Shopkick hopes to deepen the social shopping experience via the iPad app. Couch commerce is growing and many marketers are jumping on the opportunity to bolster sales through smartphone and tablet devices.

“Last October we modified our app to enhance the at-home experience,” said Cyriac Roeding, co-founder/CEO of Shopkick, Palo Alto, CA. “We introduced lookbooks, so shoppers can browse and plan shopping trips in the app before even leaving for the store.

“So far, users are looking at more than 100 products per day, compared to five to eight products per day prior to the re-launch,” he said. “The release of an iPad is just the extension of our vision to provide a multi-screen approach to give people a way to shop whenever they want, wherever they are.

“The iPad gives users a beautiful interface with more space to plan out their next shopping trip and save products they love for their next trip. We will remind you right when you walk into the store the next time of the items you’ve loved on the couch at home.”

Mobile interaction
According to Mr. Roeding, by offering consumers more ways to browse and select items in-app that they intend to purchase, shopkick will be able to stay with them throughout the entire path to purchase – thus driving more informed shoppers to partner stores.

Through the iPad app, consumers can browse timely lookbooks and by doing so, shoppers will be able to accumulate kicks, shopkick’s cross-retailer reward currency.

Consumers can redeem kicks for items such as gift cards, merchandise and trips.

Last year, Shopkick hired Alexis Rask to help further the company’s position in mobile commerce, as well as create targeted and effective in-application marketing campaigns.

Ms. Rask serves as shopkick’s vice president and general manager of brand partnerships. Additionally, the executive was brought on to help in developing relationships with brands (see story).

Most recently, shopkick redesigned its mobile app to not only reward consumers when they walk into their favorite retail locations, but also span the entire shopping experience all the way from the couch to the physical store (see story).

“Making the physical world more exciting through mobile is what shopkick is about,” Mr. Roeding said. “A multiscreen approach is essential for the future success of the in-store shopping experience.

“The average American spends 127 minutes a day in mobile apps – they interact with mobile device much more than any other medium,” he said.

“Since smartphones are the only interactive tools consumers carry with them in a non-interactive environment, like a store, and tablets have becoming the go-to device at home, linking the two is a crucial component in how to influence behavior all the way from the couch to the cash register.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York