News about mobile payments, mcommerce strategies such as apps and mobile Web site conversion tips took over the headlines of Mobile Commerce Daily in the first quarter of 2011.

We believe that analysis of our headlines is a good way to forecast where the industry is headed for the remainder of the year. Articles were chosen based on the number of click-throughs they received.

Here are the top 10 in no particular order.

PayPal mobile transactions exceed $6M per day
A PayPal executive said that mobile payments are growing exponentially and provided his own company’s figures as proof during the keynote at International CTIA Wireless 2011’s Money Over Mobile pre-conference program.

PayPal’s mobile payment transaction volume has grown from $24 million in 2008 to $140 million in 2009 to $750 million last year. It is projected to top $2 billion this year and is expected to reach $7.5 billion in 2013 (see story).

How video can increase mobile site conversion
Retailers first learned the value of sight, sound and motion after incorporating videos into their PC sites. With the proliferation of smartphones resulting in a spike in mobile shopping, retailers should now be figuring out ways to incorporate video into their mobile sites to influence purchase intent.

As consumers, we all understand that the look and feel of a product is an important factor of the purchase decision. A video depicts the product features and benefits exponentially better than a static image, text or audio and can better drive sales (see story).

ShopRite exec: Mobile is not an emerging media
Wakefern Food Corp.’s ShopRite is ramping up its mobile initiatives and claims to be the only grocery retailer with a presence across Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android and the mobile Web.

The technology, powered by MyWebGrocer, lets ShopRite customers access online specials and create digital shopping lists from their smartphones. The ad-supported applications for iPhone and Android are built specifically for each platform with the goal of optimizing the user experience (see story).

Does Facebook hold the future of mobile payments in its hands?
With more than 200 million mobile users, Facebook and its currency platform Credits is poised to be the future of how we pay for both virtual and physical goods.

Right now there are various different technologies and start-ups actively looking at ways to penetrate the mobile payments market. Each company has taken a different approach, from digital bar codes to near field communication (NFC).

But experts believe Facebook may have a leg up in the space. Here’s why (see story).

Apple puts restrictions on in-app purchases
Apple is reportedly prohibiting application developers such as Sony from selling content via iPhone and iPad applications unless the transactions go through Apple’s system.

According to the New York Times, Apple rejected Sony’s iPhone application, which sells ebooks from the Sony Reader Store. App developers are obviously unhappy with Apple’s tightening of control, which makes it tough for them to bring content to as many devices as possible (see story).

Citi relies on multiple mobile channels for customer engagement
Citigroup Inc.’s Citibank is placing mobile at the center of its customer engagement strategy, with cost-cutting and revenue-generation significant fringe benefits.

The financial services giant has applications for Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch, a mobile Web site that is optimized for smartphones and Citi text banking, which lets customers check their account balances, view recent activity and see credit card statements via SMS. In addition, Citi is integrating social media into its mobile platforms (see story).

Which mobile commerce channels will shake up the industry in 2011?
From mobile advertising and applications to social media and near field communication, many of the channels and trends that gained momentum in 2010 will have a huge impact on the mobile commerce ecosystem in 2011.

Heavyweights such as Target and eBay have found increasing success using mobile to help their bottom line, and increased consumer adoption of smartphones and other connected devices will increase the opportunities for retailers and merchants of all kinds. In addition, Facebook has a chance to make a splash in mobile commerce and payments due to its 500 million-plus member base (see story).

Light shoppers are future of mobile shopping: Arc Worldwide
The traditional path to purchase is dead, according to a senior executive at Whirlpool Corp. speaking on a panel yesterday at the National Retail Federation’s 100th Annual Convention & Expo.

Instead, there are many paths to purchase, said Arunabh Das Sharma, senior director at Whirlpool and Value Brands, on a panel that included mobile shopping research and insights from Leo Burnett sibling Arc Worldwide, a shopper marketing agency (see story).

Mobile commerce sees 86pc annual growth: study
Of the seven most common business models that brands, retailers, publishers and developers use to monetize applications, mobile commerce showed the most gains year over year, according to a study by Appcelerator and IDC.

Mobile commerce showed 86 percent year-over-year growth, the biggest jump out of the seven monetization tactics that survey respondents were asked about—a strong vote of confidence in mobile commerce as a viable long-term business model. Appcelerator and IDC also found that PayPal scored the top spot among in-application payment platforms (see story).

Tablets will change banking forever: analyst
Led by Apple’s iPad, tablet computing is on an obvious growth trajectory, but how should banks and other financial institutions act on this trend?

Tablets are already contributing to financial services channel delivery, both inside the branch network and as a viable self-service channel on its own, according to research and consulting firm Celent (see story).