The Staples tablet-optimized site

Office supplies retailer Staples launched a tablet-optimized site this week to provide a rich browser-based experience for shoppers.

Staples reports that its traffic from tablet devices grew throughout last year at a faster pace than smartphones. With the penetration of tablets growing and shopping proving to be a popular activity on tablets, more retailers are considering a tablet strategy, but Staples is one of the first to actually introduce a tablet experience for its customers.

“When we were looking at other retailers and non-retailers to see what others are doing, we realized that this is a brand new medium from a retailer perspective,” said Prat Vemana, director of mobile strategy at Staples, Framingham, MA.

“We did extensive customer research trying to understand how our customers are using tablets in terms of shopping and that lead us into the thinking that we should try to provide a new kind of experience leveraging the features that the medium offers,” he said. “We are bringing significant value and leveraging the medium and what it offers.”

A different approach
The retailer’s research showed that shoppers on a tablet device are looking for a quicker and easier way to research and purchase products compared to desktops.

The research also showed that tablet users tend to access features from within a browser as opposed to an app, which is why Staples focused on providing a rich browser-based experience.

Retailers need to approach tablets differently than smarpthones because the screen size is larger, which enables them to create richer shopping experiences.

Tablets are also more likely to be used for browsing as opposed to smartphones, which are typically used by consumers on the go who know what they are looking for.

“If you include tablets as part of mobile traffic, you find that over 50 percent of mobile traffic for retailers is coming from tablets,” said Danielle McCormick, director of marketing at Skava, San Francisco.

“The average tablet shopper falls into the higher income bracket and is a regular internet shopper,” she said. “A tablet shopper is twice as likely to convert than a mobile shopper.”

“Given these stats and trends, it makes sense for retailers to create a rich and optimized experience on tablets which entices the shopper to stay and browse and helps the retailer boost conversion and enhance brand identity.”

Staples worked with Skava to develop its tablet site.

Some of the features of the Staple tablet site include an app-like login that lets users quickly and easily set up their password and login information when they arrive on the site.

The site also makes it easy for users to find printer ink with only three touches on the screen.

Currently, the site it optimized for some Android devices and iOS and will be rolled out to additional tablet devices in the coming weeks.

In the past year, Staples has launched a mobile-optimized site and new apps for the iPhone and Android.

“This is a brand new medium,” Mr. Vemana said. “One of our goals is to determine if it makes it easier for people to shop at Staples.

“We see this as another medium that we can innovate around,” he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Rockport recently launched its new mobile site. The company decided to roll out an optimized site for mobile devices after seeing how many consumers access its site via their handsets.

“Our footwear is developed to meet the needs of the metropolitan professional who leads an active on-the-go lifestyle,” said Kim Correia-Hunt, director of ecommerce at Rockport, Boston.

“Therefore we want to enhance their mobility and make it easy for them to search, browse and purchase our products on their mobile devices,” he said.

Rockport sells men’s, women’s and kid’s dress and casual footwear.

The company worked with Unbound Commerce to help develop the mobile site.

Foot forward
Since the launch of Rockport’s ecommerce Web site in 2011, 9.7 percent of its total traffic has come from mobile devices.

Additionally, 82.5 percent of mobile visitors to Rockport.com are on iPad or iPhone device.

Rockport also saw that visitors currently buying on a mobile device spend 4.6 percent more than on the actual ecommerce Web site.

Consumers can access the mobile site by entering m.rocport.com on their handset browser.

Consumers can shop for shoes via the Rockport mobile site

The Rockport mobile site is primarily an etail site that provides multiple ways to shop and search for products while on the go.

Consumers can share their favorite products with friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email.

The mobile site includes a Go Location feature that incorporates the device’s GPS technology and lets consumers finding the nearest store that sells Rockport shoes.

Consumers can also shop by category, shoe type and accessories.

Additionally, Rockport encourages consumers to sign-up for its email database where they can also receive 15 percent of their purchase.

“We knew that creating a user-friendly mobile site that allows for a consistent Rockport experience whenever and wherever they are, was of critical importance and we are really pleased to have launched it,” Ms. Correia-Hunt said.

The new mobile site enables shoppers to search for tire information, find the closest Goodyear dealer and receive special discounts and promotional deals. Shoppers are automatically forwarded to the new mobile site when they go to goodyear.com on any browser-enabled mobile phone or smartphone.

