Omnichannel

Milford, Conn. -- Subway announced that it will launch NFC-based mobile payments nationwide on Oct. 1 with Softcard, the mobile commerce joint venture created by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Verizon Wireless. It is one of the largest deployments of mobile payment capability in the country, Subway said.

Denver -- Junction Solutions announced today that Pet Supplies Plus, a leading retailer of pet food, pet products and pet supplies, has selected Junction Solutions to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail to help the company standardize business processes, support its growth goals, as well as expand the business into a multichannel operation.

To achieve these goals, Pet Supplies Plus selected Junction Solutions to replace its legacy systems with Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail.  

New York -- ICA Sweden has signed a licensing agreement with Starbucks Coffee Company to open Starbucks retail stores in the grocery store channel in Sweden. The cafés will be operated by ICA according to the Starbucks licensing concept and under the Starbucks brand.

Initially, the plan is to open three Starbucks retail stores during 2015. These will then be evaluated before a decision is made on the possible establishment of more cafés.

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears has added returns and exchanges to its In-Vehicle Pickup service. The new integrated retail service, powered by the chain’s Shop Your Way loyalty program mobile app, lets members pick up, return or exchange their purchases for free – guaranteed in five minutes or less – without ever leaving their vehicle.

Apple Pay has some unique competitive advantages that should make it a major factor in the world of mobile commerce. Consumers pay by simply swiping their finger. Any credit card associated with a user’s existing iTunes account is automatically included, and adding a new card is as easy as snapping a photo with the phone’s camera. With more than 200 million existing iTunes accounts and a large base of iPhone devotees, consumer adoption of Apple Pay should grow quickly.

As Apple copes with record orders of its iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch, Amazon — which entered the smartphone ring back in June — is determined to stay in the competition by offering its Fire for 99 cents with a two-year contract.

Customers can purchase Fire on www.amazon.com, www.att.com and in AT&T stores nationwide.

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation give away so much money it is hard to keep track of it all and this was certainly evident during the holiday season.

On Thursday, the company announced another round of grants totaling $200,000 to 10 nonprofits groups as part of its “12 Days of Giving” Facebook campaign. Those grants mark the culmination of an innovating corporate giving campaign that integrated social media and resulted in a total of $1.5 million being awarded to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

New York -- Omnichannel retailer Benchmark Brands has chosen intelligence provider, Upstream Commerce, to maximize Benchmark's price and assortment optimization.

"We chose Upstream Commerce for their experience with large high fashion and apparel retail companies in the US," said Christine Mueller, VP, Benchmark, which specializes in footwear and related products for baby boomers and seniors. "Upstream Commerce fits our goals of providing the best omnichannel shopping experience to our customers while driving profitable growth.