Mobile retailers

Almost half – 48 percent – of consumers use their mobile devices to research or browse products and services, according to Oracle’s “Mobile Trends: Consumer Views of Mobile Shopping and Mobile Service Providers” report.

Despite the fact that there is a high level of interest from consumers in making mobile payments, security concerns are the largest barrier to market growth and consumer adoption, according to a report by Mobio Identity Systems.

At SXSW this week, JiWire and TabbedOut, which lets bar and restaurant customers pay their tabs via their smartphones, are hosting a location-based campaign and bar crawl March 12 and 13 at watering holes around Austin.

The top executive at MoreMagic Solutions, a global mobile commerce and financial services provider, said that mobile payments have made great strides but that the industry is still two or three years away from mass-market adoption.

The mobile sites of OpenTable and Ghirardelli came out on top in terms of performance this Valentine’s Day, according to research from Keynote Systems Inc.

With more than 200 million mobile users, Facebook and its currency platform Credits is poised to be the future of how we pay for both virtual and physical goods.

A majority of the respondents to an Adobe survey – 62 percent – said that they have bought physical goods from their smartphone devices in the last six months.

Applebee’s, American Eagle, AMC Theatres, Blockbuster, Bass Pro Shops and SpaFinder are driving revenue by offering Valentine’s Day digital gift cards that are redeemable via mobile.

Consumers are demanding content-driven, multichannel commerce that includes mobile access, according to a survey by Endeca Technologies.

MasterCard and Telefonica have launched a joint venture to lead the development of mobile financial services in 12 countries in Latin America where the carrier’s Movistar brand operates.