“We were seeing considerable growth in consumers coming to goodyear.com to shop for tires and find retailers,” said Mike Dauberman, director of interactive marketing for Goodyear, Akron, OH. “This volume alone justified the need to develop a mobile optimized experience.

“The mobile site was designed to support the needs of tire shoppers at any point in their shopping process, including early research, in-store validation or in an emergency where the closest service location is just a click-to-call away,” he said.

“This functionality and how it was positioned on the mobile site was determined by studying how consumers were interacting with the Goodyear.com Web site from their mobile phones.”

Interactive capabilities
The site supports Android, WebOS, iPhone and BlackBerry devices.

Tablet users will see the traditional desktop site rather than the mobile site.

On the mobile site, users will be able to select a tire or retailer by vehicle, tire size or tire name. The information available includes tire categorization, tire recommendations and pricing.

The site also features sections for retailer locator, promotions, warranty and click-to-call.

The mobile site also takes advantage of the mobile device’s GPS capabilities and lets shoppers find the nearest Goodyear location.

Goodyear worked with agency Digitas to build the mobile site.

While this is Goodyear’s first mobile site, it is not the company’s first foray into mobile. In 2010, Goodyear launched a mobile Web portal for its corporate print magazine Goodyear Go (see story).

Goodyear joins the growing list of automobile-related companies with a mobile strategy. International carmaker Kia recently launched a multifaceted campaign that includes mobile Web (see story).

Additionally, Volkswagen promoted its new 2012 Golf R vehicle via a new iPad application that showcases the history of the Golf model (see story).

Other tire related companies are also finding the benefit of reaching mobile users. Last year, tire manufacturer Kumho Tire USA launched a free racing game to engage automotive enthusiasts and smartphone users who were potential customers (see story).

The Goodyear mobile site is just one of the ways the company is looking to drive interactive capabilities to increase its reach to its target segments.

“We’re looking to enable in-market tire shoppers with the ability to quickly see what tires fit their vehicles while easily understanding the features and benefits of Goodyear tires,” Mr. Dauberman said. “From there, the site will steer these shoppers to the best network of tire retailers in the industry.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

Previous to the announcement, consumers could buy movie tickets for select AMC Theatres. AMC Theatres is rolling out 3,000 new screens to the Fandango network.

“Fandango has had a deal with AMC in the past, but now all the company’s theaters are covered with this initiative,” said Harry Medved, spokesman for Fandango, Los Angeles.

AMC Theatres operates 351 movie theaters and 5,083 screens in the United States and Canada.

Fandango is an online entertainment destination where movie goers can read  reviews, learn about upcoming films and buy movie tickets.

Tricky sales
The AMC Theatre news comes after Movietickets.com recently sued the cinema chain for a breach of contract.

AMC was one of the first cinema chains to sell tickets via Movietickets.com and was under an agreement to sell tickets exclusively on the site.

Movietickets.com reportedly claims that AMC broke the contract after trying to get more control over its sales.

Mobile movies
Under the new partnership, consumers can buy movie tickets to AMC Theatres from Fandango’s, Web site, mobile site and line of mobile applications.

The deal is meant to help AMC Theatres dig its claws further into digital ticket sales.

To purchase movie tickets from their smartphone, consumers can type http://www.fandango.com into their mobile browser.

Users can also use Fandango’s line of mobile apps to buy tickets. Fandango has apps for iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry, Palm Pre, iPad, Android-based tablets, Windows’ Slate tablet and the Barnes & Noble Nook devices.

Digital movies

Fandango has recently seen a substantial portion of its business and sales coming from mobile devices, making the channel an obvious place for a large cinema chain such as AMC to make a mobile footprint.

Fandango recently rolled out a mobile ticketing program to 1,000 partners across the country. Using the service, consumers can show a mobile bar code on their device to theater employees in lieu of a paper ticket (see story).

According to Fandango, of the consumers who are offered the mobile tickets in the select markets, up to 50 percent of users take advantage of the mobile ticketing services.

Additionally, Fandango claims that mobile sales increased 73 percent in 2011 year-over-year, showing how small items such as movie tickets are being embraced by consumers with mobile payments.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York 

Users can place bids on charity items by scanning a QR code

EBay has teamed up with nonprofit Make It Right to let consumers bid for auctioned products by scanning a QR code near the display with their mobile device.

Make It Right is auctioning off celebrity experiences and items at New York’s Chelsea Market from Feb. 9 – 12 to benefit New Orleans Lower 9th Ward. Anyone walking through the auction gallery can use a smarpthone to scan the QR codes appearing on the displays for the various items using the eBay mobile application to place a bid in real-time and track the auction’s progress.

