Google, Inc.

New York -- Facebook hired its first-ever chief marketing officer, Gary Briggs, former marketing chief at Google's Motorola Mobility. He replaces Eric Antonow, VP-product marketing, who has been directing the social network’s marketing efforts since 2010.

Bonn, Germany -- Mobile commerce and gamification are two of the leading trends shaping the future of e-commerce. A new report from Deutsche Post DHL, “The Future of E-commerce in the U.S.,” identifies eight trends driving qualitative changes in e-commerce beyond rapid growth. A brief summary of each trend follows.

By Doug Lodder, [email protected]

Mobile device users have the world at their fingertips. Consumers today can use their smartphone or tablet to manage their finances, diagnose their own symptoms, and even use apps as a personal stylist while shopping.

Seattle -- Starbucks announced it has tapped Google to provide the next generation of its WiFi offering to its customers nationwide. Over the next 18 months, Starbucks will convert more than 7,000 U.S. stores to Google’s upgraded store network and WiFi experience.

AT&T, which currently provides Starbucks’ wireless access, will be replaced by the new initiative. Google will increase speeds and enable users to surf the web up to 10-times faster, according to Starbucks.

While the mobile phone serves as a lens to a personalized store experience, moving forward, wearable technologies like Google Glass will take in-store personalization to the next level, Steve Arthur, head of retail industry for Google, told attendees at  the Retailer Roundtable event, sponsored by digital gifting platform provider CashStar. Arthur cautioned that retailers must realize they must deliver consumers the experience they need, rather than what they want, and be prepared for a post-PC world. 

I was fortunate enough to attend the CashStar Retailer Roundtable in Portland, Maine, last week. Beyond getting to spend a beautiful summer day overlooking the sights of Casco Bay, I got to hear a lot of great speakers from companies including Google and Forrester Research discuss the latest trends in mobile commerce and electronic gift cards.

Birmingham, Ala. -- Books-A-Million has teamed with On Demand Books to put Espresso Book Machines in BAM’s Portland, Maine, store; a second store is slated for installation at a later date.

Bucksbaum Retail Properties opened for business in April 2012. The Chicago-based company has already opened one project and is working on four more.

The 53,000-sq.-ft. Kingsbury Center near North Chicago has opened with four tenants: Buy Buy Baby, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports and Jimmy Johns. It is a joint venture with Chicago-based Structured Development.