Online travel agency MakeMyTrip Ltd is buying travel-related start-ups in South-East Asia as it rolls out strategies to take on rivals in the growing travel market. The company has three strategies: increasing its business through smartphones; maximizing revenue from the high-margin non-flights business such as selling hotel rooms and holiday packages; and buying up more early-stage start-ups in travel-related space. It is already in negotiations for such acquisitions. MakeMyTrip co-founder and chief executive officer (India) Rajesh Magow said the firm has been transitioning rapidly from personal computer (PC)-led Internet business to mobile-led Internet business since its launch …

More than the investment itself, a thumbs up from the chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, who is one of the most respected business figures in India, adds to the Xiaomi mojo which has already cast a spell over the country. Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, says: “Mr. Tata is one of the most well-respected business leaders in the world. An investment by him is an affirmation of the strategy we have undertaken in India so far. This is just the start of an exciting journey, and we are looking forward to bringing more products into India.” Xiaomi …

If access to Amazon.com was not already ubiquitous enough for you, there is a new way to browse and purchase goods on the first major e-commerce platform. Amazon is releasing a new shopping app for the Apple Watch. The shopping app offers a tailored Amazon experience, offering voice search and quick tap features including one-click purchase and save to Wish List. Customers can also save a shopping idea by simply saying it, use a “handoff” feature to open their search or product detail page on the Amazon iPhone app, and search the entire Amazon catalog. The Amazon shopping app for Apple Watch …

CinemaxX is allowing movie-goers at theaters in Germany to use a mobile application to purchase tickets and refreshments with their smartphones, meeting consumers’ accelerated demands for fast, convenient service amid the mobile mind shift. Starting in a few weeks, the Hamburg, Germany-based chain will offer payment through Yapital’s mobile application at 29 theaters, making it the nation’s first cinema operator to offer smartphone-based payments, it said. Consumers’ expectations in terms of speed and convenience have risen significantly owing to being able to get anything they want when they want it via the smartphone – the one device they have with …

Alibaba has partnered with China Telecom to sell low-cost smartphones to people in rural areas. The move is intended to target increasing e-commerce in smaller cities. The phones, dubbed Tianyi Taobao Shopping Handsets, will feature either an app for easy access to Alibaba's Taobao online shopping platform or its YunOS mobile operating system. They will be sold in China Telecom stores. Buyers will also get free 2G data for a period of four months. Six handsets manufactured by Coolpad, Hisense and TCL will feature the Mobile Taobao shopping app.

With PayPal’s mobile payments transactions volume increasing 40 percent year-over-year, the business is testing NFC payments prior to its imminent split from eBay, executives revealed this week during the ecommerce leader’s first quarter earnings call. Following PayPal’s acquisition of fellow commerce platform Paydiant in March, PayPal is planning to allow bank partners and merchants to integrate more mobile wallet functions into their own applications as part of its technology agnostic approach. Ultimately, PayPal aims to leverage a slew of mobile commerce opportunities in addition to NFC payments, such as QR codes, HCE and Bluetooth.

Infosys, the India-headquartered consulting and IT firm, is on the verge of making its second significant acquisition of the year after it announced a deal to buy digital e-commerce services provider Kallidus for $120 million. It also made a $2 million investment in an air monitoring startup. With the Kallidus deal Infosys, which revealed the acquisition of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software company Panaya for $200 million in February, is buying the holding group behind Skava. The San Francisco-based company provides a cloud-based platform that powers a range of online services for retailers, for example mobile wallets, apps, web stores, and more.

Dutch fashion house Viktor & Rolf is celebrating the one-year anniversary of its Bonbon fragrance by offering consumers the opportunity to receive fashion sketches courtesy of the mobile application Chic Sketch. The brand will be hosting events at Saks Fifth Avenue locations during the week of April 20 where consumers who purchase Bonbon products will receive vouchers for special Chic Sketches inspired by runway looks from Viktor & Rolf’s collection. Unique promotions featuring customized keepsakes can create loyalty and encourage purchases among consumers.

The City of Sydney has launched an iBeacon trial aimed at driving audience engagement with its new seven-metre high World War II sculpture honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers. Four beacons will be installed around Hyde Park South, where the new Yininmadyemi – Thou didst let fall sculpture is situated, and will push notifications to users of the city’s Sydney Culture Walks App advising them of the opportunity to listen to the story that inspired the artwork. The beacon trial is running for 12 months and is a partnership between the City of Sydney, Meld Strategies, Brand Culture and Beaconmaker …

Funding continues to flow into the mobile commerce sector, as venture capitalists show more support for services and platforms that show promise. Spring, a mobile commerce firm founded by venture capitalist David Tisch, has announced that it has received $25 million in its latest round of funding. This funding round was lead by Google Ventures, Sound Ventures, and Groupe Arnault. The funding will help the platform continue to improve its mobile application, also called Spring. The Spring mobile app is a shopping platform that allows users to browse for and purchase products on theirmobile devices. The application has found traction with consumers, …