“EBay’s mobile technology add a hands on element to Make It Right’s charity event, enabling attendees to participate in an interactive bidding and progress tracking process, real time, simply by scanning a dimensional QR code with the eBay mobile app,” said Amanda Miller, spokeswoman for eBay, San Jose, CA.

George Clooney’s scrubs
All of the proceeds from the auction will go to Make It Right.

Charity auction items will be featured in an interactive multimedia gallery exhibition located within New York’s Chelsea Market. Consumers walk through the gallery and see one-of-a-kind celebrity experiences and mementos to be auctioned off for charity on eBay Celebrity.

Mobile users who see an item they are interested in can scan the QR code found on the display for that item and place a bid or see the progress on the auction.

Auction items include a diverse range of rare collectibles and experiences from celebrities spanning sports, movies, television, music and pop culture.

Individual items on the auction block include a “30 Rock” set visit for four to meet Alec Baldwin, a set of scrubs from “ER” signed by George Clooney and the original cast members of the television show and a Zac Posen dress worn by Kim Kardashian on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”

Past efforts
In the past year, eBay has worked with other charities to integrate QR codes into giving efforts.

This past holiday eBay teamed up with Toys for Tots. EBay set up two physical shoppable windows located in New York and San Francisco that featured interactive store windows with popular toys.

Each toy signified different donation levels, from $2 to $25. Donations were made by downloading the eBay mobile app and scanning custom QR codes on virtual price tags using a mobile phone, making the windows come to life for those that donated.

EBay Celebrity was launched in November and provides a shopping destination that combines celebrity experiences, memorabilia and merchandise with philanthropic causes.

“The eBay Celebrity gallery event is leveraging our mobile technology portfolio that includes RedLaser scanning technology and eBay mobile listings for an interactive experience that’s easy for consumers and lets them stay on top of their bidding activity,” Ms. Miller said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

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Mobile commerce continues to gain traction among consumers and merchants, but have we reached the tipping point for mobile commerce transactions where they are as acceptable as standard Internet transactions?

It seems that recently there has been a noticeable influx of success stories and developments in the mobile payments space.

Indeed, within barely a week of launching its new mobile ordering platform, Domino’s Pizza generated $1 million in revenue and has been touted as a leading example for mobile commerce business strategies.

Based on recent success, the company’s goal of attaining 25 percent of its digital sales from portable devices does not seem that far off.

Similarly, the 2011 holiday season proved to be one of the most successful times in mobile commerce history, showing 18.3 percent of all traffic to online retail sites and 14.4 percent of all sales coming from a mobile device on Christmas Day, up from 8.4 percent traffic and 5.3 percent sales in 2010, according to IBM.

So, does this mean that we have reached a point where mobile payments have become the preferred method for consumers, or at the very least, as standard as card transactions?

Judging by the latest industry statistics from Forrester Research that predict mobile payments will become a $31 billion industry by 2016, it would seem that we are well on the way to ecommerce transactions on a mobile device being a significant revenue channel for retailers across a variety of industries.

For mobile commerce to truly take off, however, the benefits of buying on a mobile device have to outweigh the associated challenges and risks.

Usability issues
One of the biggest barriers to more widespread mobile commerce adoption is usability.

Thirty-nine percent of smartphone shoppers are currently frustrated by the length of the process when purchasing an item via their mobile device, according to our research.

Having too many steps to get to the final payment confirmation may even deter mobile shoppers from completing the transaction.

Similarly, 38 percent were found to be irritated by the amount of information that they needed to provide when making transactions on their smartphone and were frustrated by Web sites that were not yet mobile-friendly or available in app form.

In spite of these usability challenges, however, the community of shoppers willing to embrace mobile devices instead of a desktop or laptop for their purchasing is growing.

In fact, Mobio Identity Systems recently reported that 82 percent of survey respondents see themselves making a mobile payment within the next year.

Of course, if the ease of use for mobile transactions does not improve, this number could dwindle significantly as nearly 29 percent cite speed and simplicity as the most important factor for mobile payments.

Consumer demands for seamless and simple mobile commerce purchases are high because they are already used to easy shopping experiences online.

Therefore, for mobile commerce to truly take off, merchants need to apply the lessons that they have learned in the ecommerce arena and implement them in the mobile world. If merchants can accomplish this, they will be able to more easily tap into an increasingly lucrative channel ahead of their competitors.

