Commerce generated on e-commerce platforms on mobile devices, called mobile commerce or m-commerce, is expected to surpass $638 billion by 2018, a recent study forecasts. Ease of use, availability of various commerce applications on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets fueling this growth, the joint study by Deloitte and Assocham today revealed. Cash on Delivery (CoD) is the most preferred mode of payment in India with 45% of the shoppers using it while 21% shoppers opt for debit cards and another 16% go for credit cards. The report said the CoD mode has many issues ranging from high direct and …

Marks & Spencer this week will start rolling out free in-store collection at more than 100 of its Simply Food outlets in motorway service stations, railways, hospitals and airports, making it even easier for customers to shop online. The first new collection points will include Simply Food stores at King's Cross, Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central railway stations. Collection from Heathrow Terminals One, Two, Three and Five, as well as sites at Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Stansted airports will be available later this summer. The announcement comes just days after rival John Lewis said that it would start …

Apple is selling many fewer Apple Watch smart watches per day than it did when the gadget first went on sale in April, according to data from Slice Intelligence, a firm that tracks online ordering. Yet as many pointed out in the wake of the Slice report, not only is the estimate of sales imperfect, a drop-off in sales is to be expected and the Apple Watch is still probably the best-selling smart watch on the market. The data, first provided to Business Insider, shows that Apple Watch sales have fallen from their mid-April debut to the beginning of July. On …

Discovery Channel’s annual television event Shark Week is diving deep into mobile commerce to drive merchandise sales through Twitter’s buy button, leveraging daily deals and social media buzz. The weeklong programming has steadily become a highly anticipated televised event, and every year incites a social media blitz. Discovery is capitalizing on the trending nature of the event and is introducing innovative purchasing efforts to Twitter’s buy button through daily deals.

Sports and concert tickets platform SeatGeek is spending approximately 50 percent of its advertising spend on mobile, proving that booking excursions on personal devices continues to gain traction among millennials. SeatGeek recently teamed up with mobile marketing solution AppLovin to bring a more mobile-first approach to the event brand’s marketing efforts, particularly as ticket providers have been somewhat slow in their mobile adoption rates. The joint campaign culminated in SeatGeek discovering that video advertisements are paramount in acquiring new customers, while banner ads still maintain relevancy for retargeting.

For many new mothers, the experience of early parenthood means having a smartphone in one hand and a baby in the other. Common tasks include: Searching Google Images for horrifying rashes, watching instructional YouTube videos on swaddling, acting as their baby's own personal paparazza, texting photos to grandparents, and, of course, shopping online. Among other parenting pitfalls, new mothers must also now try to avoid giant giraffes, colorful tunnels, and other impulse buys they might regret in the morning. "Moms send us stories all the time of nursing her baby at 3 a.m., realizing she's almost out of diapers or some other essential, placing …

Apple Pay is widely expected to arrive in the UK on July 14 according to information from a number of retailers, reported 9to5Mac.The move confirms Apple's announcement in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that the UK would become the second market after the U.S. to be able to use the NFC-based contactless payment service. Canada is expected to be next in line later this year. Apple Pay was first unveiled with the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year, and is set to compete with existing contactless payment services. It's becoming a crowded market, with …

Sainsbury’s has signed a deal with one of its old foes that will transform the way the supermarket runs promotions and handles online discount vouchers. Eagle Eye, the virtual voucher business backed by former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, will announce today a “game-changing” contract with Sainsbury’s that will handle its digital coupons across its grocery empire. Eagle Eye’s software will be rolled out across Sainsbury’s supermarket tills to register discount vouchers on shoppers’ phones. The UK coupon market is worth £1.6bn after rising 100pc in value over the last five years. However, while consumers used to rely on newspaper-printed vouchers, …

McDonald’s plan to begin testing mobile order-and-pay at some of its restaurants in China as part of an endeavor to connect the online and in-store experience to reach consumers who are increasingly embracing mobile applications. McDonald’s planned trial of mobile order-and-pay in the Asian country during the current quarter follows the launch there by Yum Brands’ KFC of mobile payments last month, the Wall Street Journal reported. “Mobile payments and mobile ordering go hand-in-hand and smart brands are testing, learning and iterating as fast as they can,” said Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales for Unbound Commerce, Boston.

Fresh out of Austin, Texas last week came news that RideScout — a leading mobile app that lets users search and compare ground transportation options on demand —  has acquired GlobeSherpa. GlobeSherpa is a “market leader in mobile solutions for public transportation” with mobile book-and-pay ticketing in several major US markets (Portland, San Francisco and Chicago, for example). Although terms of the agreement were not disclosed, the transactions were completed on June 29th.