It’s not easy to describe what Melbourne-born startup Localz does without making it sound a bit sinister, but here goes. Say you have bought a microwave on Click & Collect and you head to the store to pick it up. On arrival – provided you have agreed to receive correspondence – a jolly message will ping on your smartphone: “Welcome! Would you like to pick up your microwave?” If you answer yes, another message will tell you when it will be ready. If there’s a wait, you may be offered a complimentary latte. Eventually, the process will become so streamlined …

While some consumers have already started shopping over mobile commerce and many retailers and restaurants have been jumping on the bandwagon to provide apps to make that process easier than using the mobile web, recent research is starting to show that this may not be as safe as some think in terms of keeping sensitive data protected. illions of people across the country are now using various types of mobile commerce apps to be able to research products, find deals, compare prices, and even pay for the purchases that they make online or in-store

Starbucks’ plan to begin using Apple’s iBeacons in its premium coffee stores next year blends the coffee retailer’s leveraging of mobile with its emphasis on upscale lines of java, although it must tread carefully in the technology space to avoid alienating customers. Starbucks said it would bring out iBeacon technology in the coming year to allow customers at its premium-coffee Roastery and Tasting Rooms to access information about freshly brewed coffee via smartphones.

Early next year, Paris-based company Ubudu is launching in the U.S. what it says is the first implementation of mesh beacons, called uBeacon Mesh. Before seeing how this could change the beacon landscape, let’s look at how standard beacons work. Imagine that standard beacons — small electronic devices, of which Apple’s iBeacon is the best known implementation — are like beacons of light, shining a signal to let you know where they are. Retailers mount them on ceilings or walls in a store. At intervals, the beacon broadcasts very small packets of data via Bluetooth Low Energy that simply say, “Hi, I’m here,” …

Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker’s leveraging of  Uber’s capabilities to discourage partygoers from drinking and driving by offering 250,000 kilometers of free rides points to the ride-sharing service's potential for marketers as adoption continues to grow. Safe driving campaigns serve as a way to build brand loyalty and awareness, such as AT&T’s It Can Wait program. These actions enable brands to emit a positive ambiance, elevating their reputation in consumers’ eyes.

Four large banks and eight other financial institutions in Australia are planning to build a more efficient network for real-time payments. The target is to make the new network robust enough so that transfers can be made both from mobile devices and fixed computers as well. With the new network in place, businesses would be able to receive money at the moment of purchase itself instead of waiting for days and sometimes even weeks. Swift, a Belgium based company also known as Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication system, is building the new network in Australia.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd revealed on Monday that users of its financial services affiliate, Alipay, are increasingly utilizing smartphones to make online payments. Alibaba’s online payment arm is processing 54 out of every 100 payments made through mobile phones, the Chinese e-commerce retailing company reported. The figure, recorded up to October this year, reflects a marked improvement from 22 out of 100 people in 2013. This is a clear indication of the fact that the Chinese smartphone market – comprising 500 million users - is gradually shifting to mobile payments.

Wholesale retailer Sam’s Club is entering the hospitality sector and attempting to compete with travel mobile applications by offering its members a free Sam’s Club Travel app that includes savings on hotels, vacation homes, cars and other activities as well as in-app booking capabilities. As the first mass retailer to roll out a members-only app dedicated to business and leisure travel needs, Sam’s Club is poised to drive more downloads and entice mobile users to visit its extensive travel inventory.

Popular mobile messaging platform Line is officially rolling out a new Line Pay service around the world next week. First unveiled back in October, Line Pay will let users connect their accounts with a credit card to make digital payments anywhere, directly from their phones. Initially, however, the service will be restricted to a handful of affiliated services and shops, such as Line’s own online store. Over time, the plan is for Line Pay to become increasingly embedded as an accepted method of payment in both online and offline stores. 

The Belgian city of Antwerp is poised to lead the pack of “smart” cities as it leverages public QR codes posted in shops and stations to disperse travel information to smartphone users. The city has seen success after implementing uQR.me’s generated QR codes in Belgian transit systems for riders to scan for arrival and departure information, among other travel features.