Pingit payment application reaches over 400,000 downloads

Posted on April 17, 2012 by jfd

UK financial services company Barclay launched a person-to-person payment application called Pingit, and has already seen tremendous success in the early stages, reaching over 400,000 downloads since launching in February. The technology behind their application is simple; it that allows users to transfer money using only a mobile number, removing the need to transfer important and personal banking information.

With the rising importance of mobile device usage, financial institutions are quickly adopting new ways to interact with customers beyond providing services to check account balances and other basic banking needs. Pingit’s early success points to the growing demand for simple and intuitive payment platforms that co-exist with current methods consumers are using with mobile technology. As Gary Schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile notes: “Pingit is simply tying your banking to your phone number to allow you to use this number to transfer cash is the same way you communicate to friends or vendors.”

In a short period of time, Pingit became the fastest downloaded financial app in the UK Apple Store for the entire month of February. Moreover, eBay users and smaller UK merchants are moving towards this app as a way to accept payments. Barclays aims to continue to develop add-on features to the app, making it a more all-encompassing payment tool.

Nokia launches Lumia 610, first Windows NFC phone

Posted on April 12, 2012 by jfd

Recently launched at the WIMA show in Monaco, Nokia has put NFC at the forefront of this latest Windows 7.6 Mango edition of the Lumia handset series.

The phone will be initially launched by Orange and already is certified by Visa and Mastercard for contactless payments, supports NFC tag reading and writing, peer-to-peer pairing, and card emulation modes.

According to Ilari Nurmi, Nokia’s head of smart device product marketing, NFC will be included in all future releases: “we’re bringing NFC right across our portfolio, and together with our ever-growing range of NFC accessories we’re making it easy for people to connect via a single tap. We’re also enabling operators and other service providers to build NFC payment and ticketing solutions on top of our smartphones.”

Look for the overseas launch sometime in late 2012 and checkout this video for more info.

Macys mobile spring product push

Posted on April 10, 2012 by jfd

Recognized major US department store Macy’s has recently launched a new mobile campaign highlighting its latest spring 2012 product collections at rock bottom prices.

The initiative has been launched through Us Magazine’s mobile site, and aims to get attention from Macy’s on-the-go customers and to drive a new direct to consumer discount channel.

Mobile ads are placed in favorable locations at the top of the Us Magazine’s mobile site landing page, demonstrating a clear call-to-action for consumers to click through to another mobile site showcasing Macy’s “Spring Spectacular” sale items. Users can also browse the retailers’ entire product inventory and benefit from free shipping.

Not a newcomer to mobile ad campaigns, Macy’s sees this component as crucial to move sales in new directions and continue to develop their mobile component. Having already launched augmented reality platforms to SMS marketing, Macy’s has tapped into the emerging mobile space in a big way.

Enhanced mobile app brings GNC shopping experience to new heights

Posted on April 5, 2012 by jfd

GNC, a health and wellness specialty retailer, launched an iPhone application in March of 2011 and has seen over 100,000 downloads. This interest has prompted the company to focus and redesign the mobile app to further please tech-savvy customers.

The application is available free of charge for both iPhone and Android users and hosts a wide range of information on the GNC brand, products, and includes a mobile commerce engine. Jeff Hennion, GNC’s chief marketing and e-commerce officer, spoke proudly of their new app: “Our strategy is to go to our customers, wherever they are and however they want to shop.”

According to Hennion, a large amount of GNC’s core consumer spends many hours researching products as they are geared toward specific health benefits. The addition of an overhauled mobile site allows for continuity between the regular website and hosts the same amount of product info.

Users can browse products, check out the latest deals, track their own personal supplement use, find store locations, access recipes, and store the GNC membership card info directly in the app allowing them not to have to carry the actual card.

POS: rising security concerns come with evolving technology

Posted on April 3, 2012 by jfd

Payment technology is rapidly evolving. As we enter the age of device based forms of payment, such as the mobile wallet, many have raised flags and question the security of information as payment technology continues to advance.

