobile and desktop is proving to be a shot in the arm for several startups building technology solutions to cater to the market that is in the throes of a massive transformation.

According to the Q3 Performance Index that has been released by MarketLive – the e-commerce platform – mobile commerce has grown exceptionally rapidly over the third quarter of the year and is going to be a very important component moving ahead. According to MarketLive in its report, “Merchants must immediately face – and address – the enormous implications and inescapable demands of multi-device shopping and mainstream mobile commerce.