Mobile and digital payment platform Square has moved into a new market today. It's a bit different than what most people might think - it's an e-commerce play called Square Market and it enables local businesses throughout the United States to sell their products to anyone, anywhere, through the Internet.

While mobile payments transform financial life in many less developed countries, retailers and payment providers in the U.S. and Europe are still trying to find the right incentives to drive adoption. The added convenience of mobile payments won't inspire consumers to switch from credit cards in countries where credit cards are widely used, industry observers said at the Mobile Commerce World conference in San Francisco this week. But special offers and services could attract consumers, and small businesses disappointed with current payment systems may be among the first to make the switch, they said.

Etisalat Egypt launched a mobile commerce service, known as 'Flous', across the country in a bid to provide its customers with access to banking services, many for the first time. "The launch of mobile money mobile services in Egypt for the first time will enable Etisalat to begin a new phase of offering innovative services to our customers throughout this vast and important market," said the Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Egypt.

Payments infrastructure provider VocaLink is planning to launch a new mobile payments service called Zapp, which it hopes will become that standard platform for mobile payments in the UK. Due for commercial launch next year, the service will allow users to make payments directly from their bank accounts by scanning a barcode or tapping an NFC reader with their mobile phones.

British retailer Tesco is luring in-store shoppers to sign-up for its loyalty program with a specially-designed tablet application that walks users through the registration process. Tesco is attaching iPads with the app to the walls of four London store locations - Lisson Grove, Melcombe Street, St. John's Wood Terrace and Tottenham Court Road - as part of its CRM-building efforts.

Retail's four walls are the most valuable marketing assets out there today. The brick-and-mortar stores that know how to optimize their physical locations for maximum productivity will be the ones who come out on top this year. Here are the top five trends that will distinguish the leaders from the laggards, and will define retail's future for years to come.

While mobile payments transform financial life in many less developed countries, retailers and payment providers in the U.S. and Europe are still trying to find the right incentives to drive adoption. The added convenience of mobile payments won't inspire consumers to switch from credit cards in countries where credit cards are widely used, industry observers said at the Mobile Commerce World conference in San Francisco this week. But special offers and services could attract consumers, and small businesses disappointed with current payment systems may be among the first to make the switch, they said.

The practice of "showrooming," or viewing an item in a retail store and then buying it online, has brought the e-commerce threat directly to bricks-and-mortar retailers. Mobile raises the showrooming threat to a new level since price comparisons are available to shoppers immediately, as they make decisions and browse e-commerce websites in stores.

Both large and small online retailers need to rethink their sales models to appeal to a very different type of consumer, according to new research revealed at last week's Vinexpo exhibition in Bordeaux. The results of an 'E-Performance Barometer 2013' study from the BEM-KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux said there are three key ways in which online retailers can appeal to this new consumer: through mobile phones and m-commerce; social media networks; and wine subscriptions and clubs.

SingTel is amongst the players whose focus on future growth engines is showing results. The company's business is aligned around areas such as e-commerce, m-commerce, digital entertainment, digital gaming and social communications amongst others. According to Smith, the company's focus is driven by two factors - the first is where are the real or latent needs from customers, for example finding a place to have dinner. And the second is about identifying opportunities to commercialise. "Whilst we are interested, like all digital companies, in driving scale through active users, there is nothing quite like making money," Smith says, in a …