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. 

Grand View Research has published a new report that shows that the global mobile commerce solution market will see exponential growth in the coming years. This growth is being attributed to accelerating smartphone adoption. As more consumers gain access to these devices, they are beginning to use them to shop in a more convenient fashion. This has lead to consumers seeking out efficient and enjoyable solutions that they can use to shop. According to the report, the increasing prevalence of e-commerce in the retail sector is driving the growth of the mobile commerce solutions market. 

The time period before a consumer takes a trip is an ideal time to target them with retail advertisements, due to a higher likelihood they will convert, according to new research from Rocket Fuel. Luxury travelers are 59 percent more likely than those who do not have a trip booked to make a retail purchase. With luxury guests booking their trips an average of 53 days in advance, marketers have a significant amount of time to reach them before they depart.

Radio groups such as Sinclair Broadcast Group, Cumulus Media, Beasley Media, Digity, Radio One, Delmarva Broadcasting and Saga Communications are targeting mobile users based on current and past locations to drive in-store traffic.  Radio broadcasters are serving their marketing partners successful advertising results through location-based mobile advertisements, driving in-store foot traffic to retailers. 

Kohl’s newly updated iPhone application enables users to view items in the shopping cart that were previously added from desktop or a tablet, potentially diminishing the shopping cart abandonment rate during the upcoming holiday season when mcommerce is expected to spike.

Starbucks, a company already known for its massive successes with smartphone based payments, has now announced that it is launching a mobile commerce program that will allow its users to “click and collect” their coffees in the U.K. The company stated that its customers will be able to benefit from the fastest WiFi speeds that are available through a retailer, in order to help to encourage customers to return to the coffee shops following a recent round of tax controversies.

Retailers may need to become more mobile-centric, as consumers begin relying more heavily on their smartphones when they shop. SessionM, a mobile loyalty company, recently released the results of a survey of 12,000 randomly selected smartphone users in the United States, questioning them about their mobile shopping behavior. According to the survey, 85% of respondents said that they were quite involved in mobile commerce, with many suggesting that their mobile commerce activity increased over what it had been over a year ago. The survey shows that approximately 15% of respondents said that their mobile shopping had increased significantly. Of those interested in mobile ...

Reports are now showing that Apple has patented a new tool that would make it possible for mobile ads to display only products and services that should be considered affordable to the individual user of that device, according to their own banks. It is already common practice for marketers to obtain information about the kinds of products that smartphone and tablet users have the greatest likelihood of purchasing based on the sites that they visit and other interactions that they have with their devices. Physical location, gender, and age can all play an important role in decision making when it comes to ...

After crossing borders, Apply Pay went live in the UK. With Apple Pay’s launch in the UK, customers of some banks were extremely happy while those of other banks were really angry and all their emotions were clearly evident on Twitter. In short, Apple Pay was successful in the UK but banks like HSBC and First Direct who aren’t still supporting Apple Pay had to deal with their customers’ fuming reactions on Twitter last week. While HSBC was supposed to be the launching partner for Apple Pay in the UK, it has not launched Apple Pay for its customers yet. ...

Peer-to-peer digital retailer eBay has recently acquired second-hand clothing application Twice to grow its eBay Valet service and mobile presence, gaining access to a new generation of sellers in an attempt to climb back up the retail ladder. Following a recent separation with PayPal and a downfall in number of users in years past, eBay has acquired Twice to further develop its mobile practices and valet selling service, making the seller experience more convenient. As more consumers are seeking on-demand and concierge-like experiences, the space for digital auctions and complicated selling steps has decreased significantly, causing eBay to make serious ...