There’s little question that the way we pay is changing: Starbucks Card Mobile is a bonafide hit, PayPal predicts that the end of the wallet is nigh, mobile money transactions are expected to to reach $670 billion by 2015, and it’s believed that more than 80% of point-of-sale systems will accept mobile payments by 2016. […]
Franchise businesses employ over 7 million people in the U.S. At HubSpot, we speak with franchise companies with hundreds of individual franchisees in their networks, but some do not maintain individual websites for their franchisees. This is a problem, because although potential customers can find your corporate website, often these same potential customers would rather […]
The two obvious trends in local deals lately is public offerings, by Groupon and LivingSocial, and the rising competition from web giants like Google and Facebook. But the more I see of American Express in this space, the more I think it stands a chance to be the next major player to watch in this field. […]
More than 14 million consumers scanned a quick response (QR) code or barcode using their mobile device in June, according to a study released by research firm comScore. Mark Donovan, SVP of mobile at the company, said the rise of consumer awareness about QR codes and the proliferation of smartphones have driven use of the […]
Can a business exist on the web today using just a social media presence and no actual business website? Yes, but it’s a major mistake. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that profiled small business owners who chose to use social media instead of maintaining a corporate website. While social media is a powerful tool […]
The newspaper industry may be struggling, but people are still turning to the Sunday editions when it comes to clipping coupons, despite the rise of digital media and coupon sites. According to consumer research firm Scarborough Research, coupon usage for household items such as groceries is up 24% since 2006. And although more than a […]
Loud and clear, the word on the street is Google+. The new social media platform has already signed up an estimated 20 million users, making it the fastest growing social network ever. Although it’s just been a month since the launch, the opportunities presented by Google+ are exciting a lot of people. “It’s Google. They have […]
While we’ve seen the rise of the social consumer in the past two years reshape the concept of social currency, we are witnessing the ascent of the social buyer embracing social commerce. The B2B buyer continues to ascend and advance in the use of social technologies, networks, and commerce that are radically changing the notion […]
Macy’s will launch a back-to-school cause marketing campaign in conjunction with youth volunteer organization DoSomething.org on August 8 that leverages direct mail, email, mobile and social media. The retailer will donate $1 to DoSomething.org for every designated quick response (QR) code that consumers scan from within Macy’s mstylelab (or juniors and young men’s department). Each […]
According to a survey of US small business leaders by Opinium Research, commissioned by Hiscox, many are not using social media channels to promote their businesses and products. Only 12% of businesses described social media promotion as a must and nearly 50% of respondents aren’t using social media at all. Small Business Use of Social […]