New York photo and video equipment store B&H Photo Video is making a big bet on mobile this holiday season with a new responsive Web site and two mobile applications.

B&H Photo Video is rolling out several new initiatives this holiday season that tackle the mobile Web and app market at the same time. The new offerings are part of a bigger push that B&H Photo Video is making in mobile to win over in-store and online shoppers.

“It’s not entirely about sales,” said Eli Weiss, director of mobile commerce at B&H Photo Video, New York.

“We are trying to give our customers a great shopping experience that meets the quality of the other platforms/channels,” he said. “That being said, we do expect sales to go up as well.”

Streamlined site?
B&H Photo Video recently launched a responsive site that renders content across smartphones, tablets and desktops. This is the first time that B&H Photo Video has used responsive design, and the site was developed in-house.

The site is available at http://www.bhphotovideo.com.

The site heavily plays up search with a bar that is stretched across the screen, and calls-to-action that promote in-store offers and deals are pushed to the top of the page.

For instance, a piece of copy on the site tells consumers what hours the store will be open on Thanksgiving Day.

Below, tiles set up in a grid flip over to feature the retailer’s product categories such as lighting and studio gear, underwater products and camcorders.

There are also two tiles that consumers can click on to track an order or access a wish list feature.

The site also includes infinite scrolling and high-resolution photos.

B&H Photo also chose to make all of the specs and information about products available on the site since it is a feature that consumers wishing to buy professional photo gear are interested in.

Additionally, the site integrates Google Wallet to cut down on the number of steps that it takes consumers to check out.

App happy?
B&H Photo Video is also relaunching its mobile apps for iPhone and Android devices for the holiday season.

The company also has an iPad app.

New features within the iPhone app include an updated home screen that is more personalized. The app was originally launched during the holiday season in 2009.

There is also a new design within the used product section of the app that makes it easier for consumers to browse and search for items.

Search and filter options have also been updated so that consumers can search by best-selling or top-rated items as well as price.

The features add on to an app update that B&H Photo rolled out in September as one of the first retailers to redesign its apps for Apple’s iOS 7 (see story).

B&H Photo Video originally launched its Android app in Jan. 2010 and has now updated the app’s user experience to tailor it to different devices.

For example, the app features a new checkout experience and lets consumers redeem gift cards and reward cards.

“We have been investing [in mobile] for a long time,” Mr. Weiss said.

“During the holiday season, we want to make things easier for the shoppers, of course,” he said.

“We want to make sure our customers have the ability to shop and reach us wherever they want.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York