Mobile commerce is still unchartered territory for many retailers, but it’s predicted to be worth more than $3 trillion by 2017. 'Tinder for shopping' app Grabble is luring shoppers in with a swipe-based interface that brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘impulse buy’.

The internet has become a sprawling hub of images often featuring desirable content – but no place to buy it. California-based start-up The Hunt has set out to tackle the problem by providing a new and interactive online shopping experience.

Only 0.6% of online shopping is driven by social media, compared to e-mail, which drives 27%. Can Facebook’s Buy button, integrated into newsfeeds, encourage people to spend more when they're on social media? And are retailers really welcome on such a personal platform?

Is Instagram becoming the new shopping centre? It seems so, since one of the biggest names in fashion publishing – Vogue – is making its Instagram feed 'shoppable'. But can Vogue translate its 1.9 million followers and reputation as a taste-maker into significant sales?

More than 600 million people use Facebook Messenger each month to send texts, photos and videos. In March 2015 at the company’s F8 developer conference, Zuckerberg announced that you’ll soon be chatting to your favourite brand via the platform as easily as you do your best mate.

In the US, there are 11.8 million Gen Yers living in households with six-figure incomes, and many want to treat themselves to luxury items. For a market filled with these tech-savvy and social media-driven shoppers, instant gratification is crucial. But how are brands getting this group to splurge?

Consumers of luxury goods are hungry for new experiences. Burberry's new flagship store combines digital with luxury – with their recent drop in share price, can this innovative approach rekindle demand?

As the smartphone becomes an increasingly useful way to make purchases online, research shows that mobile shopping drives more impulse buys than any other platform. The Europe-wide study found that of 13.5 million mobile shoppers, 42% regularly buy ‘on impulse’ via smartphone.