A recent study by American Express shocked both Chuck and I when it comes to how consumers will be using mobile during the coming shopping season. 2 minutes, 2 shocked hosts, 2 different reasons. Watch on.

As mobile payments make considerable inroads to obfuscate credit cards and cash there is a deeper battle brewing out there. This one isn't just between Softcard or CurrentC or ApplePay, it is at the core. On one side you have NFC, on the other you have the likes of QR codes and Bluetooth. Stuck in the middle? The consumer. How will this shake out? Will there be a winner? No one knows but Chuck gives us the current lay of the land in the heavyweight battle for your wallet.

Here's a case where beacons are being used to enhance the customer experience while they are in-store - not trying to sell them something or bombard them with discounts. Perka, a division of FirstData, is distributing beacons to smaller businesses as a way to augment their knowledge of their loyal customers. Chuck explains why this is important here.

Beacons are being used everywhere these days. This episode looks at the most prominent beacon implementations to date - including an upcoming auto show on Regent Street in London. From sports stadiums, universities and airports to Elvis' Graceland, beacons mean business.

We've all been focusing on beacons as a way to help retailers reach and sell to the customers that are floating around inside their stores. We've thought of beacons as a way to draw trafic from window displays to the cash register. We've thought of beacons as primarily a push game to help retailers increase basket size. Perhaps we've been thinking of beacons the wrong way.

 

Swirl, the beacon company that Lord & Taylor and HBC have hitched with is thinking of beacons in a whole different way and Chuck highlights why this is so significant to large retailers going forward. Hint: It rhymes with "shmu fevenrue".

What will consumers be doing with their mobile devices when it comes to shopping during the peak season? Chuck offers up a summary of Thinknear's findings from their latest research: The Mobile Marketer's Guide to Holiday Shopping 2014.

It is time for our monthly look at what is happening in the physical retail world - this according to Euclid's US Retail Benchmarks - and the news isn't all that bad! The demise of physical retail seems to be on hold as in-store activity is surging as more people passing by retail locations are going in and staying longer. Chuck talks us through the Euclid results and highlights another survey that showcases a few of the ways consumers react to the challenges of a failed mobile experience...this is where it gets scary.

We want our mobile everything and we want it now. Businesses want their mobile everything and they also want it now. Lost in the shuffle here is the key to mobile success - something Chuck brings to light in this episode.

Shopkick - recently purchased by SK Telecom for $200 million - announced the contribution they've made to those retailers that use their services - both in dollars and increased spending.

There should be no doubt of the importance of mobile commerce today. The fact that retail executives are now losing sleep over it is a sign that the magnitude of the opportunity is starting to sink in. Chuck summarizes the key findings from the third annual retail benchmark surveys by Retail Systems Research that details this and other key findings.