Home Depot continues to show that it is a force to reckon with in leveraging mobile in-store to drive sales as the retailer introduces the next generation of a smartphone designed specifically for store associates. The home improvement chain originally deployed its First Phone in 2010, when few retailers had full-blown mobile strategies and, if they did, were focused more on mobile’s potential to drive online sales as opposed to in-store sales. In the period since, numerous major retailers have embraced a multitude of mobile in-store strategies, including Wi-Fi, store modes on apps, QR codes and beacons.

While Taco Bell’s parent company Yum! Brands saw an $86 million fourth-quarter loss, the taco chain is heating up sales thanks to its new mobile ordering app, which is seeing the average order come in at 20 percent higher than in-store orders. Taco Bell engaged in heavy social media marketing tactics for the launch of its mobile ordering app, which enables users to customize their orders, pay via smartphone and pick up orders as soon as they arrive at Taco Bell bricks-and-mortar locations. The brand’s high digital orders are due in part to consumers’ preferences of purchasing additional ingredients through …

Marketers' eagerness to fit beacons everywhere they can has meant many have got ahead of themselves but there are some who are looking to make progress by retargeting online ads to shoppers based on items they have been looking at in-store. For every full-store rollout or test pilot, advertisers’ beacons focus almost always revolves around pushing location-based messages to shoppers’ smartphones while they shop. It has left many of those same brands stymied as to how and where the technology fits within their advertising arsenals, a point reflected in the reluctance of many to commit more resources to the channel.

Traditional preprint circulars continue to dominate many retailers’ promotional offerings but digital coupon momentum is accelerating, according to strong 2014 results by Coupons.com. Total revenue in the company’s fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014 increased 14% to $60 million and full year revenue increased 32% to $221.8 million. Total digital coupon transactions in 2014 increased 23% to 1.6 billion. "2014 marked a very successful year, delivering on several key milestones and laying the foundation for continued growth," said Steven Boal, president and CEO of Coupons.com, referencing what he called solid momentum in all areas of the business. “Our Retailer iQ platform is …

Underscoring mobile’s role as the primary way to reach millennial moms, new research shows this group’s smartphone ownership outpaces desktop and laptop computers, with more time spent online via phones.  The report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and BabyCenter also reveals that time spent on mobile exceeds or approaches parity with time spent watching television in the United States, Brazil, Canada, China and Britain. The comparison of the technology habits and media behaviors of moms between the ages of 18 and 32 points to the importance for brands of leveraging mobile to reach this coveted demographic group. 

Unilever is now using location based marketing techniques to be able to better understand how appealing shoppers find its brands while they are in store, so that they can later send mobile ads that will be relevant to those individual consumers. The idea is that while this type of location based marketing could encourage purchases at the point of sale, it can also be used for a broader purpose. This is primarily to use the technology to lower the consumer acquisition cost by providing each individual with content that has been customized to a consumer’s individual interests, wants, and needs.

With mobile transforming both how consumers consume content and shop, Perrier is partnering with Tumblr, Blippar and Ibotta to integrate mobile branded content with in-store activations in a new campaign that launches next week.  Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water’s new digital campaign, “District Perrier,” pairs a central content hub on Tumblr with in-store engagement on mobile applications Blippar and Ibotta. Designed to reach younger, millennial audiences, the content as well as the partnerships are meant to reflect the brand’s experimental side and create a party destination that can be experienced digitally and in-store. 

Dunkin’ Donuts is offering mobile device users in select markets the opportunity to play a Valentine’s Day-themed instant win game with a myriad of prizes and is driving enrollment in its DD Perks mobile loyalty program with a second sweepstakes option featuring a grand prize of two JetBlue flight vouchers and a Travelpro luggage set.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has just spent $590 million for a minority stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu. The deal opens up more hardware for the company's custom YunOS for mobile phones, while granting Meizu access to Alibaba's vast online distribution network. The deal marks a renewed focus on hardware and mobile platform growth for the incredibly popular e-commerce giant, as well as a much-needed avenue for growth for the fledgling smartphone marker Meizu. Meizu, based in Zhuhai, Guangdong, has 1,000 employees and makes smartphones mainly for the Chinese market, such as the recently reviewed MX4. However, the company's estimated less than …

UK rail passengers could soon have their tickets verified automatically as they walk through fare gates at a station, using a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-enabled mobile ticketing app due to be built by Bytemark. The mobile commerce solution provider has been awarded a contract to create the app byFutureRailway, a collaboration between the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) andNetwork Rail established to “accelerate the uptake of innovation within the rail industry”. It could be used by the UK’s rail operators to enable travellers’ tickets to be verified by “simply walking through fare gates equipped with new wireless readers”.