Apparel manufacturer and retailer Joe Fresh has taken its blog into mcommerce to capitalize on consumer interest in editorial content related to fashion and the convenience of mobile shopping.

The apparel brand redesigned its blog for mobile while introducing its new  ‘Shop the Look’ feature to drive sales through a seamless editorial experience. Readers of the Joe Fresh blog are now able to shop the outfits seen in any post though its Shop the Look links, which takes users directly to the Joe Fresh mobile and desktop retail site.

“The idea behind a shoppable blog is to fuse the digital experience for the brand from the direct eco nerve site to the editorial blog,” said Rony Zeidan, founder and creative director at RO New York, the developer behind the redesign. “Optimizing the experience for mobile allows for a better ease of navigation and optimization for ease of viewing.”

Fresh design
While consumers are less inclined to read brand-generated blogs and lean towards more authentic, user-created content, Joe Fresh makes a good case for readers to engage. The blog shares posts featuring various professionals in the fashion journalism world such as executives from Vogue and Galmour.

The mobile site also shares posts showcasing DIYs including its merchandise and contests to win Joe Fresh apparel and accessories. These article examples can draw in readers with big name professionals, interest in DIY and the chance to win prizes.

To purchase merchandise from outfits featured in these posts, Joe Fresh includes a Shop the Look button within each post. Users scroll over the Shop the Look link and apparel and accessories showed in the post will pop-up.

Shoppers click on the item they are interested in and are directed to the Joe Fresh Web site, where they are able to purchase the piece and are also given suggestions for related future purchases.

It is important for brands such as Joe Fresh to extend into various channels in which they can drive sales.  The more shoppable efforts available to consumers, the more sales will increase.

Developing the blog for mobile increases the volume of readers and potential shoppers it will reach, in turn increasing the chances of converging sales. Mobile increases these chances by allowing consumers to access the site at any place and any time.

Integrating these links through mobile and desktop allows for a seamless shopping and reading experience for customers. The least number of steps it takes for consumers to reach the end of the shopping experience is, the more likely they are to complete a sale.

The direct links induce more impulse buying for consumers.

This redesign is likely a response to the brands decrease of physical in-store real estate. Recently, JC Penney and the brand came to an agreement to pull Joe Fresh merchandise from the department store.

Joe Fresh is focusing on building its standalone retail strategy and attempts to attract more customers to its own stores and online shop. The shoppable blog coincides with this new outlook.

Mobile and social importance
Updating a brand Web site to accommodate mobile is essential to surviving the digital age. For instance, Motel 6 saw conversion rates for mobile booking jump 21 percent over the past year, thanks to the brand’s decision to optimize the checkout experience by introducing a new site with responsive Web design (see more).

Fashionable apparel and accessories retailer Hennes & Mauritz, commonly known as H&M, took a similar approach as Joe Fresh by boosting sales with curated lists of trending items in the form of a blog post on social media, playing on consumers’ love of pictures and snackable content (see more).

“We live in a world where everything is adaptable and customized and people surf easily between Facebook, Instagram, blogs and ecommerce sites,” Mr. Zeidan said. “All those portals are mobile optimized so for a seamless experience the blogs should be as well

“The shoppable blog offers customers the editorial experience of seeing the clothes in real context and that is a big plus when making a purchase decision,” he said.

Final take
Brielle Jaekel is editorial assistant at Mobile Commerce Daily