Mobile Minutes: Macy?s vs. Amazon; MCX tests begin; Facebook in India; App tackles conference calls
A recent note to investors by Cowen analysts includes a prediction that Amazon.com will become the leading apparel retailer in the U.S. by 2017, topping Macy?s by a comfortable margin. Time will tell if the prediction is accurate, but it?s clear from Macy's actions, including expansion of its same-day delivery service and other omnichannel initiatives, that the department store chain isn?t planning on just handing its crown to Amazon.
Three years after deciding to enter the mobile-payment market, a group of large retailers is finally doing it. Merchant Customer Exchange, a partnership between large retailers and restaurant companies including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., TargetCorp. and Darden Restaurants Inc. will begin its first public tests of its mobile-payment application at several member retailers and restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, in the coming weeks, according to people close to the consortium.
Facebook is trying to lure skeptical advertisers in India with features such as free email support for questions about advertising and advice on increasing sales in a bid to boost revenue from its second biggest market. Facebook has 132 million users in India, trailing only the 193 million in the United States, according to the company, and the country is critical for the Menlo Park, California, social network's global expansion.
Conference call is a running joke of corporate life. As soon as the Polycom, the conference bridge, or the GoToMeeting enters the equation, you?ve begun a very specific ritual.