Is 2010 going to be the year women start shopping via iPhone? Previous research on female shoppers has indicated that while we love to “window shop” and of course view fashion and style content from a mobile device, we might not be quite as ready to actually make a purchase.
Bergdorf Goodman told PR Couture that “mobile technology and the iPhone in particular are becoming more and more integral to consumers’ daily life, so we believe it’s important for fashion brands to connect with customers wherever they are. We know [our customers] are active with mobile given that a growing number already access our site via their mobile device every day.”
Today they launched the Shoe Salon iPhone and iPod Touch application – which will feature a single shoe, every day, selected by the buying team. The featured shoe will initially only be available through the app or at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. If shoes are ordered through the app, Bergdorf Goodman will provide free expedited delivery. And while Bergdorf sees the app partially as a sales tool, they also are focused on “broadening awareness of the Shoe Salon, one of the most important categories Bergdorf Goodman is known for.”
In a smart twist on the traditional app launch, Bergdorf Goodman has partnered with City Harvest for a limited time and will make a $5 donation for every app download. City Harvest is the world’s first food rescue organization dedicated to feeding New York City’s hungry men, women and children.
In terms of social media integration, the app includes a convenient forward to a friend option and Bergdorf Goodman is featuring the app on their Facebook and Twitter pages. The hope is that customers that share the shoes with each other as well as the app itself.
As a quick aside, we loved the way this pitch came in – just a link to the press center where we could easily download the full release, images and a direct link to download the app. Perfect for print pubs! It would have been even better to have had instant links to their social media pages, a text based version of the release for easy blogging, and embeddable low-res images instead of hi-res tif files, but hey, it’s a great start! And they were extremely responsive when it came to requesting more information.
What do you think about this new mobile shopping trend? What are your favorite fashion apps?
