Apple Pay Has Launched

October 20 was the word on the street.

Apple Pay will launch October 20.

Okay.

October 20 rolled around and I started fiddling with my very new iPhone 6 to see if I could figure this out.  Passbook?  Nope.  Update?  None available.  I was on 8.0.2 and Apple told me there were no updates available.  Okay what?  October 20 right?

Time to Google.

Eventually I found news that Apple Pay would come with the 8.1 iOS update due to hit October 20.  As I was travelling I had to wait a bit before I could perform the update.  Here is what other people were saying in the meantime:

Apple Pay Works, But It Can’t Speed up Lines of Non-Users
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Apple-Pay-Works_-But-It-Can_t-Speed-up-Lines-of-Non-Users

WHY BANKS LOVE APPLE PAY

http://www.pymnts.com/news/2014/why-banks-love-apple-pay/#.VEe9RyLF_9Y

That headline shouldn't be encouraging to merchants.  

Moving on, here is the New York Times and others:

Apple Pay: Seamless in Stores, but Quirky Online

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/22/technology/personaltech/shopping-with-apple-pay-seamless-in-stores-but-quirky-online.html?_r=0

Some Banks See Apple Pay as a Threat

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/emerging-payments/some-banks-see-apple-pay-as-a-threat-3019482-1.html

So, wait, what?  Banks love Apple Pay.  Banks Hate Apple Pay.  Huh?

Google may have to make a move:

Google plans to ride Apple Pay popularity to cash in with Google Wallet

http://www.mobilepaymentsinsider.com/2014/10/22/google-plans-to-ride-apple-pay-popularity-to-cash-in-with-google-wallet/

So how did it go with me?

Tuesday night I went through my usual careful backup routine with my iPhone before updating to iOS 8.1.  There within Passbook was a '+' sign and simple instructions to add a card to Apple Pay.  My Capital One card is now available for use with Apple Pay and ... I have nowhere I shop to use it.  Walgreens?  Nope.  Whole Foods?  Sometimes maybe.  Panera?  I eat at my desk every day.  I may shop at Macy's over the holidays.  

What about my bank debit card?  Tried to add my Santander card and Apple Pay told me this issuer does not currently support Apple Pay.  500 banks on-board with Apple Pay and I can't add my debit card.  

Maybe some day I'll try Apple Pay.  Meanwhile on my trip I stopped at Starbucks two or three times and paid with my Starbucks app earning a gold star each time.  I'll swing in to Dunkin Donuts shortly to try out those Pumpkin Donuts again this year. Probably buy some for the office.  Yeap, I'll pay with my Dunkin App so I get the DD Perks.

How about you?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE**  Two quick updates.  First is this excellent piece from Re/Code:
http://recode.net/2014/10/24/apple-pay-review-the-recode-bi-coastal-team-test/

Next is news of Rite Aid first allowing, then turning off Apple Pay:
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/Would-Be-Apple-Pay-Users-Disappointed-When-Rite-Aid-Apparently-Turns-Off-NFC

**UPDATE #2**  I missed this excellent article on Time and feel it is worth checking out:
http://time.com/3532199/apple-pay-winners-losers/

Extraordinary Experiences Isolate You Socially

I find this bit of research to be extraordinarily interesting.

Here is a bit from the write-up on Big Think:

Having a much more interesting time with life than your peers is a recipe for social isolation, according to their report published in Psychological Science. In an experiment which supported the group's conclusion, individuals given a very interesting video to watch later felt excluded when the majority of the group had watched a far more boring video. Contrary to what the people who watched the interesting video expected, conversation seems to thrive on the mundane.

Here is the full piece:

http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/extraordinary-experiences-are-socially-isolating-so-next-time-take-a-friend

I want to focus on that one quote just one more time:

...conversation seems to thrive on the mundane.

Very interesting.

Do you see this in your every day life?  Maybe you are having an interesting life and most of the people around you are merely more interested in last night's 'American Idol'.  How dare you take The Road Not Taken.  Though, don't look in to the real meaning of that poem or you'll find even more interesting thoughts to ponder.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0163 7-Eleven and Beacons

This isn't a move I can claim to understand.

7-Eleven, the company famous for the Big Gulp, wants runners to be pulled in to their stores by the use of beacon interaction with their mobile devices.

Huh?

Here is the story:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/7-eleven-uses-beacons-in-singapore-to-chase-runners-into-stores

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Convenience store retailer 7-Eleven is working with Japanese soft drink manufacturer Pocari Sweat on a beacon campaign in Singapore that tracks runners’ progress and offers rewards when they pass one of the chain’s locations.

