Following the recent announcement that AOL is to divest itself of Bebo we had cause to reflect on Facebook’s dominance and the implication for retailers.

After five rounds of voting, with surprises, drama and upsets, we now have the final round of our Inspiration Index – overall strategy. You have one week to decide who gets the laurel crown…

As we ramp up the range and extent of activities from Etail Towers, Ian Jindal has been forced to consider the role of openness and sharing for peers in our industry. What if any is the demand for and role of ‘protected spaces’?

Tesco is has reportedly revealed its plan to take 10% of the finance market in the UK… First £1 in £8 online go to Tesco.com and soon 10p in each £1 of financial services? In an age of disillusion and distrust of banks this could be the opportunity for Tesco to capitalise upon the 20million shoppers it welcomes each week.

No sooner are we starting to tire of Augmented Reality we have this announcement from Sharp of working 3D on a mobile phone screen… Can we now bring our products ‘alive’ on a mobile screen?

Personal service will help retailers capitalize on their e-commerce offerings and benefit from a predicted doubling in online purchases, says Terry Hunter, managing director, 2020 Technology.

The owners of brands including Kelloggs’ Krave cereal and Dr Pepper are harnessing the power of social media as they find new ways to promote their products. But the true test will be whether successful online campaigns are rewarded with increased and sustainable sales.

Ethical shoppers could soon be using their mobile phones to check out products’ ethical credentials before they buy in the store. Using the Barcoo app, they will be able to make buying decisions that suit their principles.

UK shoppers spent this Easter weekend upgrading their kitchens or remodeling their bathrooms, if the online evidence is to be believed. There’s clear evidence, says Carl Clump of Retail Decisions, of a consumer move towards buying home improvement products online.

Natalie Massenet, who crossed fashion journalism with ecommerce to produce Net-a-Porter, is set for a multi-million windfall after luxury goods group Richemont announced it was buying the company in a deal valuing it at £350m.

Supermarket Asda looks to have scored a social media triumph with the news that it has enlisted the leaders of the UK’s main political parties to address its shoppers online. How will e-commerce shape the election of 2010?

Mothercare’s total sales passed the £1bn milestone with help from the online channel. Direct in Home, its internet and mail order channel, grew by 16.3% in the year to March 27. International store openings were also key.

The eyes of the book trade are on the Office of Fair Trading after reports that independent booksellers have complained to it about price rules set by Amazon for its marketplace sellers.

Online advertising spend grew by 2,200% in the noughties, according to a new report from the Internet Advertising Bureau and PWC. The figures reveal growth every year after the dot com crash of 2001 until the end of 2009.

Multichannel mail order clothing retailer Boden is aiming to boost customer acquisition dramatically in the next three years with the help of new technology. It has appointed Experian to aid a strategy that will see it aim to double cold acquisition activity over the next year and to increase this by 50% in years two and three.