Australian-based BigCommerce, which claims to be the world’s fastest growing SaaS e-commerce platform, is dangling the carrot of a $2 million fund in front of developers around the world to come forward with their integration and application ideas, and have the chance of getting some of that money to fund the development of their pet project.

I want to share a story about how my IT business played a hand in transforming me from a hard nosed IT reseller and systems integrator to a coffee tragic that has launched a brand new online business.

Google data released just last week reveals that 25 percent of shopping-related searches come from mobile, but in Australia four in five business don’t have mobile-friendly websites and Google’s urging them to mobilise to take advantage of the growing number of people looking for goods and services using their mobile phones, especially over Christmas.

The federal government is considering a range of recommendations aimed at addressing the adverse effects on the traditional, bricks-and-mortar book industry from the online book industry and the growing popularity of e-books.

Australians out on a date, even a romantic dinner, are apparently not turned off by their suitor using a group buying voucher on a meal or activity, and quite a few of them say they prefer a pizza and wine deal than a more expensive fine dining option.

Home-grown Australian company, BigCommerce, has opened up its e-commerce platform to global developers with the release of a new API as it looks to further expand its worldwide customer base from the 20,000 it says are already onboard.

Worldwide mobile payments to merchants for physical goods will treble from a gross $60 billion forecast this year to exceed $170 billion by 2015, with researchers finding that the initial growth in payments was fuelled by a dramatic upsurge in retail apps in the wake of the consumer smartphone explosion.

Australian businesses are experiencing high satisfaction levels with their group buying campaigns and most will run another campaign in the future, despite perceptions that group buying is bad for business and the persistent myth that sellers are generally dissatisfied with the outcomes of group buying campaigns.

Google is into everything and it’s on the march again and ready to take on some fairly formidable competitors as it enters the mobile payments market with its digital wallet service.

Australians are world leaders when it comes to frequency of purchases made on the Internet, with a survey showing we buy online at least once a week.