US pharmacy chain Walgreens is piloting a shopper marketing platform that uses Google’s Project Tango 3D augmented reality technology to let shoppers locate a particular product, get directions to the correct aisle and earn rewards as they shop... More
Walgreens
Duane Reade installs Bluetooth beacons in ten New York stores
New York-based drugstore chain Duane Reade has upgraded its iPhone app to include support for iBeacons and ten of its 240 New York stores have been equipped with Bluetooth LE beacons in a bid to “foster greater customer engagement.”... More
Thinaire launches NFC marketing platform
US start-up Thinaire has launched an NFC marketing platform that “details location, occasion, brand, and social interaction so ROI can be determined, and then provides input for future one-to-one efforts”... More
Google Wallet: We’re in it for the long haul, says search giant
“It’s still very early days for mobile payments and we know [it] will take time to build a mobile commerce ecosystem, but we’re very committed to this goal and are encouraged by the progress we’ve made to date,” says the search giant, as it makes unlocked Galaxy Nexus NFC phones available for US$399. More
US retailers back chip and pin
“The US payments industry should undergo a coordinated migration to chip and PIN transactions which should support a broad range of payment types (contact, contactless, dual interface, debit, credit, stored value, private and ‘white’ label, etc.) and devices (cards, mobile devices, fobs, etc.),” says the Merchant Advisory Group, a retailer trade association whose members include Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Sears, McDonald’s, Best Buy and Home Depot... More
OfficeMax goes live with Google Wallet
Customers can now use their NFC mobile phones to make payments, redeem coupons and receive rewards via Google SingleTap terminals installed at more than one hundred of the office supplies chain’s stores in five US regions. More
Google Wallet: Day one for NFC?
Google has announced Google Wallet, Google Offers and a Google Prepaid Card, in partnership with MasterCard, Citi, First Data and Sprint. More