The increased focus on mobile brand loyalty means marketers must refrain from over-communicating and over-targeting, as a symbiotic relationship with the customer is necessary for effective advertising and return on investment. Consumers’ tendency to rely on their mobile devices and bring them everywhere they go makes it easier for brands to reach potential customers with the tap of a push notification or banner ad.

Shares in Baidu, the world’s top Chinese-language Internet search provider, dropped by as much as 6% in U.S. aftermarket trading after the company’s latest financial report disappointed investors. Baidu said it generated revenue of $2.67 billion in the second quarter, a 38% increase from the corresponding period in 2014. 

A sizeable number of businesses won’t meet the EMV transition deadline, according to a survey by Randstad Technologies. The survey found that 58% of respondents, who represent a cross-section of affected industries, are actively preparing for the EMV technology transition. But 42% have either taken no steps or are unaware of any progress being made. 

Marketers have been slow to embrace in-app messaging for fear of creating a spam-like experience and because of the priority put on drawing in new users, potentially missing out on a key strategy for boosting and maintaining engagement as a result. Only one third of marketers with mobile applications leverage in-app messaging, but this is starting to change as marketers focus more on retaining and monetizing their app users.

We’ve long held up Starbucks as a prime example of a company that has used digital transformation to optimum effect. Late last week, the coffee giant announced its latest set of numbers and once again that digital investment is paying off in spades. Net income for the quarter ended June 28 rose to $626.7 million, from $512.6 million, while revenues rose 18% to $4.88 billion.

McDonald’s is tiptoeing behind its competitors by rolling out a mobile application to United States consumers this fall, but could reclaim some of its flagging revenue with in-app coupons. During its second quarter earnings call, the fast food marketer claimed it is testing mobile ordering for U.S. markets and will introduce a mobile app for domestic customers, adding to its plentiful mobile offerings abroad. 

Those with the highest spending power in the United States overwhelmingly prefer online shopping, with 72 percent buying via ecommerce in the last three months, according to new research by Unity Marketing. While online retail still only accounts for a fraction of the sales seen in bricks-and-mortar outlets, it has seen a steeper steady growth over the past 10 years, with a 113 percent increase to traditional retail’s 17 percent rise in the same period.

Perhaps you’ve had this experience: you’re on your smartphone and you find something you want to purchase. Unfortunately, when you get to the checkout they want you to type in all of your information. Many people have found this to be such an inconvenience on a tiny phone screen they wait until they get to their computer to enter the necessary information.

PayPal is now a standalone company being traded on the Nasdaq and it has adopted a mobile-first strategy. The company has come to establish a very prominent position in the mobile commerce space, where it has become one of the more influential entities therein. As the company has now become separate from its former owner eBay, PayPal will adopt a greater focus on the mobile sector. This focus may further increase the company’s standing in the mobile commerce market. According to PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, PayPal is set to become a mobile-first platform through the development of new mobile products. 

While a number of food and beverage chains have embraced mobile loyalty, a Chipotle executive said this week that the company will buck the trend and lean on mobile payments – not loyalty – as a way to gather meaningful insights about its customers. During a conference call with analysts on Tuesday to discuss Chipotle’s second quarter results, the executive responded to a question about the chain’s plans in mobile loyalty by saying that internal research has shown loyalty does not drive frequency.