TripAdvisor is ramping up to become an extended travel companion for its customers and stand out from the growing sector of travel marketers by acquiring journaling mobile application Rove, which enables users to log their movements based on GPS coordinates and other data. Following Expedia’s recent buyout of Travelocity, more travel brands are engaging in cross-partnerships to augment their awareness among consumers and offer an increasing amount of features to entice new users. 

Soon, walking into Los Angeles Union Station could prompt a highly personalized cellphone message that goes something like this: "Welcome to Union Station. For the Metro Red Line, take the escalator to your right." The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is developing a plan to place as many as 50 tiny wireless devices in the downtown station that would push text message-like alerts to smartphones. Metro officials say so-called beacon technology is a cheap, efficient way to communicate with passengers on a device they're probably already using. If the pilot program goes well, the beacons could spread across Los Angeles County to …

Darden restaurant LongHorn Steakhouse is targeting visitors through its drink coasters with a QR code and text offer that includes a free appetizer for joining the chain’s loyalty program. The offer is printed on participating locations’ drink coasters and gives visitors the option to scan a QR code or send a text message to opt-in and receive the free appetizer. Reaching customers at the point of sale in this effort initiates an ongoing conversation by allowing the restaurant chain to contact those visitors in the future.

Despite increased investments, luxury beauty, fashion and jewelry brands are still missing opportunities to appropriately integrate mobile into their overall digital strategy, according to a new report from L2. The convenience, accessibility and independence that mobile allows has resulted in affluent consumers, especially “emerging affluents,” embracing the “low touch luxury” approach for product purchases and preliminary research. But, L2’s “Mobile & Luxury 2015: Insight Report” found that although mobile is increasingly important for luxury brands, many have limited strategies for digital that do not create a consistent branded experience for consumers across platforms.

Worldwide B2C e-commerce sales amounted to more than $1.2 trillion in 2013. This  massive number of transactions is being facilitated by online service providers enabling you to pay right in the internet browser, eliminating the need to go in-store. Companies such as PayPal, Dwolla, Stripe and others offer effective online checkout systems enabling users to pay via multiple options such as payment cards and other credentials. Even credit card companies such as Visa and MasterCard offer online payment services viz. V.me (by Visa) and PayPass (by MasterCard). Current e-commerce statistics show that 40 percent of worldwide internet users have bought …

As beacons continue to gain traction in a variety of retail sectors, museums are the latest marketers to explore the technology’s potential, with efforts focused on assisting in analyzing traffic flow and supporting virtual tour guides for art fans. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York are some of the top museums testing beacon technology to provide seamless ways of improving visitors’ experiences at exhibitions as well as enable them to better understand consumer flow and layout to guide the organization of future content.

Wawa, a convenient store chain that is based in the eastern United States, has launched its own mobile application that supports payments and serves as a connection to the company’s loyalty program. The new application is designed to appeal to mobile consumers that are interested in making payments from their smartphones. The new app will be supported by Wawa’s 680 stores along the eastern United States and may serve as a way for the company to effectively engage mobile consumers. Wawa appears to be following the example that has been laid out by other retailers in the mobile commercespace, particularly Starbucks. Over the …

Neiman Marcus, Office Depot and Rue La La are among the latest retailers to leverage MasterPass, MasterCard’s digital wallet, and its in-application purchasing capabilities. Joining the MasterPass club means the retailers’ consumers can pay for purchases with any enrolled payment card, anywhere online or in-app, using any device, eliminating the time-consuming need to enter detailed payment and shipping information with every purchase.

Boku, a carrier billing-based mobile payments provider, today announced its partnership with 3 Hong Kong, the mobile division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd., a leading mobile operator in Hong Kong, according to a press release.  Through the new partnership with Boku, 3 Hong Kong subscribers will be able to make purchases on their mobile devices using their mobile phone numbers. At checkout, users choose an item they want to purchase, enter their mobile numbers and confirm the purchase via text. Their items are then billed to their mobile account. 

Allstate’s launch of fast mobile claims payments will streamline the often onerous insurance-claims process, delivering convenience and speedy service that is especially valuable during times of crisis. Customers can have the Northbrook, IL, insurer send payment directly to a bank account with Fast Mobile e-Payment, a part of the new Allstate ExpressPay portfolio.