International retail giant Walmart has bolstered its Walmart Labs mobile division with the acquisition of mobile agency Small Society. Portland-based Small Society has developed apps for the likes of Starbucks and the Democratic National Committee.

An entry on the @WalmartLabs blog said Small Society impressed with its understanding of mobile platforms and “awareness of the unique opportunities for mobile in the retail space.”

“We didn’t talk about abstract 'this is the way it should be done' concepts; instead, we looked at what they had already done and how their product development skills could be applied to our businesses,” the blog entry added.

An example of an app developed by Small Society that impressed the Walmart team is the Zipcar app which allows customers of the car hire company to find and book cars quickly as well as use their iPhone to sound the car horn so they can find the vehicle and unlock it once they have located it.

Walmart is developing mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android platforms.