Security concerns
In addition to usability concerns, another key, make-it-or-break-it issue for the mobile commerce industry, and top-of-mind for consumers, is security.

In the same Mobio study, security was recently ranked as the most important factor for making a mobile purchase among 73 percent of survey respondents, although an astonishing 94 percent of North Americans said they would have no problem making a mobile payment, if they knew it was secure.

In light of these findings, merchants need to carefully consider the security of their mobile commerce solution against overall usability.

Consumers want to have their cake and eat it too when it comes to payments, having a secure but simple transaction on any device. Merchants, however, are aware that different channels carry different fraud challenges.

The problem here is that traditional industry security methods, including the authentication tools VerifiedByVisa and MasterCard SecureCode, are very difficult to render on most mobile devices.

But, with all of the forecasted growth in the mobile commerce industry, merchants are understandably eager to provide consumers with a seamless transaction.

This catch-22 requires mobile commerce merchants to give more careful consideration to their fraud and security strategies.

Risk-screening tools can help alleviate such concerns by using environmental factors to screen transactions, including elements such as card issuing country, shopper IP address and device ID.

Additionally, companies such as CellPoint and Mobank offer solutions that enable authentication tools for mobile commerce, thereby providing a more secure transaction process on any smartphone and tablet device.

Convenience matters
For consumers, mobile commerce is all about convenience.

Rather than browsing product purchases in the evenings and on weekends, consumers are making buying decisions on the go.

And with the amount of time people spend on the go these days, whether going to and from work or riding public transportation around busy cities, this is a major area for growth.

However, if security concerns remain an issue, mobile commerce industry growth trajectories may be stalled.

As with any retail strategy, consumers lie at the heart of its success.

By combining the latest security strategies with mobile commerce platforms, merchants will have a solution that not only meets consumer desire for a simple process from purchase decision to completed transaction, but

one that will also address security concerns head on.

Designing such solutions from a consumer perspective will generate new, innovative and highly attractive solutions that will result in an increase in both mobile shopping and revenue for merchants across a wide variety of industries.

Gabriel Hopkins is head of ecommerce products at WorldPay, London. Reach him at gabriel.hopkins@worldpay.com. 

Target is making music sales the focus of the advertising campaign but is also promoting other entertainment-related products. The mobile ads are running on CBS’ mobile Web site.

“With the Grammy’s site being mobilized and an estimated three to four million consumers viewing the site along with an estimated 3,500 tweets per second at certain times throughout the show, the Target commerce-enabled ads make perfect sense with targeting the right demographic with products they will be looking for as and share with social media,” said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta.

Ms. Troutman is not affiliated with Target. She commented based on her expertise on the subject.

Target did not respond to press inquiries.

Mobile tunes
CBS is the network that is broadcasting the 54th Grammy Awards airing on Feb. 12.

Target has bought mobile ad inventory across CBS’ mobile site and Web site.

The ads promote albums from the musicians Adele and The Fray. Each ad features a picture of the artist and encourages users to tap to learn more.

Users who tap on the ads are redirected to Target’s mobile Web site, where they can learn more about the artist and the album.

Consumers can find product inventory by using location

Consumers can choose to either buy the album via the mobile site or find the item in-store. Music fans can type their ZIP code into their mobile device to find a nearby Target location.

Users can also share the albums via email, SMS and Twitter to friends and family.

The ads showcase popular music artists

Consumers can also read user reviews and add the item to their wish lists.

Music to my ears
The Grammy-themed ads are the latest advertising initiative from Target to bolster mobile and in-store sales.

Most recently, Target tapped mobile commerce-enabled ads to give mobile users a sneak peek at an upcoming three-day sale (see story).

The Target ads are an example of a mobile ad campaign that ties well with a publisher’s content.

Target is a sponsor of the Grammy Awards and with CBS airing the awards show, it makes sense for the retailer to place ads across CBS’ digital properties.

Additionally, by making the ads commerce-enabled, Target is able to capitalize on users who are likely interested in discovering and buying new music.

Adele is speculated to be a big winner at the Grammy Awards with six nominations, marking an opportunity for Target to drive sales of the album leading up to the show.

The ads for The Fray promote the band’s new album that is not available in-stores yet, which gives music fans an incentive to pre-order the album via mobile.

