Nov. 27, 2018

InComm, an Atlanta-based prepaid card and payment technology firm, has entered a deal with Japanese pharmacy chain Welcia to provide technology to let customers of four leading payment firms to use their mobile devices to make purchases at the point of sale.

InComm is integrating its POS technology into Welcia's systems, allowing, customers using Japan’s Line Pay, mobile phone company NTT Docomo’s d Payment, China’s Alipay and WeChatPay, to make purchases by scanning barcodes via smartphones, according to a press release.

InComm said Japanese officials have recently launched efforts to increase the use of digital payment technology in a country where about 20 percent of transactions are done with non-cash payments. The country has set a goal to increase cashless transactions to about 40 percent by 2025, according to the release.

Topics: Mobile Payments, POS, Region: APAC

Companies: WeChat Pay, Alipay, InComm

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Nov. 27, 2018 | by David Jones

Cyber Monday shopper using smartphone

Mobile shoppers crossed a threshold on Cyber Monday, as Adobe Analytics data shows more than $2.2 billion in sales came from smartphone users, representing the biggest single-year increase and the first time mobile accounted for a majority of online transactions.

Smartphone transactions rose a record 55.6 percent from year-ago figures and reached a record 54.3 percent, according to a press release.

Data shows a surge of shoppers buying through their mobile devices and picking up merchandise inside the physical store, part of a growing trend by brick-and-mortar retailers to capture online shoppers while maintaining in-store traffic. Shoppers buying online and picking up in-store rose 65 percent from the year-ago period.

"Converting mobile traffic to sales has long been a thorn in the side of retailers, but investments in making the experience faster and easier have paid off," said Taylor Schreiner, director, Adobe Digital Insights, in the release.

Adobe data revealed shopping on mobile devices represented 54 percent of site visits, with about 47 percent on smartphones and 7.7 percent on tablets, representing a 19 percent increase from year-ago figures, according to the release.

Mobile devices accounted for about 36 percent of revenue, with smartphones representing about 28 percent and tablets about 8 percent, an increase of more than 18 percent from a year ago.

Casey Gannon, vice president of marketing at Shopgate, said the performance of mobile shoppers this weekend confirmed that mobile is no longer a trend in retail commerce, but a dominant force that retailers need to incorporate into their overall sales strategies. 

"To compete against the major retail players, brands need to provide their customers with unique value through the app," Gannon said in an email. "This includes simplified checkout options, exclusive access, personalized communication, tempting offers, appealing seasonality and their own unique blend of marketing prowess."

Mobile Weekend

The National Retail Federation reported a sharp increase in ominchannel business, as 89 percent of those surveyed shopped both online and inside the store, a 40 percent increase from a year ago. Multichannel shoppers outspent single channel shoppers by about $93, according to NRF data. 

The survey showed that 66 percent of overall shoppers used a mobile device to make holiday purchasing decisions, up from 33 percent a year ago. That figure rose to 88 percent among 18-24-year-old shoppers and 87 percent among those aged 25-34. 

The survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics in conjunction with the NRF, was taken on Nov. 24-25 and included 3,058 consumers. 

NRF and Prosper officials, speaking to reporters during a conference call Tuesday, said mobile shopping should not be considered a threat to traditional retailers, but something that successful retailers are embracing.

Mark Matthews, vice president of research, development and industry analysis at NRF, said during the call that for leading retailers, mobile shopping actually benefits their overall business.

"It's about giving consumers the ability to shop how they want, when they want, and the best retailers are doing that," he said. 

Photo: istock

Topics: Mobile Apps, Mobile Payments, Retail

Companies: Adobe

David Jones

David Jones is a veteran business and technology journalist, with three decades of experience writing about business travel, real estate and technology.

Since 2015 he covered a range of technology stories for the ECT News Network, which includes the E-Commerce Times, TechNewsWorld, LinuxInsider and CRM Buyer, writing about cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, open source computing and privacy issues among others,. He recently covered FinTech issues for PYMNTS.com.

He worked as a staff writer for Bloomberg Business News and an online reporter for Crain’s New York Business. He has written for numerous media organizations, including Reuters, The New York Times, The Real Deal, Continental, City Limits and The Nation.

He was previously awarded the George Washington Williams Fellowship for Journalists of Color by the Independent Press Association.

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Nov. 27, 2018

The team behind the Metronome cryptocurrency announced the launch of a mobile version of the Metronome wallet, in a Medium post and company release.

The mobile wallet will provide users with the same level of capabilities as the prior desktop wallet, according to the post. Users were previously able to use third-party applications, for example Jaxx, to store MET on a mobile device, but were unable to natively interact with the entire MET system, according to the post.

Community members and merchants will be able to transact with MET anywhere their phones have a network connection.

The launch, which followed a preview period for Metronome community members, will provide users with the ability to send and receive MET and ether (ETH).

Users will also be able to exchange MET for ETH, in both directions, using Metronome’s autonomous currency converter, according to the release.

Topics: Bitcoin, Mobile/Digital Wallet

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