Appoints social and mobile retail technology specialist and Wi-Fi provider to expand digital brand presence to new channels
Appoints social and mobile retail technology specialist and Wi-Fi provider to expand digital brand presence to new channels
Mamas & Papas has announced the appointment of retail technology specialists One iota to develop its e-commerce capabilities across new devices and channels to cater for mobile, tablet and Facebook shoppers.
The plans include an advanced mobile website that offers customers key functionality including access to the entire product range, locating their nearest store, reading customer reviews and ordering online.
Optimising mobile experience
The nursery brand said the mobile website development was the first step in a broader multichannel strategy which will also see the development of a tablet optimised website, Facebook commerce and an iPhone application over the next few months.
Looking to the future, Mamas & Papas stated that it has put further multichannel technology enabled plans in place to increase the ability of its digital offerings to make the purchasing process easier for parents. These plans include Wi-Fi enabled stores and richer information for customers via quick response (QR) codes.
The retailer has struck a deal with commercial Wi-Fi provider, The Cloud, which it added wouldenable customers to watch product videos, read customer reviews and view alternative colours or products, which are not currently on display instore.
Joining up digital journey instore
Rob Jennings, e-commerce director at Mamas & Papas, said 20% of website visitors currently access its site via mobile and that the company expects this trend to at least double in the next 12 months.
“In line with smartphone growth in the UK, we know that mobile sales will form a significant proportion of our sales in years to come; particularly as it is so relevant to our industry in which busy parents increasingly want their digital experience ‘on the go’ through devices that are suited around their lifestyle,” he commented.
The first components of Mamas & Papas’ multichannel commerce strategy are expected to go live early in 2012. The retailer said the roll out would continue in line with shoppers’ feedback and behaviour.
