According to recent reports, the long established toy retailer Toys “R” Us are planning to launch a new mobile feature for consumers browsing in-store. This is another step from a major retailer in convergence of both their physical and digital strategy; by leveraging the power of mobile. Undoubtedly, Toys “R” Us see this as another step to streamlining the consumer experience in-store and making the most of the changing shopping behaviours of consumers, in which mobile is at the forefront. The retailer will use 3D image recognition tech to enable consumers to perform a quick and easy product search on …

With Paymit (a combination of “Payment” and “Transmit”), UBS and Zurich Cantonal Bank, together with SIX as the infrastructure provider of the Swiss financial centre, are offering the first P2P payment app in Switzerland based on a common banking standard. This means that Paymit can be used by anyone living in Switzerland, irrespective of whether they bank with UBS, Zurich Cantonal Bank or another bank. The only thing needed to use the app is a Swiss mobile phone number and, depending on the app, a bank account and/or a credit or prepaid card. Paymit has been developed by SIX …

Uber is reportedly planning to launch a same-day online retail delivery service. According to TechCrunch, Uber has already issued training documents for drivers and couriers who want to participate in the service. About 400 retailers including Neiman Marcus, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Cohen’s Fashion Optical and Hugo Boss are said to be considering participating in what will be called the Uber Merchant Delivery Program. Training documents reference retailers Hugo Boss and Cohen’s Fashion Optical as examples. In addition, the Spring mobile shopping app has offered a test of a combination of the Uber delivery service with Spring’s shopping functionality to specialty retailers including …

National convenience store chain 7-Eleven has rolled out the Slurpee All Access Chill sweepstakes contest, which incorporates the retailer’s mobile application to drive summer sales for limited-edition flavor  Mtn Dew Solar Flare as well as app engagement. Contestants enter by purchasing Slurpee drinks, downloading the 7-Eleven app and scanning the bar code located on the cup, encouraging consumers to spend more in-store and drive up app usage. To further play on consumers’ interests in warmer weather activities, prizes for the sweepstakes all center around summer with a focus on summer festivals and concerts, such as VIP trips to top upcoming music …

Digi-Capital, an intelligence firm, has released the results of some of its latest research, which has revealed that spending on mobile gaming software is growing at such a rate that it will have left consoles way behind by the year 2018. This will, in fact, mean that mobile gaming will not only outpace that of consoles, but of the entire industry. Digi-Capital has also predicted that the tablet and smartphone games spending figure will rise at a rate of 8 percent per year, so that it will break the $110 billion mark by the close of 2018. No other type of device is expected …

Online fashion retailer Myntra will shutdown its website from May 15, shifting to an exclusive mobile app-based model. As we reported earlier, this will be the first such instance of an e-commerce player transforming into a mobile-only entity as internet usage on smartphones witnesses a surge in India. Myntra informed users about the move through print ads published in national dailies and via e-mail. The e-mail communication mentions that the online fashion experience is a personalised one and is 'only possible through the device that is closest to the user.'

Sales at its namesake HSN unit, over 70% of the total company sales, rose 10% to $600.5 million. (The remaining 30% of the parent company’s sales is claimed by theCornerstone business, which mails 325 million catalogs annually under seven different brands from Ballard Designs home decorating to the Chasing Fireflies children’s clothing. Online also represents the bulk of that unit’s business.) Demand was driven by gains in all categories from apparel to electronics, except jewelry. At the HSN unit, online sales jumped 18% to represent two-fifths of all sales. Also noteworthy: Almost 20% of HSN’s sales came from mobile devices.

Speaking on behalf of the home improvement retailer, company representative Steve Holmes toldBloomberg that his company plans to introduce in-store support for Apple Pay, but declined to specify an exact rollout timetable. Today's announcement comes hours after media outlets relayed customer complaints of recent changes to Home Depot's NFC payments protocol. The retailer's point-of-sale terminals officially accept PayPal mobile, but iPhone 6 owners reported that many locations have been processing Apple Pay purchases since the service launched in October. Within the past week, however, customers who normally use Apple Pay at their local Home Depot discovered the chain abruptly reversal of policy. AppleInsider received word from …

Thirty percent of consumers either own or plan to buy a wearable device in the next 12 months, and 34% of those consumers want wearable technology to make their lives easier – and that includes shopping. Those are among the findings of a new study by PowerReviews, a ratings and reviews provider. The study, “Mobile, Wearable Tech and Hyper-Relevance,” analyzes how new technologies are impacting retail. It finds that more than twice as many shoppers are accessing product reviews in-store via retailer’s mobile site (54%) than a retailer’s app (21%). According to the study, shoppers are most interested in using wearable tech …

Pizza Hut is following in Domino’s footsteps by rolling out a mobile-enabled order navigation platform that allows customers to track their pizza orders from the oven to delivery at their homes, proving that quick service restaurants must innovate digital ordering to stay competitive in the sector. Pizza Hut’s pizza navigation system is currently being rolled out to consumers in the Dallas area before a nationwide introduction occurs later this year. The digital ordering platform speaks to the increasing “Uberfication” of fast-food chains, referring to the instant gratification that consumers can receive by simply pressing a few buttons on their smartphones …