KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is rolling out an updated mobile application with analysis capabilities designed to anticipate guests’ preferences and needs without prompting, such as suggesting optimal flight seating during the booking process. KLM’s new app, designed in conjunction with AKQA, aims to cater to each customer’s individual needs and make the traveling process more streamlined and comfortable. A simplified booking tool enables users to select a destination and pay for flights directly within the app, as well as save credit card information for a one-step checkout.

Nokia's HERE mapping and location services business began a push to create a global standard for contactless transport ticketing payments using Near Field Communications (NFC)-enabled mobile phones. The unit today announced the formation of the Open Mobile Ticketing Alliance (OMTA), which it describes as a "one of a kind" project to enable consumers to purchase public transport tickets in cities across the world using a single mobile app. Nokia said the ultimate goal of OMTA is to enable consumers to "register once, travel anywhere" by standardising the communication between mobile phones and transit infrastructure. Such a standard would enable consumers …

Restaurant chain Elephant Bar’s recent mobile campaigns have seen 30 percent of its rewards members visit a bricks-and-mortar location on the day they were targeted by a geofenced SMS message, proving the strategy's potential. The food marketer teamed up with reward program solution Paytronix for several campaigns aimed at sending geofenced messages to members of the Elephant Bar Rewards platform. Paytronix’s geofencing module determines which members are nearby a restaurant location, and is then able to send reminders to customers about existing rewards points or offers in a bid to drive more in-store traffic.

Big Bazaar, one of the largest per market chains in India, has partnered with MobiKwik, a mobile wallet platform, in order to better engage mobile consumers. Together, the two organization intend to further expose consumers to the concept of mobile payments, which are becoming more common within India’s retail space. The demand for mobile payments support in physical stores is on the rise, as paying for products with a smartphone is seen as a more convenient way to make purchases. Now, those with a MobiKwik wallet will be able to use the platform to make a payment at Big Bazaar payment counters. …

Alipay Wallet, the mobile payments app from Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Financial Services, has incorporated many new features that will upgrade it from a mobile wallet to a payments platform. The changes represent Ant financial larger move to accelerate Alipay’s commerce presence. The new Alipay 9.0—which was formerly known as Alipay Wallet—includes a redesigned user interface as well as added functions geared to provide easy mobile access to purchase and pay for products and services from local restaurants, shops and other outlets, to obtain discount e-coupons, and share product recommendations and red envelopes with friends, among other features. The app’s …

MasterCard is teaming up with Apple Pay to prompt attendees at Major League Baseball’s 2015 All-Star Game to pay for food and merchandise with their smartphones as the credit card network continues to test a variety of mobile payments strategies. The credit card company is eschewing its own branded Qkr! app in favor of Apple’s platform, which is likely meant to drive more mobile payments among iOS users at the event. Attendees will be able to use Apple Pay to purchase food and merchandise, with a select few individuals set to receive a MasterCard Priceless Surprise, which may range fro

U.S. apparel label Michael Kors is making shopping more personalized for its consumers in Asia with a new CRM experience housed on social media application WeChat. Designed to merge the online and offline, the tool offers digital customer service touchpoints to be used both at home and in-store and offers benefits to members to spur bricks-and-mortar visits. Not only will this platform assist Michael Kors in delivering a customized experience to its consumers, but it will also enable the brand to learn more about its most engaged clients.

With a significant number of mobile users on Meredith Corp.’s Allrecipes purchasing groceries within 24 hours, the publisher has acquired Grocery Server to deliver native placements focusing on brand and retail offers for relevant items that are available nearby. Meredith Digital began integrating Grocery Server’s technology in April 2014, with early campaigns for brands such as Target, Unilever and Del Monte focused on native placements across desktop, tablet and mobile. Grocery Server’s platform enables marketers to deliver relevant offers in real-time to mobile users, with these initial efforts reportedly driving a lift in sales, increasing basket size and driving marketers’ return …

With Peapod seeing nearly one-third of its orders take place exclusively on smartphones or tablets, the online grocer has redesigned its mobile experience and set its sights on grabbing an even bigger share of wallet from the on-the-go shopper. The new application features high-resolution photos and tools designed to streamline the shopping process for on-the-go consumers who may not have the time to visit a supermarket in-person. The brand’s ability to enable its users to peruse the digital aisles and filter products by dietary and nutritional needs suggests that more grocery marketers will allocate funds to making the mobile shopping process a …

Capital One is letting customers on Apple iPhones use the bank-holding company’s revamped mobile application to personalize how they manage their finances with a single sign-in for all accounts and easier cross-account movement. Mobile users now can view and manage accounts from one place, including home and auto loans, banking accounts and credit card statements, and navigate and organize transactions and payments by category to track spending. While Capital One’s new digital experience is available on iPhone, it will be supported via Watch OS and Android devices in the future, as the company responds to consumer demands for easier ways to …