Mobile is increasingly the primary platform for internet access, according to the latest Global Consumer Survey (GCS) report from MEF, the global community for mobile content and commerce – and m-retailing is one of the key drivers for this

John Lewis is set to become the first UK department store retailer to offer free wifi access to customers in its shops nationwide, following similar moves by McDonalds and Tesco as major retailers start to look at extending online retail into stores using mobiles and their own networks

Fashion retailer Topshop is launching and app and a m-web optimized site “before Christmas” as the retailer sees up to 8% of its online sales already coming through mobile phones and tablets, despite having no specialized landing spot for these shoppers

The total redemption value of mobile coupons will exceed $43 billion globally by 2016 as coupons are increasingly delivered by mobile apps – an eightfold increase from $5.4 billion in value to be redeemed this year. Redemption rates are set to rise in North America and Western Europe after a few years of experimentation and growing user acceptance, says Juniper Research

In a move that will strike a Travelocity shaped ball of fear into the heart of many retailers and businesses, directory company Yell has rolled out a new version of its free that enables users to view current consumer reviews and create new reviews of local businesses directly within the app itself

Mobile searches for retail offerings have grown by 168% year on year and have driven total retail search volumes at their fastest rate this year in Q3, growing by an impressive 35%, according to the BRC/Google Online Retail Monitor

As tablet computers become a bigger part of the retail mix, no major retailer has yet rolled out a tablet specific m-website, finds a new evaluation by ai World, and all those that are available have some shortcomings – except for Nike

Retailer Amazon has topped the latest App Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch, achieving a score of 90% with an app that matches the brand’s established online usability.The App comes top of the overall App league table and just 0.8% behind the latest results for its eRetail counterpart

Alzheimer’s Society and Tesco have launched an innovative Halloween-themed text donate campaign to raise vital funds to help the fight against dementia. People are being urged to get out their mobiles this month and text SCARY to 70444. In return they may receive a spooky Halloween trick or treat text message back

Only 27% of consumers surveyed were satisfied with their mobile retail experience, with only 8.6% rating their experience as ‘excellent.’ Although an encouraging 30% of consumers are already using their mobile device to make a purchase, the remaining 70% represents a massive opportunity for retailers, finds a study by Stibo Systems

According to research by mobile ad network Mojiva, at least half of mobile consumers view their mobile device as a holiday shopping resource for product information, coupons and sale information, product reviews or store information – and most are planning to start their mobile Christmas shopping this month

According to the latest m-commerce Benchmark study from eDigitalResearch, mobile shoppers are beginning to see more and more website functionalities and features transferred to their smartphone screen, which is boosting satisfaction rates

As more consumers use their smartphones for everything from price comparison to shopping, sales through mobile now account for more than 10% of all purchases on eBay UK. The UK continues to lead the way for mobile commerce, with more people in the UK buying and selling goods via mobile on eBay than in any other European country

Today’s fragmented mobile landscape is directly affecting many organisations’ mobile plans, with 40% of Fortune 500 companies stating that developing applications across multiple operating systems and devices is the biggest challenge to their mobile strategy

High street fashion retailer, New Look, has seen sales on mobile grow by more than 500% year on year since August, according to its own research, as well as seeing a 60% overall increase in orders and a 45% surge in revenues

Fans of Coast, Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen can now buy clothes in-store using fashion retail’s first iPad-enabled point of sale (PoS) system, supplied by BT Expedite, BT’s specialist retail division

Western European feature phone shipments continued to decline sharply in 2Q11 as consumers increasingly move to smartphones, according to the latest European Mobile Phone Tracker from International Data Corporation (IDC)

Social media and mobile are influencing and incentivizing shoppers to a dramatic degree and are likely to drive cross channel demand further, with half of users having shopped on mobile, used social price comparison sites and received discounts through mobile, finds an IBM European study into consumer shopping behaviour

Tablet owners are more engaged with retail brands, making more purchases and website visits compared with smartphone users, according to the latest eCustomerServiceIndex (eCSI) results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG

Telmap, a pioneer in mobile location-based services, has unveiled location-aware restaurant coupons as part of its Mobile Location Companion, a result of cooperation with REST, Israel’s leading restaurant guide, and part of the Yellow Pages Israel Group