Mobile Marketing

PetSmart is hitting the road for its first-ever Inspiration Waggin’ six-city tour in the United States and Canada, and is leveraging social media to promote it.

As the truck makes its way across the country, dogs, puppies and cats will visit retirement centers, university campuses and local spots so people can benefit from a wagging tail and some unconditional love. The Inspiration Waggin’ will make stops in:

Coca-Cola is enhancing its Coca-Cola Freestyle app. Beginning this month, an enhanced “Create Your Own Mix” feature will allow users to choose from more than 100 drink options to create a customized beverage that they can then pour from dispensers at participating outlets by connecting their smartphones to them.

The app is free for Android and iOS devices.

Lenexa, Kan. – Four-in-10 (42%) college students around the country would "probably not" or "definitely not" make more mobile payments if they were widely available. A survey sponsored by Balance Innovations showed that another 42% reported they would use their mobile phone "somewhat more, depending on the retailer or purchase," and only 16% of those surveyed said they absolutely would use mobile payments "all the time."
 
Additional insights from the survey include:
 

San Francisco – Stock compensation expenses helped produce a net loss of $132.4 million at Twitter Inc. during the first quarter of 2014, compared to a net loss of $27 million in the same quarter of the previous year. Twitter attributed part of the net loss to $126 million in stock compensation expense.

Chicago -- Mobile (including tablet), marketing and personalization were the top three issues that retailers will devote the most time to in 2014, according to the e-tailing group’s 13th Annual Merchant Survey. Omni-channel and platform rounded out the top five concerns.

Deerfield, Ill. -- Walgreens has been named the Best Integrated Mobile Experience for its Paperless Coupons program in the 18th Annual Webby Awards, which are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS).

San Jose – PayPal is rebranding itself in an effort designed to create a cohesive look and feel across the brand. The program includes a new logo and an omni-channel campaign called “powering the people economy.”

Digital interactions influence 36 cents of every dollar spent in the retail store, or approximately $1.1 trillion, according to the latest study from Deloitte Digital. The study also found that by the end of 2014, that number will climb to 50%, or $1.5 trillion of total store sales.

The study, "The New Digital Divide," quantifies the extent to which consumers' use of desktop and laptop computers, tablets and smartphones influences brick-and-mortar store sales.