The retailer’s efforts are due to a desire to promote healthy lifestyles and maintain a presence in the mobile fitness space, given the prevalence of consumers using their mobile phones to track their running. The technology works through a free mobile application available on iOS and Android devices.

Now, I have a 7-Eleven just a few blocks from my home and adjacent to one of my favorite local pizza places (Pizza Express in Wakefield, MA) so I go in there frequently (a long way from Singapore).  I've seen the increase in healthier options right next to the huge burritos and the slurpy machine.  So, maybe this isn't a crazy move all together.  However, I can't help but feel this company is reaching for customers it has no business laying a claim to.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Cable TV Transformed

Huge news has been hitting the last two days.  After years of denying interest, and in spite of a phenomenally successful video streaming app called 'Go', HBO is now making the move to directly compete with Netflix:

http://recode.net/2014/10/15/hbo-says-its-going-to-start-selling-on-the-web-next-year/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

HBO CEO Richard Plepler, speaking at an investor presentation hosted by HBO parent company Time Warner, said the company will start selling in 2015 a digital version of its service that won’t require a pay-TV subscription.

Plepler said the company will go “beyond the wall” and launch a “stand-alone, over the top” version of HBO in the U.S. next year, and would work with “current partners,” and may work with others as well. But he wouldn’t provide any other detail.

CBS is following suit in a fascinating move:

http://recode.net/2014/10/16/now-cbs-is-selling-web-subscriptions-to-its-shows-too/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Yup, CBS: The broadcaster is also getting into the digital video subscription business, with an offering that will let users watch almost any show it airs, live or on demand, on a variety of devices.

And like the HBO plan, this one doesn’t require users to have a traditional pay-TV subscription: All you need is an Internet connection and $6 a month.

But there are several big differences between CBS’s Web video service and the one HBO talked about yesterday.

For starters, CBS is selling access to shows that are technically available for free to anyone with a broadcast antenna. And unlike HBO’s service, this one isn’t theoretical: CBS is selling “CBS All Access” right now, via its CBS.com site and its mobile apps.

Needless to say Netflix shares tumbled in trading as it failed to hit its public mark for new user adoption.

I cut the cord from cable TV last year and haven't looked back thank you very much.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0162 Department Store Reinvented

Excellent article if you have any interest in retail:

http://www.businessoffashion.com/2014/10/reinventing-department-store.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

“At the beginning, department stores were monsters, anchoring the city centre, with an enormous collection of product coming from all over the world,” said retail veteran Vittorio Radice, the former head of London’s Selfridges and currently chief executive of La Rinascente, the Italian department store owned by Thailand’s Central Group. “They were the souk of the 19th century. You went to those stores not only to buy but basically to spend time, to browse. It was the flâneur going in and spending time admiring beautiful goods that they had heard about.”

But, today, department stores have lost some of their lustre, along with a significant share of total retail sales. The shift began in the 1960s and 1970s, as product categories that were better served by specialty chains and discounters — such as books, music, electronics and furniture — began a mass exodus from department stores and, later, became top sellers for e-commerce giants like Amazon.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0161 Cameras and the iPhone

How much do you know about photography?  How much do you think you know about photography?

Think again.

Unless you are a pro this article will not only sharpen your understanding of photography, and what makes great photographs great, but will also help you see the strengths and the limitations of the camera in our smartphones.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/smartphone-camera-vs-dslr/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

This is a fair amount of scratch to lay down for a camera, especially when the Internet is full of examples of pro photographers going the opposite direction, ditching bags of expensive gear in favor of smartphone cameras for most applications. The idea here is that the person, not the gear, takes the picture. And there is a (likely apocryphal) story that tells the tale of an encounter between famous novelist Ernest Hemingway and famous photographer Ansel Adams. In the story, Hemingway is purported to have praised Adams’ photographs, saying, "You take the most amazing pictures. What kind of camera do you use?"

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  If you take the time to flip through each of the slideshows you'll find extra benefit to reading this article.

Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0160 Whole Foods' Mobile Efforts

At least one executive at Whole Foods has it right regarding mobile.  The article's author writes:

"... the brand’s planned rollout of a new mobile platform [will]... serve as a companion during the in-store experience."

Here is the story:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/whole-foods-upcoming-mobile-platform-to-expand-in-store-experience

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“Lifestyle in terms of the mobile space is really a merit of the lifestyle of the customer with the brand,” Mr. Wilson said. “The mantra I have is mobile is a physical experience.

“The blend of physical and digital has been done to death,” he said. “If there is a digital plus physical 2.0, it’s just physical. Everything physical is inherently supported by digital."

I've been working in this space for a couple of years now, mobile for grocery retail, and can attest to the quality of thinking indicated in these statements.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant