Genesco Inc. has debuted a mobile Web store for its Journeys apparel retail brand and sister brands Journeys Kidz and Shi by Journeys.

The retailer tapped Virid, an interactive company that designs, builds and manages online retail operations for brands, to white-label its new service that enables retailers to offer their customers a shopping experience through their mobile device. Journeys was the first brand to deploy Virid’s marketAgility Mobile Solution.

“Journeys has a seven-plus-year successful relationship with Virid, which provides Web site design and development services,” said John Tighe, director of ecommerce at Genesco Retail, Nashville, TN. “Virid’s mobile platform allows us to utilize a single content management system to maintain both our HTML and mobile site.

“Virid’s knowledge of Journeys enables them to anticipate issues that another provider might not expect,” he said. “The purpose of launching the mobile site is to give our customers access to Journeys wherever they might be.”

Journeys, a subsidiary of Genesco, is a teen specialty retail giant, with more than 1,000 stores in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and most recently Canada.

The retailer’s core demographic is fashion-savvy guys and girls ages 13-22.

Journeys reaches its customers through a mobile Web site, catalog, national advertising, strategic cross-promotions, social media and an annual music and action sports tour, the Journeys Backyard BBQ.

Mobile Journeys
The Journeys mobile store considers bricks-and-mortar relationships by offering a store locator based on ZIP code or GPS location and offers shoppers the same coupons and incentives they would receive from the wired Web site.

The store also includes other key features such as wish lists, product search, order tracking and the ability to access the same personal account information that customers access in all of the other Journeys retail channels.

Going mobile is the logical and necessary next step for retailers like Journeys.

“Our customers deserve and expect to have what they want, when they want it, wherever they might be,” Mr. Tighe said. “The mobile site helps Journeys provide that for them.

“In addition to other site functionality, the mobile site will allow our customers to purchase products via their mobile device, find product information or locate their nearest store,” he said. “Journeys plans to continue to introduce new functionality as applicable.”

Mobile commerce represents a major shopping channel and is projected to experience tremendous growth in the next year, rising at the rate of double and triple digits, according to Virid.

For Journeys, with its young demographic and extremely high percentage of mobile adoption among its existing consumers, going mobile is an important part of its ongoing practice of staying in tune with its customers’ needs and desires.

Shoppers benefit from similar functionality and identical product availability regardless of whether they are shopping through Journeys’ Web site or conducting a transaction on their mobile device, according to Virid.

Journeys plans to leverage all forms of media to inform the public about the mobile site.

This includes print advertisements, receipt messages, email, homepage messaging on Journeys.com, radio and catalog.

“Virid helps Journeys address the challenge of keeping pace with the fast-growing Internet and mobile landscape,” Mr. Tighe said. “Their development team has a strong background in the Journeys business and continues to work with Journeys as an extension of our team to improve our overall business objectives.

“The mobile extension of the MarketAgility platform simplified the process of going mobile,” he said. “Being able to re-purpose existing digital assets and information through a single content management platform has greatly simplified the process of launching the Journeys mobile site.”