In a reflection of shoppers’ demands for easy-to-use shopping applications, JCPenney has simplified browsing and checking out while making its latest omnichannel service – Buy Online, Pick Up in Store Same Day – available to users.

As consumers get comfortable with shopping on mobile devices, they are looking for more sophisticated, streamlined experiences that help them quickly find what they are looking for and make a purchase. JCPenney recognizes the importance of mobile shoppers and wants to ensure they have a positive experience with its app as the retailer aims to reignite sales, which have been weak this year.

“Rather than brand new features, the update was focused on redesigning the app to offer a cleaner look and feel,” said Kate Coultas, senior manager of corporate communications and public relations at JCPenney.

“The new design allows customers to more easily navigate the site and checkout faster, track their orders and access their JCPenney account from any device,” she said.

“Furthermore, just in time for the back-to-school season, we are launching Buy Online, Pick Up in Store Same Day to all stores so you will now also see this feature on our mobile shopping experiences.”

A new look
The look of the JCPenney app has been completely refreshed with the promise of making it easy for users to find the items they want.

Users can also now buy items in the app and pick them up the same day from a nearby store.

Such omnichannel services are becoming a must-have for stores with bricks-and-mortar locations, in part because mobile makes it convenient to make a purchase when users know they will be in a certain part of town and pick up their items once they arrive.

The challenge for JCPenney and other retailers lies in ensuring that shoppers can quickly get their items once they arrive at the store.

The JCPenney app also offers easy access to coupons and offers. Coupons can be used in the app or shown to an in-store associate to apply to a purchase.

With Snap2Shop, users can scan bar codes to learn more about a product or take a picture of a favorite item and find similar products at JCPenney.

Shopping apps improve
National retail chains continue to focus on improving their shopping apps.

Target recently made the in-store shopping experience easier and faster for customers using the Cartwheel application via an update that includes a store map highlighting products with coupons available as well as store-specific deals (see story).

In a significant enhancement to Macy’s smartphone application, it now boasts an in-store mode, creating a destination for on-premise shoppers and playing catch up with retailers such as Walmart (see story).

This spring, JCPenney started offering in-application purchases for major appliances in select markets, boosting the chain’s efforts to lure back customers by reintroducing a long-absent product category to mobile for the first time (see story).

“We know more and more customers are using their smartphones while shopping in the store,” Ms. Coultas said. “With our app, customers can easily access JCPenney coupons, as well as browse products and connect with their JCPenney Rewards.”