Home delivery of groceries is a business that at one time seemed to have so much promise, but the industry never seems to have lived up to the possibilities. One of the few hardy survivors has been Peapod.

The Chicago-based company's innovative mobile campaign shows why Peapod has been able to fight through years of disappointment about its business and remain vital. Peapod is testing a "virtual grocery store" concept in Chicago. Royal Ahold, the Dutch retailing giant, owns Peapod via its Ahold USA division, and is no doubt aware of Tesco's virtual subway store test in South Korea.

In its second market test of virtual retail following Philadelphia, Peapod is now bringing grocery "shelves" via QR-enabled signage to Chicago commuters. The e-grocer wrapped walls of the highly-trafficked State and Lake Station tunnel with larger-than-life signage and depictions of grocery products, offering a virtual shopping experience via smartphone.Continue reading...

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Barclays continues to innovate by taking a leading role in mobile payments in Europe. Having just launched the Pingit mobile payments app, it's now bringing contactless payments to Barclaycard, the UK's first credit card. Now, its 12 million Visa Barclaycard credit card customers can look forward to PayTag, a free sticker that enables mobile contactless transactions at more than 100,000 terminals. 

The easy-to-use PayTag sticker aims to spur the usage use of smartphones for small purchases, increasing the reach of the Quick Tap NFC (Near Field Communication) service the bank operates in partnership with mobile network operator Orange.Continue reading...

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Best Buy reboots big-box format.

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Chrysler unveils new spots to follow Super Bowl's "Halftime in America" commercial with Clint Eastwood.

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Adobe gets more social.

Amazon wrings profit from fulfillment.

AmLactin taps Olympic swimmer Dara Torres as brand ambassador.

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Arby's readies brand relaunch.

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