NEW YORK – An NRG exec said his company tapped SAP AG to enhance its customer relationship management platform by adding mobile and social elements to its direct-to-consumer and business-to-business initiatives.

Almost one year ago we reviewed some of the top retailers’ mobile applications. Now with holiday season here once more, it is time for a second look at those brands, along with a few others.

Brands such as Philips, Hamilton Beach, Elmer’s, Murphy USA and Seagate are offering prizes to consumers who check-in to Walmart, Target and Best Buy via Whrrl.

Walmart Stores Inc. is making a bigger play for holiday dollars with the launch of a new application that complements its mobile Web and SMS efforts but is equally geared to driving traffic to its stores nationwide.

Leading up to the busiest shopping season of the year, membership warehouse club Sam’s Club debuted a mobile Web site and smartphone applications to enhance and simplify the experience.

LAS VEGAS – Mobile commerce is all about creating a convenient experience built on trust, according to a Walmart executive during a panel discussion at CTIA.

Retailers have begun to launch mobile applications, but there are many brands which have not done anything yet, so there is still time to get products up to snuff, or improve what they already have.

Since SMS is compatible with all handsets, it is an important component of holiday marketing campaigns – if used correctly.

Gomez found that between Nov. 1-15 the average response time for 14 mobile retail sites was 4.73 seconds and that the sites were available on average 98.74 percent of the time.

Walmart Canada has launched the beta version of a mobile site where consumers can browse the items of their local retail location.