• The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, November 24, 2010 11:30 AM

Pointing towards the future of ecommerce, The Wall Street Journal sees a surge in price-comparison and loyalty program apps. "The battle for holiday shopping dollars is shifting to the palms of consumers' hands," it reports. Phone calls aside, 59% of adult U.S. cellphone owners plan to use their handsets for holiday shopping and planning holiday celebrations, according to an October survey by the Mobile Marketing Association.

Meanwhile, Google reports that the number of shopping searches it gets from cellphones has grown by 30 times in the past three years. "The latest price-comparison apps keep track of sales flyers--online and on paper--giving shoppers unprecedented amounts of power." Meanwhile, retailers are reportedly pushing apps that offer exclusive deals, coupons and loyalty perks to smartphone users who are near stores.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »