Here's Why Mobile Wallets Haven't Caught on Yet

With all the talk about mobile payments, the launch of Apple Pay and numerous brands getting on board, why does it seem like no one is actually using his or her phone to pay?

It all comes down to the foundation of any relationship: trust. Or, in this case, the lack of it. In its third annual Global Consumer Trust Report, MEF, a global trade organization focused on mobile content and commerce, found that the increasing number of high-profile data breaches and a lack of clarity regarding data collection have left consumers more than wary. More than a third of the 15,000 mobile media users in 15 countries surveyed by MEF and AVG said they simply don't trust mobile wallets, and roughly the same amount said they shun apps to be safe. Most said they feel app providers and device manufacturers are responsible for making the system more secure.

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Elle Uses Virtual Reality to Share Fashion Up Close

There are few front row seats during fashion shows, but Elle—with the aid of virtual reality—wants to extend the opportunity to see the shows up close.

The Hearst magazine is partnering with 7 For All Mankind to shoot a closer, 360 degree look at its spring collection. The footage was shot on Feb. 18 in Paris, and the company aims to release the content for VR headsets within the month.

"We see enormous interest in the fashion landscape," Elle publisher Kevin O'Malley said. "It is such an immersive and highly visceral experience for the user, and we're interested in sharing more with them. (VR) brings the consumer into that world."

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You Guys Realize The Apple Watch Is Going To Flop, Right?

Few analysts or writers will outright say it, but I will: the Apple Watch is going to flop. And I bet a lot of other people are thinking the same thing for many good reasons.

Apple has become a perennial hit maker, the company other companies copy. Apple really gets design. In the past 14 years, it has given us the iPod (the prototypical MP3 player), the iPhone (the prototypical smartphone), the Macbook Air (the prototypical laptop), and the iPad (the prototypical tablet).

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PayPal Buys Paydiant, The Mobile Wallet Behind CurrentC, To Raise Its Game v. Google + Apple

PayPal, the payments service with 162 million users preparing to separate from e-commerce giant eBay later this year, is announcing an acquisition today to help build out its mobile business targeting physical merchants, and sharpen its focus in competition with other tech payment hopefuls like Apple and Google.

It is buying Paydiant, a startup out of Boston that makes mobile wallet technology. That technology, in turn, powers payment apps for large business like Subway, Harris Teeter supermarkets, Capital One bank, and — perhaps most notably — MCX, a merchant-owned network that is developing a payment app called CurrentC.

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Apple Is Putting Users' Beautiful iPhone 6 Photos on Billboards and Print Ads

Photos taken on iPhone 6 are so good, you can blow them up and put them on a billboard.

That's the message of Apple's new "Shot on iPhone 6" print and outdoor campaign, which features real photos—taken by real iPhone 6 users—that Apple found online and loved. The company tells AdFreak that the campaign will feature shots from 77 individuals in 70 cities and 24 countries across the globe.

All of the photos were noncommissioned, found images. Apple combed through tens of thousands of photos to choose the ones for the campaign. The overall message is that iPhone is the world's most popular camera, and is even better with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus thanks to improved software and hardware.

Check out a sampling of the photos below (with blurbs by Apple), and many more at apple.com/worldgallery.

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Ikea Introduces Furniture You Can Charge Your Smartphone On

Swedish furniture maker Ikea International A/S unveiled a new range of furniture that it says can wirelessly charge some mobile devices. The Swedish furniture giant made the announcement on Sunday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The collection includes tables, desks and lamps which have wireless charging pads in them. The wireless charging works through an energy induction transfer. The furniture itself needs to be connected to a power source. The collection will hit the shelves of Ikea shops in Europe and North America on April, 15, followed by a global roll-out.

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The Layman’s Guide To Virtual Reality

Oculus. Facebook. Samsung. Microsoft. Sony. Google. Viewmaster. Virtual reality is coming, but it’s a remarkably confusing market, filled with dozens of players, all fighting a war for your face, because the winner will stake a claim on the next era of computing, entertainment, and social networking.

But hold up a second. You’re here because you got lost somewhere between watching Lawnmower Man and the last Matrix movie. That’s alright. Let’s hash this whole thing out in a make-believe Q&A.

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This whole Modern Family episode was shot with an iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2

It isn’t every day major TV shows film entire episodes with only iPhones and iPads, but the makers of Modern Family decided to do just that for an upcoming episode of the popular comedy. The episode, called “Connection Lost,” is all about parents trying to get in contact with their disinterested kids via technology.

Claire Dunphy, the mother of three kids on the show, who’s played by Julie Bowen, is stuck in an airport during the entire episode and all she wants to do is contact her daughter, Haley, who’s upset with her after a fight. Her daughter steadfastly ignores Claire, who attempts to reach her in every way she can think of via her MacBook. She tries email, FaceTime, Facebook and just about everything else to no avail. Naturally, her husband Phil — and just about everyone else — has to get involved, too.

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The surprising facts about who shops online and on mobile

In the first quarter of 2014, 198 million U.S. consumers bought something online, according to comScore's quarterly State Of Retail report. That translates to 78% of the U.S. population age 15 and above. 

But who are these shoppers driving the trend of buying online and on mobile devices? 

In a new report, BI Intelligence breaks down the demographics of U.S. online and mobile shoppers by gender, age, income, and education, and takes a look at what they're shopping for, and how their behaviors differ. 

It's important for retailers to know who their potential customers are online in order to market to them effectively.

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How Mobile Devices Are Changing Shopping and What CPG Marketers Can Learn From It

When I was the brand manager overseeing Hellmann’s Mustard, one strategy for growing the business was identifying emerging trends that could translate to new products. In 1999, the major trend was grainy or honey mustard varieties. Back then, trend-spotting meant that I was reliant on a nice salesperson to buy a package of mustard, snap a picture, develop the film, and send it to me. Today, the expectation is to get information much faster than waiting for pictures in the mail.

Fast-forward to current CPG marketing and the influx of instantaneous access to consumers through social media and mobile devices. Shoppers now walk down the aisles of a grocery store, department store or sporting goods store with their smartphones. The consumer is better equipped to make a more informed purchase.

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Designing for Place: How location can help brands like Home Depot and Sephora increase mobile apps’ relevance to customers

“Designing for Place” is all about how user context around venues and locations can be used to dramatically alter mobile user experiences by place. It is the solution for differentiating apps, reducing friction, getting more engagement, monetizing, and getting to the user’s home screen. Retail apps with features like store finders and online catalogues are very useful for users at home or on the go — but what about when they are in the store?

In-store modes that help users navigate retail stores or find their favorite items in stock are much more useful to users after they arrive at the retailer — and we are already seeing it happen in forward-looking apps today. The element of place will fundamentally change mobile app design for the better. Shortly, I’ll dive into how this might look with brands like Home Depot and Sephora, but let’s first talk about some essential elements.

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Can a mobile app bring limited-edition sneakers to the masses?

Are limited-edition sneakers still special when buyers can reserve them via app like a pizza or a pair of movie tickets? Adidas hopes so. 

The German sportswear giant just launched Confirmed, a mobile platform that will let sneakerheads skip the long lines at Foot Locker, obscure shoe lotteries, and the occasional disturbance of the peace that come with the sale of a rare pair of shoes. "You hear a lot of chatter and frustration that the existing system is somehow rigged for friends of friends or VIP customers," said Simon Atkins, the company’s vice president of brand activation. "We saw a real opportunity to change the paradigm with customers." 

Here’s how it works: Consumers who download the app, register with personal details, and allow push notifications from Adidas will get offers to reserve limited-edition shoes and apparel as they become available. Those who respond first are given the right to buy the products at a certain time and place, both in Adidas-owned stores and other retailers. 

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Adobe Looks to Bridge Gap Between Mobile and Desktop

Adobe is making new efforts to bring its ever-growing suite of mobile apps more in line with its flagship desktop offerings. The goal, they say, is to create an environment where users can seamlessly transition projects and workflows from mobile to desktop.

To help further this vision of "truly mobile to desktop workflows," the company rolled out a series of updates Monday, including nine new and updated mobile apps, enhanced Creative Cloud tools and improved touch optimizations for the Surface Pro 3 and Windows 8 devices.

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20pc of Valentine’s Day shoppers will make a purchase via mobile: report

New research suggests brands should be ramping up advertising on mobile to drive impulse buys in advance of Valentine's Day, with approximately 20 percent of consumers shopping for a Valentine’s Day gift planning to make a purchase via mobile and 89 percent of shoppers planning to buy last-minute gifts in the week leading up to the holiday. 

