Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the United States, began rolling out support for Apple Pay last month. Kroger had been a longtime Apple Pay holdout, but its decision to finally adopt Apple’s payment platform has put a renewed amount of pressure on another major holdout: Walmart.
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In what may be the most bizarre launch so far this year, Walmart has launched a premium shopping service using an unlikely mix of old and new technology …
This morning, retailer Jet officially announced that it has joined the Apple authorized reseller program. For the Walmart-acquired retailer, this has substantial ramifications, particularly in its ongoing battle with Amazon. This amounts to a huge score for Jet against the online giant, as it will be offering the breadth of Apple products while Amazon only offers a handful of listings.
Along with today’s news, the retailer is offering a handful of deals to kick off Jet’s partnership with Apple. Full details below.
Walmart’s Vudu video streaming and download service is set to debut on Apple TV later this month as the company officially plans to launch an app for the platform, Variety reports.
Just (barely) in time for the holidays, Walmart.com now carries the Apple Watch Sport in a variety of colors –as long as it is either space gray or silver. The US’s largest retailer won’t carry the Watch in stores and currently the price for the Sport is the non-discounted $349-399 retail which is $100 more than Best Buy and bestbuy.com where it starts at just $249.
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Since the launch of Apple Pay, retail giant Walmart has refused to accept the mobile payment option, saying instead that it only matters that consumers have a payment option that is widely accepted. Today, however, Walmart has announced its own mobile payment solution called Walmart Pay.
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An investigation by Fortune into the effects of iOS ad blockers showed that they don’t just block ads (and thus prevent sites like ours from paying the bills), they also block images, prevent items from being added to shopping carts and in some cases block entire websites. The problem was first identified by ecommerce specialist Chris Mason.
Lots of sites will be missing content, have broken links or customers won’t be able to add certain items to their shopping carts. They’ll probably just think the site is broken, but it’s really their content blocker.
On the Bass Pro Shops site, product images were missing. On Lululemon, you could see product images but attempts to add products to shopping carts failed, and on sites like Sears and Walgreens, either the homepage or product pages were blocked entirely.
If you do choose to press ahead with ad blockers despite such issues, we encourage you to whitelist those sites whose content you enjoy to ensure that they are able to continue to provide free content.
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
[Update: Apple has confirmed the policy with us. Statement below.]
[Update #2: Reports are now surfacing that Apple is now reinstating some apps with the Confederate flag to the App Store. The company is working with developers who use the Confederate flag, but not in a mean-spirited manner.]
[Update #3: TouchArcade specifies that affected games are able to change their app icons and App Store screenshots to avoid removal.]
A couple of days after Zac Hall called for Apple to join large retailers like Walmart, Target, Sears, Amazon and eBay in withdrawing from selling items featuring the Confederate flag, Apple appears to be working on doing just that.
Touch Arcade noticed that many Civil War games like Ultimate General: Gettysburg and the Hunted Cow series have all disappeared. An App Store search for ‘Confederate’ on Tuesday found plenty of games featuring the flag, while the same search today appears to show only apps dealing with the history (such as the reference work shown) above. All of the games shown in Tuesday’s search (below) have been removed from the App Store …
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Apple has invested a lot into its Apple Pay mobile payments solution since its launch last fall. Since launching in October, the payment method is already accepted at more than 700,000 retail locations, according to the company. Reuters today has published a new report in which Apple says that Apple Pay will be accepted by half of the top 100 merchants in the United States by the end of this year, with more planned in 2016. Currently, a fourth of the top 100 retailers support Apple Pay.
According to a retailer that Reuters contacted, Apple has been pushing its mobile payment service aggressively to retailers. The retailer, which remained anonymous and has no plans to accept Apple Pay, said this:
“They have been pushing hard and it’s been that way for months. They have called and tried to persuade us even after we communicated our decision to them.”
That same retailer has no plans to accept Apple Pay because not even a “small percentage” of its customers have requested it. Nevertheless, the research found that retailers accepting Apple Pay are generally happy with the service, and its customers are too…
Black Friday can be absolutely overwhelming. Every retailer is vying for your attention and money. That’s why we’ve vetted each and every major Black Friday ad to find only the very best deals.
Remember, this master list was curated from pre-announced deals. We fully expect many retailers to hit us with surprise deals throughout the next week. That’s why it’s important you follow 9to5Toys on Twitter/Facebook, and sign-up for our email newsletter. The 9to5Toys team is going to be working around the clock to bring you the Black Friday deals you can’t afford to miss.
Continue on for the definitive Black Friday 2014 ‘Best Of’ list…
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Walmart is one of several high-profile retailers that belong to MCX, a consortium of retailers that have partnered together to create their own mobile payments service called CurrentC. Due to this commitment, the big-box retailer has opted against supporting Apple Pay in its stores. A new report offers a big reason why: high credit card transaction fees.
Apple Pay launched last week with widespread support at over 220,000 stores in the United States, although Walmart alongside CVS and Rite Aid are among some of the high-profile retailers that have not embraced the new mobile payments service. Now, Walmart has provided official comment as to why it doesn’t accept Apple Pay at its stores.
