Smartphones are improving the shopping experience and consumers plan to use them even more for it this year. Those are among the results of new mobile research, which surveyed consumers following the holiday shopping season.

Holiday shopping on mobile devices may have set some records, but it looks like many sales were lost and plenty of money was left on the table. While mobile accounted for about 17% of online holiday sales, based on IBM tracking, those lost were equivalent to more than a quarter (27%) of total mobile commerce sales, according to a holiday season mobile shopping analysis.

Multi-screen mobile commerce is starting to blend with targeted advertising at the gas pump. At the National Retail Federation Expo this week, I visited with a gas pump manufacturer that demonstrated the gas pump of future, replete with embedded Bluetooth technology to identify customers as they approach the pump.

Get ready for NFC-TV. No, not in your home, but in a store, at an airport or in your local mall. Now adding to such information and engagement triggers as QR code and Augmented Reality comes in-screen NFC-TV.

Various methods of mobile wallets and payments seem to launching, closing and repositioning around the globe on a regular basis. With the continuing evolution of the mobile wallet market, a study released at the International CES last week points to some rather large numbers ahead.

Final data from e-commerce holiday shopping continues to come in and paints a picture of the increasing influence of mobile activity. Some new findings based on research from more than 100 U.S. retailers shows that Black Friday looked like Mobile Friday with a 50% increase over the monthly average in mobile purchasing.

The smartphone is becoming the hub of mobile commerce. As I spoke with numerous technology suppliers and roamed through countless exhibits at the International CES show in Las Vegas this week, it became clear that mobile is becoming central to much of the new tech universe.

Some commerce may be completed on a smartphone or tablet although the sale may start elsewhere. This became apparent through several announcements at CES International in Las Vegas.

Mobile commerce may soon be taking to the roads. One of the earlier big presentations here at the International CES show in Las Vegas was the networked car by Chevrolet. With two cars on stage and another in the back of a large room, GM execs demonstrated how they expect consumers will be using mobile technology inside the vehicle.

Billed as the official media event of the International CES, the mega show in Las Vegas formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, more than 70 companies pitched their gadgets and wares last night as the future of things to come.