Facebook will be integrating WhatsApp into its mobile application for Android devices. WhatsApp is a mobile messaging platform that Facebook acquired for $1 billion in 2014. The social media company has been showing more interest in the mobile space, establishing itself as a leader therein and taking note of the growing popularity of mobile commerce. WhatsApp integration is meant to augment Facebook’s other mobile initiatives, including a plan to launch a new service that will allow users to send money to one another. Mobile commerce and social media are becoming more closely involved. Consumers have long enjoyed shopping online and the advent of mobile …

The Home Depot is supporting shoppers’ omnichannel needs with several new interactive tools available across its application and mobile Web site that are designed to simplify finding and buying the right products for the lawn and garden this spring. With consumers’ thoughts turning to spending time outside now that winter is winding down, The Home Depot has introduced the Mulch and Top Soil Calculator, Grass Seed Calculator as well as the Weed, Plant and Pest Problem Solver. By streamlining the shopping process for smartphone-equipped consumers, the retailer is taking some of the frustration out of shopping from a small screen, …

Freckle IoT (The Internet of Things), an ad tech company that activates next generation connected devices, has announced its partnership with Blue Bite, the mobile standard in Out-of-Home, which provides mobile technology for the retail industry. This partnership follows the deployment of 60,000 beacons across the US, creating North America’s largest proximity network and spearheading innovation in mobile location-based services. Connecting Freckle IoT’s open beacon ecosystem to Blue Bite’s extensive location partnerships and mTAG platform will enable advertisers to launch innovative, integrated marketing campaigns that will connect with consumers across digital, mobile, and Out-of-Home environments at scale.

Online marketplace company Snapdeal has acquired a Bangalore mobile recharge service, Freecharge, on Wednesday in a stock plus cash deal. This makes Snapdeal the largest mobile commerce company in the country. News reports estimate the deal at $400 million, though both companies refused to comment on the valuation. Already, 75 percent of Snapdeal’s orders – for everything from books to clothes to shoes – are made by customers through their cell phones. The company expects it to go up to 85 percent this year.

All developers want to see their mobile apps take off. But it’s what happens after all the hard work, testing and final prep—and when—that can make or break their chances of success. Especially when it comes to launching and promoting those apps. Timing is everything, according to app marketing and optimization firm Sensor Tower. Its new report on iOS apps, released Friday, suggests that weekends are the best time to plug those apps, in general. In most categories, that’s when people use them, make purchases and download new ones the most. 

Hair care brand Sexy Hair hopes to tease up sales from Cosmopolitan readers by enabling them to snap a photo of its print ad and purchase hairspray directly from a mobile device, proving that scan-to-shop ads are gaining traction as brands ramp up mcommerce. Readers picking up Cosmopolitan magazine’s May issue, which hits newsstands on April 14, will be able to buy the hair care brand’s Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play hairspray instantly with their smartphones, offering a slew of opportunities for driving impulse purchases. Sexy Hair is the premiere beauty brand to leverage commerce specialist Powa Technologies’ PowaTag platform …

Even if you are living in a cave, this news must have reached you: Snapdeal acquired Freecharge for an undisclosed sum; speculations are rife that the deal is in the range of $400-450 million, with stock and equity transfers. Last year in February, I attended an IAMAI event where Freecharge founder Kunal Shah was a panelist for a discussion regarding entrepreneurship. He had shared the challenges of building a startup and how they acquired their first 50,000 customers. For instance, they met McDonald’s management atleast 35 times before they said yes to their proposal of free coupons based on mobile recharges. Today, after …

Private aviation brand XOJet is bypassing a mobile application and focusing on its mobile-optimized Web site to adhere to affluent consumers’ reluctance to download too many apps. The mobile-optimized site acts similar to an app, but does not require any downloads from the consumer. Many luxury brands are discovering that the time and finances behind an app do not often see a ROI, therefore many brands, such as XOJet, are turning efforts toward making their mobile experience as ideal as possible through the consumer’s browser.

The stickiness of applications has reached an all-time-high due to better retention and engagement, according to a study by Localytics. Localytics defines app stickiness as the average of the percentage of how many frequent users an app has and the percentage of users who return within three months after first access. This number underwent a dramatic increase since December, reaching a peak of 26 percent. “Apps continue to play a bigger and bigger role in our daily lives, we’ve seen this in the measurement of app launches and other engagement metrics," said Raj Aggarwal, CEO of Localytics, Boston. "With nearly …

Irvine-based Tilly’s, a household name in the under-24 set, recently announced plans to open at least 15 new stores this year after opening 19 last year – an 8 percent increase for the teen apparel retailer. There’s been a lot of growth since the first shop opened in 1982 in Los Alamitos. Last year, total net sales were $518 million, up 4.5 percent. Comparable store sales were down roughly 3 percent, which the company attributed to “increased costs related to new stores growing at a faster rate than sales.”