The company is using Unity Mobile’s Web service, cross-platform applications and SMS marketing. The Shabby Apple application extends all content and commerce operations from the retailer’s mobile site.

“We think this is where ecommerce will take place in the future,” said Athelia Woolley, owner of Shabby Apple, New York. “With the new iPad and the current abundance of smartphones, most people have the Web on the go and we wanted to take advantage of this.

“Customers not only can browse through our products wherever they go, they can also now purchase our products via PayPal right from their phone,” she said.

Mobile commerce is on the rise and consumers are increasingly accessing the Internet via their mobile phones.

Retailers must take note of this.

“We have the ability to easily create the environment for mobility,” said Daniel West, CEO of Unity Mobile, Orlando, FL. “The most important thing that we’re focusing on is private widgets.

“With this platform, we are able to deliver this experience across any operating system or device,” he said. “When you use our platform, you’re leveraging your existing ecommerce and customer information.

“We believe mcommerce is going to be really big.”

Retail on-the-go
Shabby Apple saw that converting mobile traffic to sales is an important key to growth.

The company’s mobile site can be viewed on all devices.

Additionally, consumers can download an application that is available on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Android devices.

Using the platform, Shabby Apple can send alerts for sales, catalog updates and other relevant information for its consumers.

“With the mobile site, consumers can browse all of our products, both reading about them and seeing them,” Ms. Woolley said. “They can then purchase them right there.”

Here is a screen grab of the mobile site where consumers can view the shopping categories:

Here is a screen grab of the mobile site where consumers can make a purchase:

Mobile platform
Unity also released private widgets that provide everything needed to extend all content and commerce operations across mobile.

The company lets businesses leverage content management products such as ASP.net, Drupal, Joomla and commerce services such as PayPal and Google Checkout.

“There is a need to getting into the mobile commerce game fast and easy and inexpensive,” said Mr. West. “The ability to enable commerce is just one of many capabilities that we offer.

“We provide marketers with everything they need to create and manage all of their mobile needs, whether it’s for their WAP, an application or SMS,” he said.

“Mobile commerce is a big thing that businesses need.”