Older POS systems, both hardware and software, still have the ability to adapt and upgrade to new forms of transactions, however the security of data and these revised systems have come into question. The divide sits between a hardware-based system, such as a chip embedded card, versus software-based systems largely on the web, such as PayPal’s new digital wallet and online payment system. Hardware-based systems, chip cards, and mobile wallets on smart devices provide a higher level of data encryption and keep the user’s personal information solely on the card or device. Software systems are a more complicated to encrypt, and are left exposed to the dangers of malicious Internet manipulation.

It’s still worth remembering that both forms of payment processing are highly secure. The debate lies more in the question of the set-up of a system’s given security measures. All web-based payment programs store personal information in the “cloud”, or a cluster of servers located in a remote warehouse. The issue then becomes about choosing targets: millions and millions of individual cards and devices, or the mass grouping of data housed in one location?

It will be interesting to see how the issue of security will be addressed in the future and whether or not both merchants and individuals will opt for the personal device or card-based options.

Clinique UK augments print ads to drive sales

Posted on March 29, 2012 by jfd

In a bold move to continue supporting a 360-degree ad campaign, Clinique UK is deploying improved reality platforms to enhance current print ads and help drive sales. They invited users to interact through print and out-of-home ads via smart devices during the month of March.

Teaming up with the enhanced reality Blippar application, which can be easily downloaded for iOS and Android platforms for free, the print ads come to life by creating an interactive version of the ad viewed directly on a user’s mobile device screen. By interacting with the advertisements users can view more detailed info on the showcased product and even make a purchase if so inclined.

Jessica Butcher, founding partner and marketing director for Blippar, notes that print is a stagnant medium that needs to continue to evolve, “Print is, by its nature, old news as soon as it comes off a printing press, and this technology enables it to be used as a trigger for real-time information updates, a digital bridge to mobile Web pages, content downloads or interactive touch screen experiences. Augmented reality is simply one of the forms of content delivery that can be facilitated by this technology.”

This augmented reality platform goes even further by allowing users to connect with a store locator through GPS, view products and brand related videos, connect to Clinique’s mobile site and share comments and view threads via Facebook to see what other people are saying about the product.

This level of interaction brings new meaning and value to print advertising, and when tied into a relevant mobile campaign, a brand can reach higher levels of engagement and drive sales.

Mcommerce Summit 2012 New York: Amazon, Zappos, Citi, Travelocity, GGP and Alon Brands set to discuss the rising trends in mobile commerce

Posted on March 27, 2012 by jfd

On May 3rd, 2012 and hosted by Mobile Commerce Daily, industry leaders will converge at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City to discuss the rapidly growing market segment of mobile commerce. Guest speakers from Amazon, Zappos, Citi, Travelocity, GGP and Alon Brands will discuss various topics involving mobile strategy. The event targets many businesses that can benefit from developing an integrated approach to mobile, including; ad agencies, media placement firms, brands and retailers.

The Mcommerce Summit has been designed to complement the growing portfolio of seminars currently hosted by Mobile Commerce Daily, including Mobile FirstLook and Mobile Marketing Summit, both recognized as leading conferences in the mobile field.

Limited to only 200 delegates, registration is now open at a cost of $495 for the day, which includes all meals and refreshments. Please visit www.mcommercesummit.com for more information and to register.

Bringing down barriers – brick and mortar app store delivers new shopping experience

Posted on March 22, 2012 by jfd

New technology can often be hard for people to adopt and learn, and even though the mobile world is showing definitive signs of high growth many of its users are still not too sure of themselves when it comes to apps in general. Many them are apprehensive of learning how apps work, their usefulness, and ultimately if they’re a good investment.

myPhoneMD has come up with an ingenious concept to bring apps out of
the digital world and into the real world by creating a retail environment that
entices customers to physically shop for apps. “The goal of the store is to
reduce buyer’s remorse,” said Shaun Walker, creative director at HERO|farm, New Orleans.

