Tag: e-commerce

Razorfish hired by Target to re-launch e-commerce arm

| December 6, 2012

 

Mobile Commerce Target hires Razorfish for e-commerceRazorfish selected to address growing need for mobile commerce services

Target, one of the largest retailers in the U.S., has been looking to engage mobile consumers in a more dynamic way recently. The company experienced promising results from its sales initiatives over the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, seeing a major uptick in mobile traffic and mobile sales. The company is now looking to overhaul its e-commerce business and has hired Razorfish, a digital interactivity agency and marketing firm. Razorfish will be responsible for revitalizing Target’s e-commerce division in the hopes of being more in line with the needs of mobile consumers.

Razorfish to help develop new mobile application and e-commerce platform for Target

Target selected Razorfish after having vetted the agency for several months, beginning in August of this year. Razorfish was able to beat out competition from 10 other agencies in order to land the deal with the major retailer. As such, Razorfish will work to re-launch Target.com for the PC, mobile, and tablet platforms. Part of this effort will include t he development of a mobile application that will help boost the mobile shopping experience in stores.

Target takes note of growing momentum behind mobile commerce

Though Target.com has not experienced any significant problems since being re-launched last year, the retailer is becoming more aware of the need to reach out to mobile consumers. Mobile commerce is becoming a powerful force in the U.S. market and has gained considerable momentum in the wake of the Thanksgiving shopping weekend. Target saw firsthand how powerful mobile commerce can be and is working to become more accommodating of mobile consumers through overhauling its e-commerce presence.

Retailer eyes QR codes

Target will also begin focusing more on QR codes in its physical stores as a way to provide mobile consumers with more robust service. These codes will be used to distribute information about certain products to interested consumers. The QR codes will also help supply consumers with deals and special offers. QR codes have long been considered a powerful tool in the mobile marketing space.

Mobile commerce sites slow to a crawl during holiday shopping

| December 3, 2012

 

Mobile Commerce Slow Mobile Shopping SitesMobile commerce may be a problem for site traffic

Mobile commerce had a strong showing over the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend. Mobile sales this year set a new standard for much of the retail industry and proved how powerful mobile commerce can really be. Retailers are expected to show more enthusiasm in mobile commerce due to the gains they saw during the holiday shopping weekend, but they may also have to fine tune their mobile shopping initiatives to account for higher levels of traffic.

Keynote shows average load time exceeds 18 seconds

Though a vast multitude of consumers took to their mobile devices to shop for the products they wanted, many saw mobile commerce platforms slow to a crawl. Keynote, a site monitoring and testing companies, notes that many e-commerce and mobile platforms experiences a dramatic slow down over the holiday shopping weekend. This slow down was especially pronounced on Cyber Monday, with consumers flocked to retail sites to buy products. According to Keynote, the average load time for a mobile retail site on Cyber Monday reached 18 seconds — twice as slow as normal load times.

Consumers not apt to wait during holiday shopping

While 18 seconds may not seem like a significant amount of time, many consumers correlate slow load times with poor service. Though retailers have been investing heavily in mobile commerce, much of the effort these companies have been putting into the sector revolves around engaging consumers. As such, relatively few retailers were prepared for the massive amount of traffic they would experience on their mobile sites. Retailers may have to rethink  their approach to mobile commerce if they want to continue engaging mobile consumers.

Retailers may need to take new approach to their mobile sites

Mobile commerce is growing quickly, putting major strain on mobile websites that are designed to serve consumers. Keynote suggests that there may be a simple solution. Retailers must develop better mobile websites and adopt more rigorous testing procedures to ensure that their sites can handle high levels of traffic. Without adequate testing, a slow-loading website could be enough to have consumers looking elsewhere for service.