Mobile Commerce

Category: Mobile Commerce

Mobile commerce boosted by “What’s Hot” at Deb Shops

Lucy | July 19, 2013

The retailer saw a boost in its revenue by 170 percent following the addition of this site feature.

A new “What’s Hot” feature on the Deb Shops website is proving to be extremely successful in mobile commerce as using the button shows which products are trending on Facebook and Pinterest.

For many teens, knowing which types of clothing are hot and which ones are not are an important priority.

When Deb Shops took that into account by adding the “What’s Hot” button on its mobile commerce website, it made a considerable impact on its revenues. In fact, according to David Cost, the company’s president of e-commerce and digital marketing, when compared to the shoppers who do not use that button, those who do use it are 20 percent more likely to place an item into their shopping carts. This has brought about an increase in revenue by 170 percent.

This has been an extremely meaningful mobile commerce strategy for the retailer.

Mobile Commerce - Deb Shops Cost explained that “For a retailer like us that has a very broad product offering, to get customers quickly to relevant products is important, especially on a mobile device.” The retailer currently has over 30,000 products available for sale in its catalog online, and over mobile commerce.

Deb Shops first opened its mobile commerce website in April 2012, added Cost. Since that time, the traffic from smartphone users has exploded. By the end of 2011, it was making up 15 percent of the total web traffic to the site. A year after that, it had grown to 40 percent. Today, it has reached over 50 percent of the site’s traffic.

This convinced the retailer to redesign its mobile commerce website, placing a greater focus on improvements to the navigation and search features of the site. BloomReach Corp was the technology chosen by the retailer for this purpose. That company provides online hosted software that draws all of the information about the products that are being posted and talked about by consumers over Facebook and Pinterest from Deb Shops and posts it for shoppers to be able to view for themselves.

Mobile security threat is shaping up in fake apps

Dan Gendro | July 18, 2013

False Android applications are becoming much more common in official marketplaces.

When it comes to mobile security, malware and other related issues can appear in some of the places that you’d least expect them, including many seemingly harmless apps that can bring about a world of problems to their users.

Although many device users feel safe when they stick to official marketplaces, they may not be as secure as they think.

In the universe of fake Android apps, it used to be the case that they were primarily found in sketchy underground forums. However, there are also a swath of “unauthorized” applications appearing in official marketplaces and that are leading to mobile security issues for those who download and install them.

These mobile security threats aren’t typically malware in the most traditional sense of the word.

Android Mobile Security - fake apps on the rise Though some may contain an Android Trojan virus that will download additional apps into a device or alter its normal operation, others can slip in undetected and collect the user’s personal data, only to send it away to remote servers of the developer. Many of them are using the old “bait and switch” technique that users often experience when they feel that they’re downloading one kind of app only to discover that they have received something primarily designed to keep a ton of ads constantly being displayed or that the home screen is changed around.

Unless absolutely necessary, it’s wise not to check off the option for the device to install apps from “unknown sources” on an Android device. This can create a tremendous number of mobile security problems if it is not done. Though it is necessary to check that box when testing an app that is currently under development and that is legitimate, it is extremely unwise to take that step in order to try to obtain pirated content. In those cases, you never know what you’re actually installing onto your device.

It is also a good idea for mobile security to check the developer, as a number of apps are being produced that look legitimate, but that are clearly not from official sources. For instance, there are dozens of games that look like they have Disney titles, but where Disney is not the developer. Moreover, it is important to note that BlackBerry is now the company name, not RIM, as unethical developers are trying to trick people who were not aware of the change.