Bass Pro Shops is piloting the use of iPod touches in stores to reduce the amount of time customers spend waiting in line to make a purchase.

Sephora has implemented software from Agilysys and RedIron to turn iPod touches into mobile point-of-sale devices across a number of its stores.

Infant and children’s furniture, gear, stroller, toy and clothing retailer Little Artika has mobilized its sales staff and point-of-sale system to help drive more sales and increase its profits.

Mobile point-of-sale is a hot topic in retail, especially now that it is not just Apple stores that have effective tools enabling them to complete transactions on the shop floor.

Integrated payments provider Payment Processing Inc. has partnered with New West Technologies, marking PPI’s entrance into the expanding mobile handheld point-of-sale industry.

Micros Retail Systems, a provider of enterprise applications, has partnered with Mocapay to mobile-enable its customers’ loyalty and gift programs.

While the United States’ mobile commerce ecosystem still lags behind Asia and even Europe, it is catching up quickly as various players prepare for mobile payments to ramp up significantly.