State of Mobile Report

App Annie is well-positioned to comment on what is happening with mobile apps as they've been crawling the app stores from nearly the beginning.

Their 2019 report is worth reading for a free registration but you can get a quick run-down via Forbes. Basically mobile gaming is a massive business and is still growing at a double-digit rate.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Global app store consumer spend reached $101 billion in 2018, up 75 percent from 2016. This figure is expected to exceed $120 billion in 2019, according to mobile data and analytics provider App Annie. The company released its annual The State of Mobile in 2019 Report — a comprehensive guide for businesses looking at mobile.
Here is the full article:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2019/01/30/mobile-app-state-of-mobile-2019-report-from-app-annie/#6d3a8eb434ab

Go here to get the full report:

https://www.appannie.com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2019/

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Super Bowl Goes Mobile With Pepsi

Great little read on all the ways Pepsi came at customers throughout the Super Bowl, other than Lady Gaga jumping off the roof of the stadium (wow).

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/24444.preview

Here is a snippet from the piece:

PepsiCo's annual sponsorship of the Super Bowl Half Time show was among some, but not many, that effectively tapped social media and mobile for unique interactive elements that leveraged live-streams, paid social advertising and giveaways.

The Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl Halftime Show leveraged a slew of mobile tactics leading up to the performance and after...

Meanwhile, others didn't do much in mobile at all.  Is Pepsi a leader or an outlier and what is effective and what might work for you?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Millennials and Mobile Shopping Apps

Forbes.com has a great article out on the mobile shopping app preferences of the Millennial generation, just now coming of age.

Big brands have an advantage with this generation, or those brands that play the digital game like a big brand.  Here is the story:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kylewong/2015/07/08/what-mobile-shopping-apps-are-most-popular-with-millennials/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

According to a recent Forbes article, mobile shopping app usage is growing faster than any other category of app. But how are millennials responding to the influx of mobile shopping apps? With the help of a few Stanford students, we surveyed over 1,600 millennials on their usage of native mobile apps. Here’s what we learned.

1 in every 2 Millennials has downloaded a mobile shopping app

Out of the survey respondents, 47% claimed to have downloaded a mobile shopping app on their phone. Females were slightly more likely to have downloaded a mobile shopping than males and a majority of those polled were on iOS.

Have a great weekend,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Payments News - Samsung Pay and PayPal with Paydiant

What a news day for mobile payments and I'm out of the country on business.

The folks over at Re/Code have it all.  Here is news of the new Samsung Galaxy and 'Samsung Pay'.

http://recode.net/2015/03/01/first-look-samsung-galaxy-s-6-galaxy-s-6-edge-finally-gets-a-premium-design/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Last month, Samsung acquired a U.S.-based startup called LoopPay to launch a new mobile payments solution to compete with the likes of Apple Pay. The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will be the first devices to incorporate that technology, though the feature won’t be available right at launch.

Called Samsung Pay, the technology is based on something called Magnetic Secure Transmission.

Here is news of PayPal's acquisition of Paydiant, the technology company behind MCX's CurrentC:

http://recode.net/2015/03/02/paypal-to-pay-280-million-for-paydiant-the-startup-behind-walmarts-apple-pay-competitor/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

PayPal isn’t giving up on payments in brick-and-mortar stores.

The eBay payment unit plans to acquire Paydiant, a payments startup that licenses a technology platform used by big retail chains to create their own branded mobile wallet apps. Multiple sources said PayPal will pay around $280 million for the Wellesley, Mass.-based startup. PayPal declined to comment on the price.

Founded in 2010, Paydiant’s white-label platform is used by Subway and other retailers and banks to add payment, loyalty and digital-coupon capabilities to their own apps. Its customer list also includes MCX, a consortium of big-box retailers led by Walmart that says it will launch its own mobile wallet app, CurrentC, later this year.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  Adding for the news on Google's new API level (software interface) payments kit dubbed 'Android Pay.
http://thenextweb.com/google/2015/03/02/google-is-working-on-an-api-level-payments-service-called-android-pay-but-it-wont-compete-with-wallet/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“We’re working on something called Android Pay. It’s an API layer in Android, so that all the mechanics of payments can be done in a standardized and consistent way,” Pichai said.

He added that because Google is attempting to integrate a payments system at the OS level, it won’t actually compete with things like Samsung’s newly-announced Pay service or its own Google Wallet.

Boston's Blizzards of 2015 - What Snow?

Have you heard the New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions this year?

What snow?

When it snows, just put a smile on your face.  It'll all be gone soon.

Happy happy,

J.W. Gant

The Digital Super Bowl

I have seen a dozen stories on the advertising and social media of this latest Super Bowl. My story is a little different.

Thirty minutes before the game my NBC channel in New England went dark. I cut the chord a couple years ago so I'm open air. What to do?

NBC was streaming the video online. I turned on the HTPC computer connected to my 55" tv and got it going. Pretty good picture quality but not 1080i. The commercials were not the same but I watched the entire game streaming, and over my iPad too. A first for me.

Today and watching those commercials online to see what everyone is talking about.

Oh, and the New England Patriots are world champions. Feels good to write that.

Regards,

J.W. Gant

Super Bowl XLIX 2015 - New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks

I heard someone around these parts just south of Boston that there's a little football game being played this Sunday.  Have you heard about it?

My youth was wasted through many long years growing up in Spokane, WA hearing about the always terrible Seahawks.  The Steve Largent and Brian Bosworth era.  My home is where my heart is though and I have lived in New England for many years now.

Initially I thought this would be a close game, maybe one of the great Super Bowls.  However after all of the nonsense surrounding footballs the last two weeks I'm perhaps being a little emotional to say I think the Patriots will clobber the Seahawks by several touchdowns for Tom Brady's 4th ring.

Good luck to the New England Patriots come Sunday evening. I hope no one gets injured during this game and everyone involved has a great time.

Enjoy the game,

J.W. Gant

PS  Great little story on the 3 apps you need to watch the Super Bowl with.
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2015/01/the-only-3-apps-you-need-to-enjoy-super-bowl-xlix