British footwear and accessories retailer Daniel Footwear worked with mobile marketing company Oikian to build a mobile application that features personalized offers and two-way communication with the retailer.

With the goal of establishing long-lasting relationships with its members, Daniel Footwear designed the app to reflect mobile behavior. The app will feature location-based offers, alerting consumers when they are near a store to offer relevant coupons and deals.

“Daniel Footwear has a major focus on omnichannel and making sure that it understands what customers are looking for,” said Mikko Lietsalmi, CEO and co-founder of Oikian, Oulu, Finland. “The right offers at the right time to the right consumers are very important parts of the retailer’s approach.

“Daniel Footwear is keen to provide shoppers with a seamless, multichannel experience,” he said. “The app will help drive customer engagement and in-store sales.”

Daniel Footwear was unable to respond before press deadline.

A customized offer
Consumers will be able to use the app to browse products from brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and DKNY, along with in-house items from Daniel Footwear.

Furthermore, Daniel Footwear’s app encourages users to interact with the retailer on social media to build brand appearance. The app also offers a mobile blog, updating users on current styles and trends.

As of press time, few in-depth details have been released about the app, which will be available by the end of June 2014.

The retailer has been building its online presence through multiple platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google+.

Daniel Footwear currently has more than 30 stores in 25 locations across Britain and was unable to comment on future openings in the U.S.

Personalizing the experience
Recent updates in mobile apps place importance on personalized content and promotions for consumer engagement.

On the heels of rapid user growth in 2013, Fidelity launched new versions of its mobile applications that allowed for greater personalization and featured optimized contextual content for easier investing on-the-go.

The iPad app featured a customizable homepage dashboard with enhanced data visualization to track historical and real-time stock movement that can help users generate investing ideas and make better-informed decisions. Fidelity’s iPhone and Android apps included a new Portfolio Gainers and Losers home screen, and the Android app had enhanced “Call a Rep” capabilities and is now optimized for Android tablets (see story).

Also, Metal Mulisha, a brand strongly influenced by the world of freestyle motocross, saw an increase in mobile profits of almost 20 percent by tailoring experiences for each user.

To drive mobile results, the brand partnered with personalization platform Reflektion, which announced the extension of its Web site personalization solution to include mobile optimization and uses machine learning as well as predictive analysis to profile shoppers based on the type of device accessed and historical behaviors. The Silicon Valley-based company also incorporated responsive design, providing optimal viewing experiences regardless of browser derivation (see story).

Not only do personalized apps facilitate the shopping experience, they also foster a sense of loyalty.

“Customer engagement is important because it helps retailers build brand affinity with shoppers by creating a meaningful connection,” Mr. Lietsalmi said. “When consumers are offered relevant and rewarding information from retailers, it allows them to feel as though they’re important to that brand, and encourages repeat visits.

“Technology allows for a more sophisticated relationship between shoppers and brands, and retailers like Daniel Footwear are using every channel to connect with consumers in a way that benefits the shopper,” he said.

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon, editorial assistant for Mobile Commerce Daily, New York