Retail giant John Lewis are clearly a company that understands that startups have the potential to shape the future, if the launch of their tech incubator - JLAB - last month is anything to go by. This initative was carried out in collaboration with serial tech entreperenuer and Angel Investor Stuart Marks, who was also on the panel to help pick the finalists.The finalists include Localz which allows retailers to know when their best customers are in-store, and Viewsy which allows retailers to track customer behaviour in-store in order for them to give individuals more unique and tailored services (see full list of finalists below).

The last report from eMarketer on Digital trends (Sep 2013) shows that, for the first time ever, people in the US now spend more time on mobile than on a desktop or laptop. That ratio was still 1:6 in favour of the desktop just three years ago. Many websites now see their actual usage, in terms of pages views and time spent, decrease in absolute value. If this is not compensated by mobile usage, that means their presence on the net is actually decreasing.

The music industry was the first and hardest-hit by the digitisation of the way people consume their product. Many hard lessons were learnt, and some are still being absorbed. However, the industry today is unquestionably one of the most digitally creative, compared with any other field which is not online native.

Azte.co has been getting a lot of attention recently; and for a good reason. It is the first physical distributor of Bitcoin vouchers in Europe. The concept is simple. You purchase some bitcoin and receive a voucher which is instantly redeemable on your phone. No ifs, no buts, no long winded security checks; in a few minutes you could own your own stash of this phenomenoal crypto currency.

12 months ago I didn't know what a 'tech startup' was, I thought an MVP would be some kind of... urm... road map? In fact I didn't even know what responsive design meant. It would be fair to say I was very much an outsider to tech and whist I still feel it's a whole new world, I launched a new side of my 'bricks and mortar' business last month that I am proud to say encompasses the all of the above in the site Jewelry From Home.

Retailing is a simple business: sourcing the rights goods at the right price and putting them in front of clearly defined and targeted customer groups.  Increasingly, doing this at speed is what gives retailers a competitive advantage; this is precisely what pure play operator ASOS is doing, enabled by best-in-class technology.

Depop is a social shopping app that was launched in April last year. It had a successful 2013 and raised $1 million seed round from fashion focused investors. Described as a mobile flea market, Depop users can browse through various photographs of products to buy and can easily upload photos of their own items.

Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen people’s relationship with the term “search” transform from an intensely personal journey, into one of the most profitable businesses on earth. It’s the most common activity humanity performs. Whether online or in the real world, whether esoteric or routine in nature, we are all seeking answers. 

Sales figures for October, at first glance, suggest that the retail sector as a whole isn't performing quite as well as expected. The headline figure from the Office for National Statistics reveals that, month-on-month, retail sales dropped unexpectedly by 0.7%. If anything, it shows that despite the UK economy as a whole being on the road to recovery, consumer spending is still volatile.

When it comes to building your online store, it can be daunting. I have spoken with a lot of small businesses that want to build an online store but don't know where to begin. To help you understand what should be a priority, here are 10 killer steps to creating an online store.