Shopmox is a new iPad app that enables users to shop multiple retail brands while taking advantage of the device’s capabilities with features such as swipe to shop. Retailers currently available on the app include Anthropologie, Gap, Banana Republic, Urban Outfitters, Fossil, Old Navy, Gap Kids and others.

“There’s been a dramatic shift toward shopping on the iPad,” said Kevin Lister, CEO of Shopmox, Toronto, Canada. “For retailers, it is obviously an enormous challenge to deal with the pact of change that is going on.

“We felt there was a need to help retailers get their presence quickly on the iPad,” he said.

“The investment that it would take for a retailer to create something similar on their own would be significant.”

Swipe to shop
The user experience is built around swiping and tapping, with users able to flip through the pages for a particular store and see high resolution images throughout. The app takes advantage of the iPad’s retina display by enabling users to pinch and zoom for an up-close look at an item.

The screen swipes from left to right, showcasing all the products in a specific category from a specific retailer. Users can also click on the bar menu at the top of the screen to see a drop down menu of other categories and click on one to switch.

There is also a My Daily Shopmox section, which features a drop down menu of categories such as “new today,” “on sale today,” “new this week” and “on sale this week.”

Individual items feature a description and price. Users can also read reviews, view the item on the retailer’s Web site, add it to a wish list and add it to a shopping cart. Each retailer’s experience on the app is integrated with that merchant’s Web site so that users are taken to the Web site when they are ready to check-out.

“The stores are presented as one continuous stream so users can flip through an entire store in five minutes,” Mr. Lister said. “On a Web site, there is a lot of navigating to move between pages and all those high res images would bog down a site.”

Daily deals
The app, which was launched last week, was designed to help retailers compete with flash sales sites such as Gilt and Fab by providing users with daily new product and sales information.

Consumers who download the app receive push notifications everyday showcasing what is new from the retailers they are following. As the app evolves, the notifications will take on more a personalized flavor with recommendations based on the user’s shopping activity.

“We wanted to create more of a habit where you would use the app frequently and created a personal product feed,” Mr. Lister said.

“The most obvious benefit to retailers is that it gets them on the iPad in a very visually attractive way quickly,” he said.

“The way the app has been designed is to really highlight the products and the brands.”