Felix Erken of Junk Mail Digital Media writes about instant engagement as the next step for online classifieds. He says businesses wanting to realise the benefits of this change will need to find ways to cater to the anytime-from-anywhere delivery that's currently being demanded and ensure compatibility of their service offering with new and old technologies alike.

It's an interesting strategy as research shows US retail giants are feeling pain as online shopping hits. It seems fewer shoppers head to malls in favour of click-and-buy options offered by Amazon and a trove of emerging online fashion vendors. The trend is all the more striking because retailers see good conditions in the economy for consumers, including strong employment levels.

Also making headlines is the fact that Wal-Mart is suing Visa over chip cards in the US - they want customers using chip-enabled debit cards in their stores to have the right to punch in a PIN code that immediately debits the amount from the linked bank account. Visa, on the other hand, sees this as a fraud risk.

Lots of retail movement to keep an eye on...

Jessica Taylor, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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