Tag: mobile tech

Recent Target mobile commerce purchase shows serious interest in tech

| November 19, 2014

The retail giant has now acquired a technology company based in Pittsburgh for its digital shopping experience.

Target Corp. has now taken another step that reveals that the retailer is getting very serious about mobile commerce, as it has purchased a company based in Pittsburgh that is known for its software platform.

The m-commerce shopping platform turns an in-store experience into something closer to Amazon.

The software platform from the company, Powered Analytics, is said to have “an Amazon-like shopping experience,” that can be provided to shoppers while they are within a brick and mortar store location. This could considerably enhance the mobile commerce offerings from Target, and could make it a more appealing experience to shoppers who enjoy the benefits of their smartphones when they shop, but who like to actually make their purchases in stores, as they always have.

The actual purchase of the mobile commerce and shopping tech platform company has been officially confirmed.

Target - Mobile CommerceThe co-founder of Powered Analytics, Collin Otis, along with a company spokesperson confirmed that the business had been acquired by the Minneapolis, Minnesota based retail giant in the second half of last week. That said, by the time that this article was written, none of the terms of the deal had yet been revealed.

What Otis did say was that the Powered Analytics, which was founded back in 2012, will keep its current headquarters, in Pittsburgh. It is the Fabric product from Powered Analytics that has drawn the attention to its door, as it brings together mobile technology with machine learning and location data in order to make it possible for a retailer’s mobile app to be able to work in tandem with the in-store shopping experience for customers.

The system converts in-store shopping into a multi-channel experience that brings together all of the advantages of mobile commerce, but with the opportunity to see and touch the actual physical and purchase it right away without having to wait for it to be shipped. This is appealing to many consumers who are already using stores to check out products while they use their devices to learn more about them, such as where to find the best price or what customer reviews have to say.

Mobile technology could help in the improvement of Mexican air travel

| November 18, 2014

A recent survey from SITA has shown that smartphones are being used by travelers in Mexico more than globally.

The results of a new survey from SITA, the specialist in air transportation IT technology, have been released, showing that Mexican air passengers are using their smartphones and other forms of mobile technology in order to improve their experience as they travel.

The results of the 2014 SITA/AIR Transport World Passenger Survey offered considerable insight.

It showed that among passengers from Mexico, 89 percent carried mobile technology such as smartphone with them when they travel. This is notable, as the global average was recorded to be 81 percent. Moreover, Mexican travelers are also continually seeking new ways to be able to use their favorite devices for various purposes throughout the length of their travels. There were approximately 1,300 people who participated in the survey throughout the Americas.

The mobile technology survey looked into a number of different aspects of device use among travelers.

Mobile Technology - MexicoIt examined check-ins via smartphones and found that in Mexico, it is likely that within the next two to three years, the use of that service will nearly double. At the moment, 31 percent of passengers in the country are already using mobile devices to check in, but 61 percent of the participants said that they were likely to use it more often in the future.

Among the respondents from Mexico, 76 percent said that they would be using mobile boarding passes in the future. The current rate of usage is registered to be 54 percent. Moreover, among Mexican passengers, 58 percent said that they would be interested in using their smartphones for purchasing airline tickets as well as other services that are linked to travel in some way. The regional average, on the other hand, was only 48 percent.

The SITA Latin America vice president of sales, Alex Covarrubias, spoke in Cancun at the Airports Council International Latin American-Caribbean Annual Assembly with regards to the results of the mobile device usage research, and said that “SITA’s survey highlights the positive influence that mobile technology is having on Mexican passengers’ travel experiences.”