The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has released the result of a recent study and data analysis that has revealed that there is a growing number of people who are looking to mobile commerce as a part of their overall shopping process, regardless of the fact that worries about privacy remain high. While not all of those activities involve actually making a purchase, these mobile commerce behaviors remain quite important to the process that will eventually lead consumers to a purchase decision. For instance, the CEA found that about 70 percent of mobile device using shoppers will conduct an internet search using that …

Online ticket services such as SeatGeek as well as movie studios are seeking out Twitter for mobile ticket sales through Promoted Tweets and embedded links, reflecting the social network’s potential as a platform for mcommerce. As uses of social commerce are becoming more possible with Twitter’s Buy Now feature, ticket search engines such as SeatGeek, Fandango and Movietickets.com can leverage this feature to reel in more sales. Consumers are more open than ever to mobile deals, proving that the Twitter News Feed is an appropriate place to reach them.

Papa John’s continues to be a force to reckon with in mobile ordering with its digital and mobile channels recently reaching a new milestone to account for more than 50 percent of sales in the United States. Papa John’s claims to be the first brand in its industry to surpass the digital and mobile sales milestone.

British department store Selfridges is building awareness for its in-store helpers this holiday season through a gaming effort. Selfridges’ “Elfridge and the Enchanted Forest” game, available on desktop or as an application for Apple devices, allows the consumer to play as one of the retailer’s in-store helpers to save Christmas. 

Volkswagen China has collected more than 300 qualified sales leads in just 10 weeks through branded mobile games. The gaming series Sports Car Challenge contains an in-game link that connects potential customers directly to Volkswagen CRM agency. Through an interactive experience, Volkswagen use mobile to turn fun into direct conversion.

On Monday in Washington D.C., as the 2014 mHealth Summit commenced, mobileStormFounder and CEO Jared Reitzin announced the launch of a newly-formed healthcare-focused spin-off called mPulse Mobile. In an effort to address the new challenges and opportunities in healthcare communications, this mobile communications startup “will focus on helping health plans, hospitals, pharmacies, wellness companies and exchanges better engage their consumers and tackle some of the most expensive and complex challenges impacting the nation’s health.”

Seoul-based Coupang, an online retailer, announced today that it has raised an impressive $300 million in new funding led by BlackRock Private Equity Partners, with participation from Wellington Management Company, LLP, Greenoaks Capital Management, and Rose Park Advisors. In an interview with TechCrunch, Coupang’s founder Bom Kim says that the capital will be invested in two key areas: the technology behind its mobile apps, which generates 70 percent of Coupang’s revenue and 80 percent of its total traffic, and its logistics network, which can provide delivery within the same day (or several hours in some parts of South Korea).

Bravo Brio Restaurant Group, the parent company of Brio Tuscan Grille, has joined forces with Paytronix to offer a new Eat, Repeat, Reward loyalty program on its updated mobile application that also leverages enhanced employee training tools. After launching the frequency-and-spend system in its Texas restaurants and seeing successful results, the restaurant group rolled out an updated mobile app that consolidates all loyalty messaging and data, such as how often a specific individual visits the restaurants and how much he or she spends.

Walgreens is giving California and Michigan users of its Web site and mobile application round-the-clock access to doctors in its latest deep dive into the growing mobile health space. The service, which will be gradually rolled out to other states and markets, lets users consult virtually with MDLive certified physicians who can also prescribe medication for a range of acute conditions. 

China is going through a mobile commerce boom. As per a recent report by Alipay, 54% of the total transactions on Alipay, during the first ten months of this year, were from mobile devices. The Alibaba-backed payments service handles more than 80 million transactions per day. Last year, mobile oriented transactions had accounted for only 22% of all the payments. Alipay has over 300 million registered users and over 190 million downloads of its wallet app. This year, China witnessed mobile internet access overtaking desktop internet access as well. Interestingly, according to the report by Alipay, differing trends were observed …