Amazon-owned Diapers.com has rolled out an iPad application that lets busy moms sync their shopping carts across Web and mobile platforms to save time.

In December, 40 percent of Diaper.com’s traffic came from smartphones and tablets, showing how mobile is quickly becoming the preferred way for consumers to shop. The app is available for free from Apple’s App Store.

Amazon’s Quidsi owns and operates several lifestyle commerce sites, including Diapers.com, Soap.com, Wag.com and Yoyo.com.

“Our customers have been consistently asking us for an iPad app and we’ve also seen a continued rise in shopping our website using iPads, via the Safari browser,” said Ron Feldman, director of the mobile and tablet group at Quidsi.

“We felt that we could create a compelling experience with a Diapers.com iPad app that would really resonate with our customers and make their shopping experience even easier and more pleasurable,” he said.

“Busy moms tell us that they love ordering with one hand while feeding their babies in the middle of the night. Particularly for our busy moms and dads, the ability to shop from any device, at home, at work or on the go is very important and part of the convenience we aim to deliver.”

Shop on mobile
The 40 percent of mobile and tablet traffic in Dec. represents more than a 100 percent year-over-year increase for Diapers.com.

Via the app, consumers can browse items from product categories such as diapering and toys that are accessible on the app’s home screen.

Amazon is the king of cross-screen shopping, which is reflected in the new Diapers.com iPad app.

For example, the app features a MyList feature that lets consumers view and reorder recently bought products.

Additionally, the other Quidsi sites are linked into the app to create one shopping cart. Consumers can add items and edit their orders across both Web and mobile platforms.

Products can be sorted by ratings, alphabetically, price and popularity.

Furthermore, the app includes voice-activated search and a built-in bar code scanner that helps consumers quickly find products.

Product pages feature access to information such as reviews, offers and recommended products, all of which are most likely particularly important to the company’s core demographic of moms that might not only place multiple orders but also rely on other parents to rate products.

The app also includes large photos of products to give users a better perspective on what items look like.

Similar to the company’s Web policy, consumers receive free delivery on orders more than $49.

In addition to the iPad app, Diapers.com also has apps available for iPhone and Android devices. The iPhone app was rolled out April 2011 with the Android version following in Nov. 2012.

Commerce powerhouse
Nowadays, consumers use their smartphones and tablets to buy everything.

Tablets in particular give marketers a bigger canvas to show off their content.

As consumers become more comfortable using their mobile devices to shop, marketers always need to be thinking one step ahead with advanced features – such as a universal shopping cart – that combine the Web and mobile experiences.

Not only does this make it easier for consumers, but it also can lead to bigger basket sizes and orders.

“The ability to continue the shopping experience from device to device is in line with how customers shop multiple screens,” said Steve Timpson, president of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

Mr. Timpson is not associated with Diapers.com. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

“Amazon has quite a bit invested in this with their Android Kindle products as well as their one-click payment option,” he said.

“IPads are a relevant form factor in the U.S. IPads also do a lions share of the tablet user consumption. It makes sense in a multi-device/ multi-screen user environment to include the iPad as part of the strategy.”

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