More consumers are tapping into smartphones to compare prices in brick-and-mortar store aisles. In fact, research completed via smartphones influences 5.1% of annual retail store sales, translating to a forecasted $159 billion for 2012, according to research from Deloitte Consulting. This influence is expected to grow to 19%, or $689 billion in brick-and-mortar transactions, by 2016.

To keep pace with this challenging trend in mobile price comparison, Best Buy is extending product, pricing and deal information to more smartphone users by integrating its application programming interface (API) into the ShopSavvy Wallet mobile shopping application.

Apple has once again taken the market by storm with the introduction of the iPhone 5, but arguably the most significant news recently from the communications innovator is the Passbook offering, that allows iPhone users to integrate their loyalty cards, tickets and boarding passes within a single platform.

As of Sept. 30, 2012, organizations including Merchant Warehouse, Fandango, Major League Baseball, Sephora, Target Corp., United Airlines, and Walgreen Co., have included Passbook functionality into their mobile apps.

 “With Apple Passbook, retailers can take advantage of the consumers who are already using their mobile device to shop, look for deals or comparison shop and target them instantly,” said Dan Dufault, Executive VP of Sales and Marketing for Merchant Warehouse. “Shoppers who receive these deals and offers can then take an immediate action and make a purchase. Retailers who implement mobile strategies such as Apple Passbook allow engagement with current customers and new customers, giving them a leg up on the competition, increasing retention as well as growing their business.” Merchant Warehouse recently announced that retailers utilizing the Genius Customer Engagement Platform now can accept Passbook at all brick-and-mortar locations.

As the 2012 holiday shopping season approaches, many retailers are executing smartphone and tablet commerce strategies to drive increased engagement and awareness. In fact, mobile will play a starring role this year, with consumers expected to spend more than $10 billion on mobile commerce ― and more than $31 billion by 2016 ― according to a Forrester Research report, titled: Mobile Mandate For eBusiness Professionals,

To keep pace with the continued explosion of m-Commerce, Fox Head, an international youth sports retailer, has released a simplified mobile-optimized site to create a streamlined brand experience specifically for consumers under 18 years old.

The site features in-depth search functionality, large, high-definition images and a seamless layout, “offering a relatively easy shopping experience,” John Hazen, VP of Global E-Commerce at Fox Head, told Retail TouchPoints. “This effort is about highlighting our products, not features.”

The Mobile Marketing Summit: Holiday Focus 2012 conference was held during September 13, 2012, at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. The one-day event included a number of speakers from Barnes & Noble, Bloomberg, ForeSee, Groupon, HSN, Kraft Foods, Millennial Media, NBC and other industry leaders.  

During the conference, Larry Freed, President and CEO of research firm ForeSee, said that while addressing and measuring the customer experience is important, it also is one of the biggest challenges that retailers face.

Freed’s presentation, titled: “Understanding the Holiday Mobile Shopper: Data, Actionable Insights and Analysis,” highlighted the demographics of today’s mobile shoppers, how patterns of behavior have evolved and shoppers’ intended use of mobile during the upcoming holidays.