Google, Inc.

Seattle - While Amazon is winning the battle for smartphone shoppers in America, it has yet to achieve the same dominance in at least 10 other countries internationally. This is the key finding of a monthly report from Informate Mobile Intelligence that tracked and measured consumer use of smartphones in 12 countries during February 2015.

The new report reveals shopping apps as having the highest penetration in the U.S. at 60%, followed by India at 46%. The other 10 countries measured, by comparison, only had a median reach of about 18%.

By Mark Kirstein, Zebra Technologies

Every brand wants to meet the needs, desires and expectations of today’s consumers. With the explosion of new technologies in the retail space, shoppers have instant access to vast amounts of information dictating every purchasing decision. For retailers to adapt, it’s important for them to first identify the behavioral trends that are gaining momentum in the industry.

Consumer expectations are never-ending

New York -- Foot Locker has launched its first smartphone mobile application for iOS and Android, along with 85 “Shoemoji” sneaker replica emoticons. The emoticons allow customers to share their love of sneakers in a visual way. They can also show off some of their favorite styles with the new Shoemojis.

New technology innovations pop up in retail all the time. The Amazon Dash button made a splash on April Fools Day, and before the end of the month Apple Watch will offer consumers a whole new way to engage retailers.

Every time a new retail technology innovation rears its head, pundits proclaim that the whole consumer-retailer relationship will be instantly re-invented. And the relationship between consumers and retailers has changed dramatically since the introduction of e-commerce 20 years ago.

Pittsburgh – Smartphone users are looking for something. According to a new report from Branding Brand's Mobile Commerce Index, 43% of all smartphone traffic came from search in first quarter 2015, a 5% increase compared to fourth quarter 2014.

According to the report, 27% of smartphone traffic arrived direct; 16% arrived from email; and 14% arrived from referrals.

Mountain View, Calif. – Google is reportedly planning to launch a service that will compete with Amazon Home Services later this spring. According to BuzzFeed, Google will integrate a new product into its core search functionality that will directly connect users searching for service providers such as plumbers and electricians to the providers.

Mountain View, Calif. – Google has released version 9.0 of the Google Wallet electronic payment app, skipping version 8.0 but only adding a couple of new features. The most significant new feature is a transaction search bar that lets users find past transactions via keyword.

In addition, a maps widget lets users track stores where they make purchases and locate them on a map. Among other benefits, this feature lets consumers quickly identify purchases made in stores and areas they have not visited.

A top digital marketing executive heaped praise on Walmart’s digital efforts at an industry event attended by executives from Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and Google who are more accustomed to such praise.

Walmart is one of my e-commerce heroes,” said Jason Goldberg, group vice president of commerce strategy with Razorfish. That’s high praise from a key executive with one of the world’s top digital marketing agencies.

Armonk, N.Y. – The weather is traditionally a topic for conversation when there is nothing else to discuss, but for retailers knowing what the weather will be is a vital concern. IBM and The Weather Company, parent company of the Weather Channel, are partnering to integrate real-time weather insights into business to improve operational performance and decision-making.