This holiday season, brands and marketers are stepping up their mobile application efforts. After skyrocketing mobile sales this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, retailers are starting to understand that mobile shopping apps are crucial to holiday mobile efforts.

Outdoor apparel and accessories retailer REI is using an augmented reality application to let consumers win prizes and drive in-store traffic to its new New York location.

CVS/pharmacy has launched a series of mobile tools aimed to boost its loyalty program, ExtraCare Rewards.

After rolling out an iPhone application in June, Motel 6 is continuing to build its mobile profile with an Android app that lets consumers book hotel rooms.

Amazon.com Inc. is letting Android shoppers compare in-store prices with those on its site via a new Price Check app.

Online bill management system Pageonce has released an application that lets users pay and manage all of their bills from one location.

Android overtook iOS as the market share leader in mobile application downloads for the second quarter of 2011.

Travel site TripAdvisor is expanding its mobile strategy to include city guides with the rollout of twenty Android apps.

Financial institution Credit Union of Texas is targeting clients ages 18-30 with a round of mobile products aimed at making banking easier and faster.

Online retail aggregator and search engine TheFind.com is bridging mobile, Web and in-store shopping with an Android application.