The consumer of the future will be more mobile, social and self-sufficient, willing to share details on themselves and their preferences in exchange for highly personalized relationships with their favorite stores, according to a new IBM consumer survey. The study also found that consumers' willingness to advocate for a particular retailer is becoming multifaceted, with consumers looking for a flawless experience, whether it's when they're researching, purchasing, or receiving delivery.

Revenues accumulated by the global mobile application market are expected to pass the $30bn milestone by the end of this year, according to new market data from ABI Research.

Mobile payment technologies are finally vaulting forward in the U.S. after years of slow advances. The biggest move ahead could occur in September, when Apple is widely expected to embrace a mobile payment scheme with its next-generation iPhone.

The National Retail Federation has urged the Federal Trade Commission to move cautiously in establishing regulations for mobile payments, and said any rules that are adopted should parallel those for the underlying form of payment and not be specific to the technology.

Eighty percent of tablet app downloads will be for e-commerce, games, digital publishing and social networking by 2016.