Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday that it would discontinue in most countries a mobile-messaging chat service that it had heavily promoted in recent years, the latest sign of the South Korean technology giant's struggles to gain traction building the software and services that run on its best-selling smartphones. Samsung said in a statement it would end support for the service, called ChatON, on Feb. 1 next year in all markets except the U.S. to focus on services in "health, mobile commerce and other platforms." The statement cited the "fast- changing market environment" for the decision.

PT Rakuten Belanja Online, the local unit of leading Japanese e-commerce player Rakuten Inc., plans to introduce its new mobile phone application early next year as part of its long-term strategy to tap into Indonesia’s growing online shopping market. Rakuten Belanja Online director Yasunobu Hashimoto said the beta version of the app, especially developed for Indonesian customers, could be downloaded from online app stores for smartphones and gadgets with Android and iOS operating systems. The company, which is the world’s largest e-commerce player, created the app based on 2014 research that predicted around 25 percent of Indonesian consumers would utilize mobile gadgets …

One of the most highlighted features of the iPhone, since the iPhone 5S model, has been “Touch ID”. The feature involves the use of a dedicated fingerprint biometric scanner. It has been highly useful for a number of in-app logins and other security features. For the Apple Pay service, in the recent iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models, Touch ID acts as a key component for payment authentication. When Apple has updated its iOS to version 8, we witnessed Touch ID opening up to third party developers. Now Google has taken advantage of this and has integrated Touch ID …

During the final week of the holiday shopping season, Target is ramping up efforts to bring added convenience to last-minute shoppers via a variety of mobile services, including special offers, store pickup and gift cards. According to a new survey from location-based mobile app Retale, 20 percent of all holiday shoppers wait until the last-minute to buy their gifts and 58 percent will use smartphones or tablets to help them shop.

Payments made via near field communications (NFC)-enabled mobile handsets will account for $130 billion in worldwide consumer retail spend by 2020, according to a study by Strategy Analytics. This equates to 254 million mobile users making five payments per month at an average of just below $9 per transaction.   The report "Global Mobile NFC Payments to Exceed $130 Billion by 2020," quantifies the scale of the NFC-based mobile payment opportunity and identifies the launch of Apple Pay initiatives by payment networks to drive contactless payment acceptance among retailers, and consumer demand for mobile payments, as three key catalysts for …

Starbucks is leading the way when it comes to mobile payments. The company has emerged as a sort of unexpected competition for Google, Apple, and others that have invested heavily in mobile commerce. Google was among the most aggressive companies to enter into this market with its Wallet platform. Apple followed suit years late with Apple Pay. Neither of these services have managed to become mainstream successes in the mobile commerce field, but Starbucks’ mobile payment app has. In 2013, 90% of all mobile transactions made in the United States were conducted in Starbucks stores, according to CEO Howard Schultz.

The growth of mobile use in China is closely related to the growing popularity of mobile messaging app WeChat, which hit 468 million monthly active users this year. The app’s rapid ascent to become China’s top mobile messaging site has had many luxury brands rushing to set up their official accounts. Mobile dominance has huge implications for online luxury shopping as well. A survey released by marketing agency DigitasLBi in April found that 70 percent of Chinese respondents had made a purchase via smartphone within the past three months. 

The quick success of mobile messaging application Yo with brands such as the NBA, Showtime and Sony Pictures is a surprise that highlights how a simple approach sometimes works best on mobile. Although there are several major players in the social app space, Yo has attracted brands much more quickly than Facebook and Twitter. 

Apparel and accessories brand Lacoste is running an ongoing campaign on Snapchat using its crocodile logo and offering 20 percent off customers’ next purchase. As Snapchat appeals to more brands, the messaging app and Lacoste most likely share the same core audience, including millennials and Generation Z. Therefore, the platform seems like an ideal location to reach Lacoste’s audience.

Many businesses continue to treat mobile as just another channel, dooming them to failure because they are not taking advantage of the new revenue and service opportunities mobile provides, according to a new report from Forrester. In the report, Mobile Is Not A Channel, Forrester outlines its vision for how businesses can succeed in mobile, including opportunities that will take shape in 2015.