Coca-Cola is extending its presence in the mobile fitness space and bolstering its connection with mothers by joining drugstore chain CVS and Morris Media Network’s regional Parent magazine group in challenging Southern United States families to track healthy lifestyle practices on a mobile-optimized Web site in exchange for prizes. By going to the Fit Family Challenge responsive site, participants in the free, eight-week healthy lifestyle program in North Carolina, South Carolina and parts of Tennessee can track their activity, eating habits and hydration levels and earn points toward prizes through June 15. Coca-Cola’s participation in the challenge follows its pledge in 2013 to promote …

During rain, rush hour, and even hurricanes, Uber sometimes increases its rates for rides by, say, eight times the normal fare. A ride that would usually cost $65, in a snowstorm, suddenly costs $192. A 20-minute ride, on Halloween, will suddenly set you back $362. Uber doesn’t make these price hikes just to annoy customers, though the strategy certainly at times has had that effect. According to Uber, surge pricing is necessary to incentivize its drivers to get on the road during the busiest times. "Higher prices are required in order to get cars on the road and keep them on the road during the busiest …

Chili’s is serving up a double helping of mobile with plans for a new loyalty program that will integrate with the chain’s order-and-pay tablets as well as a new service for texting guests when their reserved tables are ready. During its 2015 third quarter earnings call this week, Chili’s revealed its plans to soon introduce the loyalty program, called “My Chili’s Rewards,” in a bid to ramp up sales and in-store traffic. Guests will be able to use the Ziosk-powered tablets in restaurants to sign up for the platform, check accumulated points and redeem them when paying for meals.

Online retailer Net-A-Porter is letting consumers customize their experience through an interactive display advertisement on Harper’s Bazaar’s mobile-optimized site. Included within the brand’s ad is a search bar, which asks consumers to type a keyword, which will be the basis of their landing page experience. For a multi-brand retailer, this approach lets consumers shop only what interests them, rather than wading through a landing page of pre-selected items. “The more steps you add to a checkout process in mobile the fewer conversions you’ll net,” said Shuli Lowy, marketing director at Ping Mobile, Beverly Hills, CA. “The general rule that mobile marketers follow …

Salon chain Supercuts is attempting to extend its reach and book appointments via a new capability enabling customers to check-in for same-day hair services online or through its mobile application, underscoring how the service industry is becoming increasingly reliant on mobile to drive last-minute appointments. The salon brand’s mobile offerings are launching in addition to a new in-store feature, which will offer guests a complimentary Hot Towel Refresher, and an advertising campaign built around the art of the mobile-enabled selfie. Supercuts’ booking options will likely spur competitors in the service sector to roll out similar offerings if they have not …

Samsung SDS, the IT service affiliate of Samsung Group, has announced that it is launching a new fingerprint mobile payment service with local payment gateway firms KG Mobilians and KG Inicis within South Korea, with global expansion planned for later. The South Korean tech giant has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea Information Certificate Authority (KICA), a government-backed certificate licenser, and will later launch other authentication services based on biometrics, the company said. "Going forward, we plan to not only target hardware manufacturers that make smartphones, but to also provide our biometric solutions to online service and …

IT is a difficult task keeping up with the pace of business development in China. Just take ASX-listed 99 Wuxian as an example. It runs a mobile phone banking and commerce platform that is so successful that the vast majority of the major banks, insurance companies and telcos use it. And why not, with 99 Wuxian providing all of the mobile commerce support and development free and allowing its business partners to control the look of their mobile sites and provide them access to the traffic data? Building such a solid mobile payments platform has allowed the company to …

French leather goods house Louis Vuitton is reaching out to consumers as they plan their summer vacations with a travel-themed effort on New York magazine’s blog The Cut. Louis Vuitton’s ad, found on the desktop and mobile-optimized versions of The Cut, leads with a bright blue sky from the brand’s 2015 Spirit of Travel campaign shoot in the Caribbean. While New York is slowly warming up, the tropical climes depicted will be a welcome departure for The Cut’s readership.

Domino’s is pumping funds into cooking up a responsive mobile site that it hopes will kick-start what it claims are “embarrassing” conversion rates that have stunted online sales from hitting their maximum. The pizza maker is racing to right the mobile marketing wrong it admits was made in its haste to give fans more ways to buy. Untapped conversions are a good problem to have given that over 44 …

A consortium including KKR Co. will buy a controlling stake in Ticket Monster, South Korea’s No. 2 mobile commerce company, from Groupon Inc. in a deal that values Ticket Monster at $782 million. The deal, which confirms an earlier Wall Street Journal article, will give Chicago-based Groupon a hefty return on a company it bought for $260 million from social commerce rival LivingSocial Inc. just over a year ago. Groupon will sell a 46% stake in Ticket Monster for $360 million, but will retain a 41% stake in the South Korean company after the closing of the deal, which will include a fresh injection of …