And another one... Wal-Mart buys The Small Society

Commercial giant snaps up app developer - part 3.

This acquisition follows similar swoops by the FT and Deloitte, and sees the US's largest retailer taking charge of a developer that's already made iPhone apps for Starbucks, Zipcar and Whole Foods.

The Small Society team will now join the new media unit of Wal-Mart - WalmartLab - in Portland. This division had previously bought social ad network One Riot,  mobile POS firm Gabble and Facebook-shopping app Shopycat.

It all represents a ramping up of commitment to new ideas around retailing from the biggest and most successful bricks and mortar firms on the planet.

And it's a long way from the days when Wal-Mart's activity in mobile consisted of selling exclusive ringtones sourced by Playphone.

WalmartLabs head Anand Rajaraman blogged: “We believe that mobile can have an impact on every part of the shopping experience for Walmart customers, whether in-store or online.