“If the mobile Web is properly set up, commerce from the PC site will be identical on the mobile Web with up-to-the minute pricing and promotions, along with a larger reach and frequency to the consumer audience,” Ms. Troutman said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York

The Macy’s One Day Sale event takes place online, in mobile and in-store on Feb. 8. There was also a preview day yesterday.

“Using SMS to promote a one day sale is an excellent use of Macy’s opted-in customer database,” said Doug Stovall, senior vice president of sales at Hipcricket. 

“Macy’s has been a leader in using creative campaigns like their Backstage Pass program to drive mobile interactions and loyalty,” he said. “This strategy shows that they are now taking the next step by offering steep discounts for those who act fast – one of the greatest benefits of mobile marketing.

Macy’s Inc. operates about 850 department stores in 45 states under the names of Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.

SMS deal
Consumers who are not opted in to the Macy’s SMS program can opt-in by texting to the short code 62297.

Once consumers opt-in they receive messages letting them know about any upcoming or current sales.

For this particular message, Macy’s is letting consumers know about its upcoming sale that features limited-time deals and free shipping.

The Macy’s SMS message

Additionally, there is a link within the text which leads consumers to the company’s mobile-optimized site.

Once users are at the Macy’s mobile site, they can shop red-hot deals and browse their favorite products.

Consumers can also shop the rest of the company’s inventory or use the search functionality at the top of the mobile site to narrow down their search if they are looking for something specific.

The mobile site also lets consumers find the nearest location where they can browse the sales items in-person.

Users can also use the Valentine’s Day gift guide to find gifts for their special someone.

Mobile effect
An SMS campaign such as this is an effective way to not only drive in-store traffic, but mobile traffic as well.

Macy’s is smart to keep its mobile database consumers informed about any upcoming sales and including a link that takes them to a mobile site which they can shop no matter where they are is effective.

“The immediacy of SMS is a perfect fit for one day sales and linking directly to the retailer’s mobile site offers customers multiple means of engagement and will likely result in higher sales both through the mobile site and in store,” Mr. Stovall said.

Universal Pictures ran a new trailer spot for its upcoming summer action-adventure film “Battleship.” The end of the spot featured a tag directing viewers to Fandango’s mobile apps, as well as its Web site http://www.fandango.com/battleship.

“It’s rare to see such extensive promotion across our site and mobile apps, but this was a rare opportunity for us to build a direct connection between a Super Bowl movie ad and engaged moviegoers,” said Harry Medved, spokesman for Fandango.

“Fandango has always been focused on creating excitement for upcoming movies and advance ticket sales,” he said. “By featuring a ‘call to action’ link on a hotly-anticipated Super Bowl ad, we’re not only helping start a conversation about movies but also encouraging film fans to take action and sign up for advance notification of ticket sales and showtimes.”

Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, is one of the six major American movie studios. Its main motion picture production/distribution arm is called Universal Pictures.

Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance with mobile ticket redemption capability at more than a thousand screens.

Mobile promotion
The 15-second Battleship-themed Fandango promotion ran during the pre-game hours of the Super Bowl.

The 15-second spots alerted viewers that a “battle is coming.”

The commercials also had instructions on how users could sign up for a FanAlert and enter for a chance to win five years’ worth of free movie tickets.

According to fandango, this is the first time the company has partnered with a major movie studio in an on-air trailer spot to directly boost advanced ticket sales.

To get the word out about the Super Bowl ad, Fandango used social media outreach to engage its 1 million-plus Facebook and Twitter fans.

The company also promoted the campaign across its site and its mobile apps.

Mobile ticketing
Fandango has been seeing a lot of success with its mobile applications and mobile ticket sales.

Last year, Mobile proved to be a key moviegoer choice with Fandango generating 20 percent of its summer movie tickets sales from the company’s mobile applications and optimized-site.

According to the company, Fandango set the record for the most mobile movie tickets sold during a summer movie season. Additionally, the company sold more mobile tickets for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2” than it has for any other film (see story).

Earlier this year, Fandango claimed that 50 percent of its movie fans are using its mobile ticketing after rolling out the program last year.

Fandango’s mobile ticketing is available theaters owned by Regal Entertainment Group, Hollywood Theaters and Reading Cinemas  in the United States. The quick growth of the program can be attributed to Fandango’s surge in mobile ticket sales in 2011, claiming that the company saw a 73 percent year-to-year increase in mobile ticket sales in 2011 (see story).

“We look forward to supporting all of our studio partners with on-air FanAlert promotional opportunities on more films in the future,” Mr. Medved said.”

Final Take
Universal’s Battleship Super Bowl spot