While consumers may not be driven to stores to check out or buy the latest smart appliances so they can live on the leading edge, the appliances they buy may come with smarts, whether desired or not.

Combining loyalty with payment and putting it all in an app that lets users jump the queue. Why isn't everyone following suit?

We need to invest the same amount of measurement, personalization and testing in notifications and texts that we do with email subject lines.

On Instagram, users "like" still pictures a lot more than videos. Selfies and such generate nearly double the number of "likes," according to fresh data from Pixability. So why is everyone going crazy for video? As the video marketing firm finds, people are consistently commenting more in Instagram videos, and comments represent a deeper level of engagement than likes.

While many retailers have poured substantial resources into the development of mobile apps, most consumers tend to revert to using their mobile phones to seek out Web sites -- essentially the same old behavior migrated from using personal computers.

To rival Netflix and Amazon as a bona fide entertainment platform, Apple knows that original content is a must. It's the only way to truly differentiate your service, and hit shows are priceless from a marketing perspective. But a show about apps?! Yes, the tech giant has enlisted Will.i.am and veteran TV execs, Ben Silverman and Howard Owens, to develop a non-scripted series about apps

It's becoming clearer than ever that mostly mobile applications like Snapchat are the future of programmatic advertising.

If it seems as if watching video on cell phones is becoming a ubiquitous pastime, that's because it is. About 81% of Americans who use smartphones are now streaming video on those phones, a trend driven in large part by those under 25, NPD Group said in a new report.