Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sears Adds Appliances, In-Store Pickup Features To Sears2go Mobile App

Written by Amanda Ferrante
Two months after unveiling its Sears2go mobile commerce website, Sears has added the capability for customers to browse, purchase and schedule delivery or pickup for major home appliances like refrigerators or washing machines, all on their mobile devices.

Powered by Usablenet, the Sears2Go mobile commerce web site is the first on-the-go technology offered by a U.S. retailer which pairs mobile commerce with services such as in-store pickup. The new application is designed to cater to consumers who use their mobile devices to browse the web for convenience while they are out of the home.

"There is an increasing population of "people on the go" that have smart phones and Internet plans," said Ravi Acharya, director, online business unit at Sears. "Daily commuters, for example, are a sample demographic where users can find and buy products on the go and pick up their purchases in stores on their way home."

The full appliance product line available at Sears2go joins a variety of other product categories, including apparel, electronics and computers, fitness and sports, jewelry, tools, toys and games. All categories support purchase and scheduling home delivery or in-store pickup through the mobile site. After purchasing an item on Sears2go, shoppers picking up their order in store will receive a text message alert when their merchandise is ready for pick-up. Sears2go is the first on-the-go mobile e-commerce site offered by a US retailer that pairs mobile commerce with Sears' best-in-class in-store pickup or delivery.

The new mobile component is part of Sears' overall strategy developed from witnessing the buzz and interest around mobile commerce. "We have been watching industry trends and testing various mobile capabilities for the past 2 years, launching various SMS based alerts, deals and marketing campaigns," says Acharya. "Therefore, moving into the mobile commerce space was a natural evolution as we noticed significant customer interests. Our key value proposition is to provide another convenient mechanism for customers to interact with us and the mobile phone is a very personal device that customers can use at any time of their choice to engage with us."

"The comprehensive catalog of products that Sears now offers on its mobile site delivers huge value in convenience to customers on-the-go," said Nick Taylor, President of Usablenet. Usablenet Mobile is a fully managed service that leverages the features and functionality of a company's existing Web site and extends it to all mobile devices worldwide in less than six weeks, requiring no client IT or Web design resources.

After purchasing an item on Sears2go, shoppers picking up their order in store will receive a text message alert when their merchandise is ready for pick-up. The mobile application also allows consumers to mix and match orders, choose different fulfillment options for different products. For example, if one item from a shopping list is available for delivery, but another is not currently in-stock, a text message will alert when the store has the product available.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Well, as the development of household appliances, making them cheaper in the first place. Remember how the microwave oven used to pay for a few years ago? Yes, it's something that goes in our favor. Another thing that goes well with the interests of our devices on the market.

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Maddison Marsh said...

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