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The NYT reports that Rite Aid has joined CVS in disabling Apple Pay as a payment method in its stores. Like CVS, Rite Aid is a member of the Merchant Customer eXchange (MCX) consortium promoting a rival mobile payment service, CurrentC.
Consumers are responding by threatening to boycott stores which disable Apple Pay, with more than 2,000 comments across several Reddit threads on the topic. Android users are joining in, as disabling NFC also blocks alternative mobile payment services offered by higher-end Android handsets …
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On the day that Apple Pay goes live, SVP Eddy Cue has told the WSJ that the company “has a lot of work to do” on the service, suggesting that initial take-up may be slow – with in-app purchases making up the largest share of transactions in the short-term.
We’re trying to do something that I think is a game changer and it requires a lot of people to play together. There’s a lot to do here and we have a lot of work to do, but it should be huge.
Although the list of retailers who have committed to Apple Pay looks impressive, it is far from comprehensive, with some big names missing – including the largest retailer in the US, Wal-Mart …
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From 9to5Toys.com:
Walmart, the giant US retailer, often negotiates exclusive price cuts on products that smaller retailers can’t match. Just like last year, it has set its sights on the all new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
According to a report published tonight by CNET, Walmart is set to trim $20 off both of Apple’s new super sized iPhones. That drops the iPhone 6 down to $179 and the iPhone 6 Plus down to $279. Both prices require a two-year commitment with AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint. Also, beginning on Friday, September 12th, Walmart will begin accepting preorders for the iPhone 6. Anyone who preorders through Walmart will also get a free $15 e-gift card. Sam’s Club members will be able to save an additional $2 on both models, which brings their total discount down to $22.
Based on all the information we’ve seen thus far, these price drops only apply to the 16GB iPhone 6 models and only the 4.7-inch variant will be available for preorder. As of right now, the only other noteworthy iPhone 6 deal that we’ve seen is from Radio Shack who is offering a free $50 iTunes gift card with purchases through September 27th.
Walmart has cut the prices of both of the current iPhone models substantially in what looks like some early prep for the iPhone 6, which is expected next month. As noted by Engadget, you’ll be able to get the 16 GB model of the iPhone 5c for only $.97. No, that’s not a typo. The phone is now selling for ninety-seven cents.
The 16 GB iPhone 5s also got yet another price cut, this time down from $99 to $79. Both of these prices are only temporary and will climb back to their usual points in 90 days—unless of course a newer model comes along and knocks the retail price of these handsets down a few bucks.
Engadget reports that Walmart is preparing to make significant cuts to its iPhone pricing tomorrow. According to a Walmart spokesman, the iPhone 5s will be available on a two-year contract for only $99, down from the previous price of $149. The iPhone 5c, on the other hand, will be only $29 on a contract, down $20 from the previous $49.
Both of these prices apply to the 16 GB models, but there isn’t any word on the prices for the 32 GB or 64 GB devices, though they will also see cuts. The new prices will reportedly only be available in-store, not online. It doesn’t look like any other Apple products will see similar changes, though the larger iPod touch models did just see a price drop earlier today.
Up until now most retailers have been deploying Apple’s iBeacon technology by purchasing small standalone Bluetooth beacons or using iPad terminals that act as beacons. Now, GE is introducing its next-generation LED light fixture that packs in a combo Bluetooth LE/Visual Light Communication chip for iBeacon functionality allowing retailers to cut costs and avoid purchasing standalone beacons from a company like Estimote. It’s already got one massive customer about to roll out the iBeacon lighting fixtures: Walmart announced back in April (before iBeacon support was announced) that it plans to roll out these same new GE lighting fixtures to stores worldwide as part of its switch to LED.
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Walgreens-owned drugstore chain Duane Reade announced today that it’s updating its iPhone app with support for iBeacons it recently installed in 10 of its New York city locations. It and Walmart are just two of the latest big name chains said to be testing the technology, while Motorola Solutions announced today its own indoor location platform that includes a combination of Bluetooth iBeacons and Wi-Fi based features.
Like other implementations that we’ve seen in retail and grocery stores, Duane Reade has installed the Bluetooth iBeacons in order to beam offers, coupons and product info to customers in proximity that have the company’s iPhone app installed:
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From 9to5Toys.com:
The Apple Store just got filled with refurbished iPad Airs in a few varieties starting at $419 for 16GB and $509 for 32GB in both Space Grey or White. That’s $80/$90 off the new price and the lowest price we’ve seen for iPad Airs with Apple’s 1 year AppleCare warranty (we saw them new for $430 last week). Apple certified refurbished products look and act like new, come with all manuals and accessories, a new outer shell batter and come in a new white box.
Walmart still has refurbished iPad Airs for $399 but with a more dubious 90-day non-Apple warranty. Meanwhile, if you are after new iPad Airs, Staples currently has them for $50 off across the board.
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