The Rubicon Project’s Consumer Pulse: Valentine’s Day 2015 report displays a clear trend of shoppers researching holiday gifts early, but purchasing them late, therefore creating an optimal opportunity for marketers to target the early-bird researcher and the last-minute shopper.  Rubicon Project advises brands to mold consumer shopping habits by leveraging campaigns during the researching phase and focusing on driving m-commerce in the final days leading up to Valentine’s Day.

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Publishers aren't facing up to the challenge of mobile

This Christmas almost three million people found a shiny new tablet in their stocking. According to YouGov, this has taken the total number of people in the UK with a tablet to just over 19 million. For magazine publishers, this represents a huge opportunity, but it's an opportunity in danger of being wasted.

The publishing industry is struggling. We all know that. It got caught out by the digital revolution and didn't move fast enough to respond to the huge consumer behavioural shifts it engendered.

While many publishers have followed the Guardian in adopting a digital-first strategy, what's really worrying is that the industry is now in danger of getting caught out once again by the next revolution: mobile. Publishers are simply not being bold enough to reinvent their core product to become fit for purpose for how their customers are increasingly consuming media on their mobile or tablet device.

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The State of Mobile Content 2015

While smartphone technology has been around since the early 1990s, it was Apple's release of the iPhone in 2007 that made it cool to be "smart." Today, according to Pew Research Internet Project's January 2014 research, more than 90% of American adults have a cellphone-58% have smartphones. Others put the adoption much higher. Regardless, there is no question that the use of smartphones is on an upward spiral. Marketers have taken notice and reached out to consumers through a wide range of mobile advertising options, from pop-up ads and videos to native advertising, in-app advertising, and more.

Peggy Anne Salz is an expert in mobile search, mobile marketing, and mobile technologies. She is the founder of MobileGroove and the co-author of The Everything Guide to Mobile Apps. Despite the easy-to-understand focus on the technology, though, Salz says that marketers whose focus includes basic customer engagement have an edge. Technology, she says, "should not cloud the issue or the core of what we're discussing here, which is, ‘How do I connect with my customers?'"

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Are Mobile Apps Risky Business?

While the enterprise software market is predicted to grow to $4.5 billion by 2016, the increasing prevalence of mobile applications is exposing new security holes for businesses. Having an app for everything brings many benefits, but also entices hackers to target apps as gateways to valuable data. Businesses must meet the associated security challenges head-on with structured approaches.

Both mobile and enterprise technology are exciting, well-funded IT sectors. But it's where mobile and enterprise meet that we find the most profitable sector of all: mobile apps.

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VICE News Launches New Mobile App

Dear readers, Today the VICE News team is very excited to be releasing our first mobile app.

Now all of our groundbreaking documentaries and stories covering some of the most important and underreported news from around the world can be easily accessed from your Apple mobile devices.

Download the VICE News App here.

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LinkReader App!

Live Savannah is a yearlong initiative brought to you by SCAD + HP via the LinkReader app, which transforms physical content into digital experiences. Over the year, the project will examine tourism, retail, and community.

Earlier this year, Savannah College of Art and Design began utilizing the Digimarc's breakthrough technology in the nation’s first “Live City” installation. Walking around the city of Savannah, Georgia, pedestrians scan digitally watermarked images on maps, posters and other printed materials using the Digimarc-powered LinkReader app and are instantly linked to exclusive user content. With this digital vantage, tourists learn more easily about Savannah’s rich history and unique attractions.

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15 Mobile Trends To Watch In 2015

Ringing in the New Year at the Intersection of Consumer Experience and Mobile

As we launch into 2015 with wishes and expectations for the year ahead, one thing is clear: We're in the midst of a global transformation as more and more people are moving from the offline and disconnected world to being constantly connected. Consumers all around the world are adopting smart devices at an astounding pace, opening up more and more opportunities to engage in new ways –changing the way we interact, entertain, educate and shop. And that pace is expected to continue with 50 billion connected devices projected by 2020.

As we think about the potential of this new age, our focus at MasterCard is on creating richer shopping experiences for consumers. If you think about a world where everything and everyone is connected, from your mobile phone to your smart-home -- your washing machine for example -- it’s critical that brands can deliver a consistent omni-channel experience -- in-store, in-app, and online.

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