The concept is quite simple: a café-style retail space that showcases removable boxes on shelving units that customers can pick-up, demo, and use to learn about a particular app. Using barcodes, each app can be downloaded as a trial or directly purchased through the use of barcode scanners. With a large open space and comfortable seating, patrons can take their time to peruse the various apps and ask sales associates one-on-one questions and advice.

The store is an extension of the MyPhoneMD retail chain, a client of Hero Farm, and only makes sense as an add-on to their current operation. As Walker puts it, “The goal of the store is to reduce buyer’s remorse, this gives them an opportunity to try out an app and make sure they like it before having to put up their money. People also tend to be scared of learning new things or of using the apps, so this removes a lot of the fear as well.”

MyPhoneMD is looking to rollout this concept in all of their current locations as they see this as an opportunity to reach out to customers in a whole new way. By creating a traditional retail shopping experience, both avid app users and newbies alike will feel comfortable with this new technology.

Mobile app to capitalize on last-minute bookings

Posted on March 15, 2012 by jfd

Last-minute travel is a regular part of business for most airlines, and Southwest Airlines aims to capitalize on this sales market through the use of mobile technology.

Southwest has begun utilizing mobile as a platform for launching this new business initiative via an integrated platform that uses mobile ads connected to mobile sites. With ads running inside the IMDb iPhone app, users are encouraged to click through to the mobile site in order to inquire on flight status, trip booking, and inform themselves on the airline itself.

Says Chris Mainz, spokesman for Southwest Airlines, Dallas, TX:

“As an airline, we know our customers are constantly on the go, and the feedback we have received in focus groups lets us know how best to communicate with our customers – it is important for us to give access to our customers to book tickets on Southwest in a manner that suits them, and mobile is an important part of that strategy.”

Operating over 3000 flights daily to 73 cities and 38 states across the U.S., Southwest is an airline in high regular use largely due to its value-oriented proposition of low-cost airfare. It is therefore not surprising to see the company move to the mobile space to increase last-minute trip purchases.

Their mobile system is quite simple in construct: an ad indicates, “Low fares at Southwest.com” with a clickable button connecting users to the mobile site. Once there, users can toggle through four main areas: 1) Booking 2) Check-in 3) Change Flight and 4) Cancel Flight, all of which are protected through an account system that users access with a login and password.

Payment business model: is this a big part of Facebook’s future?

Posted on March 13, 2012 by jfd

Disclosing a detailed earnings overview on February 1st, 2012, well in advanced of the much anticipated IPO, Facebook Inc. reported significant revenue from its payment business. Payment revenue for 2011 came in at $557 million, this being a drastic increase from the previous year takings of $106 million. The intention behind publicizing this information is to inform potential investors about the size, scope, and mechanics on how Facebook generates revenue. This document also points to Facebook’s overall payment strategy as well as their goals in continuing to grow in this segment.

Most of Facebook’s revenue is generated through advertising sales and social gaming. Towards the end of 2010, they made own proprietary payment engine, “Facebook Payments”, mandatory for use and saw revenues grow exponentially as a result. All gaming platforms that accept payments are required to use Facebook Payments to process transactions. This platform is multifaceted and can accept a wide array of payment sources such as debit and credit card, PayPal, mobile and gift cards.

As the company continues to develop its platform and services, the current rise in application use and demand will see Facebook carve out its own niche in this market. Focus will be put on developing social applications to integrate into the existing platform, encouraging a diverse assortment of application types and uses, with those that are not free to be paid for using the Facebook Payment processing system, further increasing revenue potential.

With the world continuing to migrate online, it is up to powerful social networking websites such as Facebook to capitalize on the economic prospects within their products, lest they miss out on a chance to grow their business over time.

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