Street Fight Daily: Apple Preps Mobile Payments, Starbucks Readies Order Ahead

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.

Apple Pushes Deeper Into Mobile Payments (Wall Street Journal)
Apple is laying the groundwork for an expanded mobile-payments service, leveraging its growing base of iPhone and iPad users and the hundreds of millions of credit cards on file through its iTunes stores. Eddy Cue, Apple’s iTunes and App Store chief and a key lieutenant of Chief Executive Tim Cook, has met with industry executives to discuss Apple’s interest in handling payments for physical goods and services on its devices.

What Obama’s 2012 Election Can Tell Us About Using Data to Build Communities (Street Fight)
The campaign’s technology team, comprised mostly of political newcomers, used data analytics to rethink the way television ads were bought, and where its army of volunteers were sent. One of the big breakthroughs, says Carol Davidsen, director of integration and media targeting for the Obama campaign, was in using data to navigate the twisted world of local television, finding audiences in unsuspecting — and often far less expensive — places.

Starbucks is Getting Ready to Let You Order Coffee Before You Get to the Store (Quartz)
After reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings yesterday, CEO Howard Schultz confirmed plans to allow customers to place orders through Starbucks’s mobile app and pick them up later. “You can assume that over time we will lead in this area,” Schultz said in reply to a question on the company’s conference call.

6 Strategies to Encourage SMBs to Offer Same-Day Delivery (Street Fight)
Small businesses account for 54% of all sales in the U.S., and unlike their big box competitors, many SMBs don’t already have existing shipping networks or points of distribution. Here are six strategies for how same-day delivery vendors can successfully encourage local merchants to become a part of their programs.

Care.com, The ‘Amazon Of Caregiving Services’ Popped 43% On Its IPO Day (BusinessInsider)
Care.com, a website that acts as a portal for service providers like babysitters and pet sitters to find clients, had its IPO, and it was a big day. Now that Care.com is public, it plans to expand and acquire other similar sites, the company’s CEO Sheila Marcelo told Business Insider in an interview.

Micros Brings its Point-of-sale Software to Dell Tablets (WashingtonPost)
To stay relevant, the company finds itself encouraging business owners to make yet another transition: from desktop computers to mobile devices, particularly tablets. This month, Micros announced it was partnering with Dell, Intel and Microsoft to introduce tablet-based sales systems customized for the food and beverage, retail and hotel industries.

Rough Patch for Uber Service’s Challenge to Taxis (New York Times)
Suddenly, Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick is a bit besieged. Uber is being sued by its drivers, who say it is stealing their tips. Competitors are pressing it from all sides. Celebrity riders like Salman Rushdie and Jessica Seinfeld have had gripes too, usually about pricing.

Here’s What Groupon’s New In-Store Pickup Deals Look Like (Recode)
Groupon refers to the deals on its website as — drumroll — “Local Pickup deals” and explains that these deals expire more quickly than regular Groupon offers to places like restaurants or salons. This make sense, since one of the main goals of the retailers Groupon is partnering with on these deals is to quickly unload inventory that they haven’t been able to otherwise sell at full price.

Square Cofounder: Jack Dorsey Is Like Hello Kitty (Mashable)
As the story goes, Jim McKelvey, a serial entrepreneur, was operating a glass-blowing business and lost out on a sale because he was unable to process a credit card payment. Out of that experience came the idea for Square, a company that provides more elegant point-of-sale solutions.

Majority Of Car Buyers Showrooming On Dealer Lots (MarketingLand)
According to a new study commissioned by Cars.com and conducted by location analytics provider Placed, 63% of auto shoppers researched and shopped online while at a dealership using their mobile device. Most of what these auto-showroomers are doing on the lot involves price research but they’re also looking at reviews as well as checking inventory at nearby dealerships.

In the Future, Google’s Robo-cars Might Give You a Free Ride to your Favorite Store (Fast Company)
In the future, Google might be able to pick you up–maybe even for free, and in a self-driving car. The company was awarded a patent for an ad-powered taxi service, meaning its fleet of surprisingly safe, self-driving vehicles will offer to give you a lift to a brick-and-mortar store in hopes that you’ll buy something.

Get Street Fight Daily in your inbox! Subscribe to our newsletter.