Gmail has a new feature -- one that will allow users to add train tickets to the Android app. 

Google Wallet will import a person’s ticket from their Gmail account and they will see it as soon as the confirmation email arrives, Android Authority reports.  

The tickets will appear next to stored passes and loyalty cards. And live updates about the trains will also be stored in the app, Android Authority adds.

What this means for marketers is unclear. Presumably, it will make notification and reminder emails just a little less important. 

However, it certainly is a boost for Google Wallet, which already allows users to store passports and state IDs. And it may make boarding trains easier.  

Google advises consumers: “You can now manage your payment methods & passes, update Wallet & Google Pay settings, and view recent transactions, all in one place.” 

It adds: “Skip typing your payment info when you check out online, protect your card with Google’s industry-leading security, and use tap to pay in stores with your Android device.” 

AT&T's $57 million privacy fine for allegedly disclosing customers' locations should remain in place, the Federal Communications Commission argues in new court papers.

“For years, AT&T sold the location of its wireless customers to its business partners with no way of verifying that the information was being used for a legitimate purpose or that the customers had consented to sharing it,” the agency argues in papers filed Friday with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. “This system-wide vulnerability endangered the privacy, and safety, of millions of the company’s customers.”

The agency's argument comes in a battle that began in 2020, when the FCC proposed fining AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile for allegedly sharing customers' location data with third parties.

The FCC specifically alleged in a “notice of apparent liability” that the carriers sold access to geolocation data to aggregators that resold the information to outside companies. The FCC issued the notice around one year after Vice Media's Motherboard reported that a journalist had been able to pay a “bounty hunter” $300 to track a phone's location to a neighborhood in Queens, New York.

Earlier this year, the FCC followed through on the notice of apparent liability and fined AT&T around $57 million, Verizon around $47 million, and T-Mobile $92 million (including $12 million for Sprint, which merged with T-Mobile in 2020).

The agency voted 3-2 to impose the fines, with Republican commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting.

The carriers -- which say they no longer sell location data -- paid the fines under protest and are now appealing to separate federal circuit courts. (AT&T appealed to the 5th Circuit, Verizon filed its appeal with the 2nd Circuit, and T-Mobile appealed to the District of Columbia Circuit.)

AT&T argued in papers filed in July that the sanction should be vacated for several reasons, including that the FCC imposed the fine without proving the allegations at a jury trial.

AT&T also contends the agency lacked authority to issue fines because the location data at issue wasn't tied solely to voice services, like telephone calls. Instead, the location information was tied to non-voice location-based services such as the Life Alert program, which sends medical help to people, or roadside assistance company AAA.

AT&T said the difference between “call information” and location information that isn't derived from phone calls is critical, arguing that the FCC is only authorized to police the confidentiality of “call information.”

The FCC is now asking the 5th Circuit to reject those arguments for numerous reasons.

Among other contentions, the agency says AT&T would have been entitled to a jury trial if it had requested one before paying the fine.

“AT&T simply chose to dispense with that opportunity and instead opted to pay the forfeiture at once and to seek relief in this court,” the agency argues.

The FCC also says it has the authority to police the privacy of location data tied to a broader range of services than phone calls.

AT&T's argument to the contrary “ignores the undisputed fact that a cellphone constantly shares its location with a carrier, even when it is idle,” the FCC contends.

The agency adds: “AT&T points to no way of disaggregating location data particular to voice services from those relating to non-voice services, nor any distinguishing characteristic of such voice location data.”

The 5th Circuit hasn't yet scheduled a date for oral arguments.

Now combining the two major U.S. pay TV satellite providers, DirecTV says its merger with Dish Media will “incentivize programmers” to allow it to sell smaller TV network packages at lower prices.

The deal will give DirecTV/Dish greater scale -- amassing an industry-leading 20 million among traditional/legacy pay TV operators (cable, satellite, telco, and virtual).

DirecTV recently struck a deal with Walt Disney that it says will allow it to offer smaller TV network packages to consumers at lower prices.

Monday's announcement says DirecTV will buy Dish/Sling from its parent Echostar for $1.00 plus the assumption of $9.75 billion in Dish Media debt.  At the same time, the 30% minority DirecTV owner -- the TPG Group -- will buy out AT&T majority $70 stake for $7.6 billion, according to reports.

In a release, DirecTV notes that the pressures on the pay TV business are “highly competitive” -- with streaming services owned by large technology and programming companies with “subscription numbers that far exceed those of pay TV distributors.”   

DirecTV/Dish says it has lost a collective 63% of their satellite customers over the past eight years -- with traditional pay TV subscribers of U.S. households under 50%.

The company will continue to be led by Bill Morrow, chief executive officer of DirecTV, and Ray Carpenter, its chief financial officer.

DirecTV says the deal will allow Echostar to continue to strengthen its positions in the wireless business -- through its Boost Mobile brand -- which it now says is the fourth largest U.S. carrier.

Seventy-nine percent of Hispanic adults report watching less than one hour of live TV per day. In my daughter and Hispanic son-in-law’s home during football season that number rises. Most of that watching is done on a mobile devices, while the kids are watching some movie or educational show on the television screen.

There is an overall trend, however, toward the use of mobile service providers as the primary Internet provider in Hispanic homes where bundling mobile, internet & TV services is becoming more popular. Some 58% do so, compared with 55% of non-Hispanics.

Some 57% of Hispanic consumers include mobile phone services in their bundles, compared with 30% for non-Hispanics. Hispanic consumers tend to use their mobile phones or Apple iPad as their primary source of Internet.

Claritas’ annual 2024 Hispanic Market Report estimates the Hispanic population grew by nearly 6.4 million since 2020, while the non-Hispanic White population decreased by nearly 4.4 million in the past 5 years. The company’s 2030 projection estimates an increase of 7.4 million Hispanics.

There are more than 150 million multicultural residents in the U.S. -- and that is projected to reach more than 163 million by 2030.

Multicultural families today account for 45% of the U.S. population and by 2030, almost 47% of the U.S. population will be multicultural.

Mobile services provide the greatest opportunity for advertisers -- through in-app video ads and short-form content -- with 30.4% using mobile phones or iPads to stream content.

The data shows notable differences in how Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations consume video content. Hispanics demonstrate a stronger preference for content downloaded or streamed through over-the-top (OTT) service providers, with 29% of Hispanics watching 3-5 hours per week compared with 22% for non-Hispanics.

Live TV programming is more popular among Hispanics for between 1 and 2 hours, where 40% of Hispanics engage compared with 24% for non-Hispanics.

About 61% of Hispanics watch Live TV for between a and 5 hours, which is significantly higher than the 42% of non-Hispanics who do the same -- and  21% of Hispanics watch Live TV for 6 or more hours, compared with 40% of non-Hispanics.

The study also estimates 31.7% of Hispanics spend between 1 and 2 hours on streaming platforms like YouTube, and 27.7% spend between 3 and 5 hours, giving marketers a strong opportunity to engage users through video ads and sponsored content.

Web browsing shows dominance in terms of time spent online. Some 29.6% of Hispanics dedicate 3-5 hours to web browsing, Google’s paid search and display ads provide an excellent opportunity to capture interest.

Advertisers can focus on search engine marketing (SEM) and display ad retargeting to reach Hispanic consumers across their browsing journeys. By leveraging these kinds of digital advertising, brands can optimize their reach and engagement with a tech-savvy and mobile-first Hispanic audience.

Hispanic households show higher percentages with 16.7% perfer to use major banks like JP Morgan Chase, 16.3% to Bank of America, and 12.4% to Wells Fargo. It really depends on geography, per the report. About 51% of the U.S. Hispanic population reside in California, Texas, and Florida.

These banks have geographic footprints that align with the U.S. Hispanic population, but it’s not only about geography. These financial institutions cater to the Hispanic market. Their websites and Internet and mobile banking apps are available in Spanish.

North America generated $3.2 billion in programmatic ad traffic across the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Q2 2024, 50.2% of the global total of $6.37 billion down.

However, $1.4 billion of open programmatic app spend was lost to invalid traffic (IVT) worldwide

In North America, the mobile app IVT rate was 16.8%, down from 20% in Q1 2024.

Apple iPhone had a 64% market share in North America. 

Google Play Store apps had a 20% IVT, versus 17% for apps for the Apple App Store

The top app publishers were:

• Pandora--$3 million
• Scopely--$2 million
• MediaLab AI-Kik--$2 million
• IHeartMedia, Inc.--$2 million
• Audiomack Music Apps--$2 million
• X-Flow--$1 million
• Oakever Games—$1 million
• SoundCloud—$1 million
• Tunelin Inc.—$1 million
• BitMango—$1 million

Pixalate's data science team analyzed 5.1 million downloadable mobile apps in the Google Play and Apple App stores and over 50 billion global open programmatic advertising impressions in Q2 2024.

Adobe forecasts record growth this year for ecommerce.

The company suggests strong discounts -- as high as 30% off listed price -- will drive shoppers to “trade up” in categories such as electronics, appliances and sporting goods, contributing more than $2 billion in spend.

Overall, U.S. online sales are expected to hit $240.8 billion -- up 8.4% year-over-year between November 1 through December 31, according to Adobe.

Shoppers spent $221.8 billion online -- with 4.9% growth YoY -- during the 2023 holiday season.

Mobile will increase in use, and Adobe expects mobile to hit new records, $128.1 billion, with devices projected to take 53.2% share over desktop.

Chatbots will come in handy, as consumers become more comfortable and willing to research products through AI-driven technology. Generative AI-powered chatbots are expected to drive 100% increased traffic to retail sites.

It may start online amidst ads across search engines, publisher and retail sites, but there’s a growing interest for in-store shopping. Engaging with interesting ads, as well as value in exchange for consumer loyalty can make all the difference this holiday season.

Megan Harbold, vice president of strategy and growth at omnichannel ad platform Skai, offers a few words of advice to retailers and marketers.
“Anything that interrupts a consumer’s shopping moments rather than helps them will lead to suboptimal goals of both retailer and advertiser,” Harbold said. Online and offline purchases have blurred, and a positive shopper experience means consistency in price, product, and payments.

She says that to protect the brand, it's important to prepare to validate ad relevancy, and determine the incrementality of these ads versus more traditional shopper marketing or other digital advertising efforts. Connect audience insights with consumer targets and build strategic and helpful creative experiences across the various formats so consumers feel connected without seeing repetitive messages. Most important, connect data and measurement to validate performance.

A 2024 ecommerce study of 1,306 U.S. shoppers from Ryder Systems, The Influence of Omnichannel Excellence on Consumer Behavior, reveals key factors influencing purchasing decisions, customer loyalty, and retention as consumers reintegrate physical stores into their shopping journeys.

Perhaps commerce has stepped back into the past when consumers really enjoyed in-store shopping. Some 61% of survey participants reported shopping in-store this year because they enjoy the experience, up 21% compared to last year’s study. And 35% said they shop in-store because they don’t want to wait for online orders, about 4% through the mail.

Forty-one percent who buy cosmetics say they prefer to do so either in a brand’s physical retail location or a department and convenience store. As for apparel shoppers, 54% prefer to buy clothing in those same brick-and-mortar locations.

Apple must face a privacy lawsuit by iPhone users who claimed the company wrongly gathered information about their interactions with apps it owns, a federal judge has ruled.

In a decision issued Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila in San Jose said the iPhone users' allegations against Apple, if proven true, could support some of the claims in their lawsuit -- including that Apple broke its contract with users by collecting data after they attempted to opt out.

The decision stemmed from a class-action complaint brought in November 2022 by New York resident Elliot Libman, and later joined by several other iPhone and iPad users.

Libman alleged that Apple gathered data from proprietary apps -- including Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Books and Apple News -- even after users turned off settings to allow tracking by apps, and to share iPhone or iPad analytics.

The complaint cites research by app developers Tommy Mysk and Talal Haj Bakry, who reported that Apple collected data about people's interactions with its apps, even when the users hadn't agreed to share analytics information.

Apple has long said it doesn't consider that type of data collection to be “tracking,” given that the information originates with its own apps and services.

Apple urged Davila to dismiss the case for several reasons, including that users of its mobile devices consented to the data collection by accepting the software license agreement and privacy policy.

The users countered that they withdrew consent by toggling off settings that read “allow apps to request to track,” “share iPhone analytics,” or “share iPad analytics.”

But Apple argued that those privacy controls weren't applicable to data collected from its own apps.

Davila agreed with Apple regarding the setting “allow apps to request to track,” writing that Apple informs users that it requires app developers to ask permission before tracking activity “across apps or websites they don't own.”

That language, according to Davila, makes clear that the setting doesn't apply to Apple's collection of data from its proprietary apps.

But Davila rejected Apple's argument regarding the control to opt out of sharing analytics data.

“Unlike the 'Allow Apps to Request to Track' setting, the 'Share [Device] Analytics' setting is reasonably susceptible to more than one interpretation,” he wrote. “At this stage, giving plaintiffs the benefit of all reasonable inferences, plaintiffs have plausibly alleged they believed they withdrew consent to the contested data collection by disabling the 'Share [Device] Analytics' setting.”

Davila narrowed the case, at least for now, by dismissing some of the claims, but also said the users could attempt to reformulate those claims and bring them again.

The ruling highlights some of the complexities involved in creating privacy controls, according to Santa Clara University professor Eric Goldman.

“It shows that the more that services try to give users granular options, the more that can be weaponized against them,” Goldman says.

Although premium video viewing perceptions keep changing, new research continues to show big-screen national TV network/streaming-based content has strong value  -- dramatically higher than for small-screen, short-form mobile phone content.

A Comcast FreeWheel study shows that 78% of viewers say national TV network content on national streaming platforms has higher quality, for all demographic groups from persons ages 16-24 (70% favorable) to persons ages 55-64 (85% favorable). 

While strong narrative and story construction help viewers to have a more “premium” video experience, a key determinant is also based on the amount of advertising surrounding that content.

FreeWheel says the quality for big-screen experiences is nearly four times that of mobile video content. 

The study examined two major popular video “scenarios”:

Mobile video with advertising breaks of five or more per hour and two or three ads per break was deemed to be of lesser quality compared to big-screen networks/streaming with just one to two breaks per hour, and two or three ads per break.

FreeWheel believes viewers are more likely to take action for brands that have messaging in a premium environment, where 58% are more likely to recall ads.

When U.S. respondents were asked where they would turn to for premium content, 43% said "national networks” and 18% said global streamers, while 12% cited video-sharing aggregators and 15% cited social media.

The most important factor for high quality, according to respondents, was ”content platform” at 23%, followed by content description at 20%. After this comes the type of “device” at 17%, followed by the number of ad breaks per break with 11%,  the number of breaks per hour  at 9% and content recency at 6%.

Freewheel analyzed 4,320 different “scenarios” from the 8,000 online interviews 16-64. Viewers were asked to pick from two scenarios which one they found to be higher quality.

Although Netflix continues to see strong global subscriber growth -- 17.4 million global subscribers since the beginning of the year -- total viewing hours have inched up only 1% year-over-year, according to just-released company data and analysis from MoffettNathanson Research. 

“The lack of engagement growth is due to lack of real user growth,” writes MoffettNathanson Media Analyst Robert Fishman, adding that this means just “improved monetization of an existing base – in other words, a de facto price increase.”

This can be a concern to Netflix's still-young advertising-sales operation. “Stalled engagement growth now may mean stalled ad inventory growth (per subscriber) as well,” he says.

The total hours viewed globally for 277 million subscribers are now at 94.0 billion -- up from 93.4 billion during the same period a year ago.

However, the average daily hours viewed per subscriber has declined 13% to 1.9 hours per day (down from 2.1 hours a year ago).

Looking only at the U.S. tells a better story. Total U.S. viewing engagement outpaces subscriber growth -- up 15% (to 20.5 billion hours, per Nielsen) versus 9% (74 million, per Netflix) respectively, year-over-year.

Average daily viewing per subscriber is up 4% to 1.5 hours a day year-over-year.

For 74 million U.S. subscribers, that comes to a total of 20.5 billion hours viewed in the first half of 2024 -- up from 17.9 billion a year ago for 68 million subscribers.

“To be clear, this is a different data set that is not directly comparable to the data Netflix released,” says Fishman. 

He adds: “Nielsen’s numbers are estimates based on a proprietary sample and does not include viewership on mobile devices, meaning these numbers likely undercount total viewership (by how much is unknown).”

The most-viewed Netflix show in the first half of year was Season Three of "Bridgerton" (734 million hours), followed by limited series "Fool Me Once" (690 million) and "Queen of Tears" (683 million); Season One of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (515 million), and Season One of "The Gentlemen" (507 million).

AppLovin hit an all-time-high stock price on Wednesday, reaching $130.60 per share at the end of the trading day. The company rose $69.71 in the past 52 weeks based on its success.

Macquarie raised the firm’s price target from $115 to $150, keeping an Outperform rating on the shares.

The firm thinks the rally is justified, saying AppLovin has created a “virtuous circle” in its software platform mobile advertising technology that enables it to outpace the market through its “superior access” to gaming data and its “leading” artificial intelligence, according to one media report.

Global mobile commerce is expected to reach $3.4 billion by 2027 -- up from $2.5 billion this year, according to Statista Market Insights, July 2023.

Companies like Meta, Google, and Arm want to bring more AI to mobile phones. On Wednesday at the Meta Connect Conference, product managers at Meta and Arm, which partnered to work on compact AI, unveiled small models built to run on phones, competing against Gemini AI on the Google Pixel 9 Pro, and Apple Intelligence set to launch on the new iPhone 16 series

On the same day that AppLovin’s stock hit its financial high, the company released a report suggesting customers acquired through in-app ads are more engaged and loyal than those from social media.

For instance, in the fintech sector, in-app ad customers open their apps nine times per month on average, compared with 5.8 times for social media-acquired customers. The report provides a framework for starting and scaling in-app advertising and details key insights.

Nearly 50% of online transactions will occur on mobile devices this year and are expected to reach 62% by the end of 2025. AppLovin’s Consumer Mobile Trends 2024 report provides a framework for scaling in-app advertising.

• By 2025, mobile payments will account for 79% of all digital transactions, with the market projected to reach $607.9 billion by 2030. Banking app users are expected to exceed 3.6 billion this year.
• Global mcommerce sales are projected to hit $2.5 trillion in 2024, representing 60% of total e-commerce sales, with 100 billion hours spent in shopping apps worldwide in 2023.
• Health and fitness apps generated $4.45 billion in 2023, with 75% of that revenue driven from subscriptions and fitness technology market.

Shifts in consumer behavior have impacted mobile spending through a reliance on mobile devices.

Brands can reach more than 5 billion global smartphone users every day with mobile in-app advertising. Safety is built in. Mobile apps are subject to app store reviews and guidelines.