Starbucks, which started celebrating Christmas with a nice tech piece (the coffee giant launched a mobile device app which animates characters on seasonal red cups in the U.S. and Canada), is planning to continue to enhance consumer experience with technology next year with introduction of it mobile app payment system to the UK market on January 5, 2012. The new service comes on the heels of the recent announcement about the upcoming launch of the My Starbucks Rewards program across the country.

Old Spice believes that having a deodorant with a great smell is not enough to start using it—sometimes, it simply gets lost in a bathroom or a suitcase or its packaging is so slippery that you just can’t grab it. So, the brand is launching a new accessory, the Bear Deodorant Protector, which will help men always have their Old Spice ready to hand—starting today, November 23, the new offering is available for just $19.99. The new item looks so meaningless, that it seems to be just a joke. But no, “this product is real and is available for purchasefrom Facebook, says the promotional video, which plays up the retro vibe. And when you don’t use your antiperspirant in the new case, you can just look at the bear “as long as you want until you need more deodorant.”

While Target is returning its ‘Christmas Chump’ with a bunch of Black Friday tips and other companies and retailers are offering new great deals over the period of pre-Christmas sales, Seattle’s Best Coffee is supporting employees who have to be at their working places almost 24/7 these days, especially shop staff and delivery men. The brand is inviting retail people along with other employees at work on Black Friday, like police, fire and medical workers, to order a free coffee sample on its Facebook page to get extra energy during the hot shopping season, which this year starts on November 25.