Supported by an in-store QR code campaign, shoe manufacturer Rockport drove a 350 percent mcommerce increase between Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year compared to last year.

The new site was designed to drive revenue, transactions and average order volume. Further intended to eliminate friction and provide a better experience for mobile users, the site, built by Unbound Commerce, is powered by an API-based integration with its Demandware ecommerce platform rather than responsive design.

“As smartphone adoption has surged, mobile commerce best practices have evolved at a blistering pace,” said Wilson Kerr, vice president of business development and sales at Unbound Commerce, Boston. “Rockport conducted a series of usability tests on their dedicated mcommerce site and identified friction points.

“They know their analytics well and took a proactive stance, asking for a new site specifically designed to eliminate these friction points and speed the path to purchase,” he said. “Elements of the old site design that worked well were maintained and several rounds of testing occurred during the build process.”

Serving the user
The redesigned site recorded an average sale increase of more than 60 percent between Black Friday and Cyber Monday compared to 2013. The total volume of orders for the big shopping weekend was also much higher versus 2013, which jumped 177.27 percent.

Rockport supported the redesign with a QR code campaign that allowed customers to scan an in-store display and launch commerce-enabled mobile landing pages using real customer reviews as the trigger for the engagement.

Unbound Commerce designed the landing pages to mimic the in-store call to action signage for a seamless interaction and fast path to purchase. Product options, such as size and color, were selected in the context of the landing page and then dropped in the mobile checkout flow.

Rockport believes its use of QR codes helped to bridge the gap between online and offline sales and is pleased with the numbers so far.

Noteworthy numbers
Optimizing for mobile has shown great results for other retailers.

For example, international retailer LamaLoLi, an online retailer of Disney, Star Wars and many other kids’ licensed apparel and accessory products, recently reported a significant increase in interaction rates and conversion following its launch of a mobile-optimized Web site.

When the retailer realized its email marketing efforts were being accessed primarily via mobile devices, it reached out to mobile commerce Web solutions provider JustDomobi to create the mobile-optimized site. Since the site was being opened so frequently on mobile, the retailer built up its mobile presence to attract more online business (see story).

Similarly, fashion brand Juicy Couture recently overhauled its ecommerce business with an eye toward mobile in light of the expectations of high-end shoppers, who are more commonly shopping on their mobile phones today.

Featuring key aspects such as mobile optimization and responsive Web design, Juicy’s new site is now compatible with mobile shoppers and utilizes tools such as live chat and swipe and zoom options. For brands with strong bricks-and-mortar roots, they can find a way to survive in a mobile centric world by optimizing their content to add a convenience for smartphone users (see story).

For Rockport, putting mobile first was worth it.

“Specific goals for key measurables like conversion rate, average order value, and total revenue were established and the build was back-timed to hit the big 2014 Black Friday to Cyber Monday weekend,” Mr. Kerr said. “Rockport supported the site re-launch with an innovative in-store QR code campaign, to involve their retail team and build a knowledge base around tracked product interactions and the link to mobile conversions, via landing pages purpose-built for the campaign.

“Even taking organic market-wide growth into account, the actual numbers blew even the stretch goals away,” he said. “A year over year, 350 percent revenue increase is unprecedented for an existing mobile site re-design and Rockport has been thrilled with the results.”

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York