After years of speculation, Amazon finally announced the Fire Phone in June 2014, featuring stereoscopic glasses-free 3D. Its biggest talking point was Firefly – a visual and audio 'Shazam' that lets you buy whatever you scan directly from Amazon. But do people really want this?

Only 0.6% of online shopping is driven by social media, compared to e-mail, which drives 27%. Can Facebook’s Buy button, integrated into newsfeeds, encourage people to spend more when they're on social media? And are retailers really welcome on such a personal platform?

The UK retail landscape is changing. With a growing number of people wanting to shop on their own terms, many opt to browse products online, but pick them up at a physical store. In fact, 45% of UK internet users have used such a service, compared to just 20% in the US.

A new partnership between Twitter and American Express will allow users to make purchases through a hashtag. Users will be able to connect credit cards to the social networking site and then make purchases from select retailers.