Marketing design elements of

mobile fashion retail apps

Victoria Magrath and Helen McCormick
Department of Textiles and Paper, School of Materials,
The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Abstract
Purpose Whilst some may argue that e-commerce design literature can be applied to the designing
of mobile commerce channels, it is an assumption that may come at the expense of the retailer. The
purpose of this paper is to identify which marketing design elements could be integrated within a
retailers mobile strategy and suggest the importance of empirical testing. An academic or practitioner
must primarily understand the abundance of marketing tools that can be integrated into a mobile
strategy before they can begin to investigate the consumer effects.
Design/methodology/approach A literature review of online and mobile design elements is
undertaken, in order to develop and illustrate a holistic framework of stimuli for commercial and
academic appreciation. Although literature regarding the variety of marketing design elements online
is profuse, a holistic framework currently does not exist, an absence that this paper fulfils.
Findings The paper collates and identifies 18 individual marketing design stimuli classified within
four stimulus categories relating to their purpose and form.
Originality/value Literature concerning e-commerce design and strategy is currently prevalent;
however, due to the immaturity of mobile commerce, literature is deficient concerning the strategic
design and implications of mobile applications. Although 68.2 billion was spent online in 2011,
mobile commerce sales represented less than 5 per cent, highlighting an immediate requirement for
research into how such sales could be improved.
Keywords Mobile communications, Mobile commerce, Mobile design, Mobile applications, Fashion,
Marketing, Visual elements, Stimulus-organism-response, Visual design, Online marketing,
Consumer behaviour
Paper type Conceptual paper
1. Introduction
There are now twice as many mobile broadband subscriptions worldwide than fixed
broadband (ITU World Telecommunication, 2011). That in theory suggests that
twice as many people can potentially access the mobile internet, than utilise their
home computer to access the World Wide Web. With such a rise in mobile internet
acceptance, growing 45 per cent over the last four years (ITU World
Telecommunication, 2011), retailers are in a position to choose from a variety of
successful retail channels to access and market directly to their consumers.
Of all of the retail marketing outlets, the internet is the most accessible and global.
Within the 70 per cent of the global population that have access to the internet, 90 per
cent are choosing to purchase (Mintel, 2010b). The internet allows consumers to
purchase frequently, at any time and unobserved (Kukar-Kinney et al., 2009),
characteristics that have enabled the online market to grow by 150 per cent since 2005
(Mintel, 2010a). However, it is the expanding growth of the mobile internet that is of
greatest current concern, with global smartphone sales growth figures of 74 per cent in
the second quarter of 2011 (Gartner, Inc., 2011), and mobile internet users now reaching
1.2 billion (ITU World Telecommunication, 2011). It is therefore vital that retail
marketers manage and design a mobile marketing strategy that can successfully take
advantage of the rapid expansion of the ubiquitous selling channel.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/1361-2026.htm
Received 18 May 2012
Revised 11 September 2012
Accepted 25 November 2012
Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management
Vol. 17 No. 1, 2013
pp. 115-134
rEmerald Group Publishing Limited
1361-2026
DOI 10.1108/13612021311305173
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design elements
However, although many academics have explored the online environment in terms
of the effects of marketing, stimuli, design, information, and consumer motivations
and emotions (e.g. Kim et al., 2011; Park and Lennon, 2009), none have yet published
research concerning the effects of mobile application (app) marketing design. It is
necessary for practitioners and academics alike to understand how mobile and online
consumers may differ, in order to select and research the most appropriate marketing
tools for either channel. Agreeably, Bauer et al. (2005) suggest that the implications
of mobile commerce (m-commerce) have yet to be comprehended and research into
m-commerce is essential as to gain an insight into how to utilise the technology most
successfully. Due to the differences in mobile and laptop screen sizes, internet
speed issues or even location usage, it cannot be assumed that the mobile
consumer will encompass the same motivations, expectations and behaviours as
the online consumer.
This article identifies the marketing design elements or stimuli within the mobile
app environment, offering a holistic framework that can be utilised by practitioners
and academics for empirical research or consultation. Literature is gathered primarily
from an online perspective for two reasons. First, m-commerce design literature is in
its infancy and will therefore not provide enough information to develop a thorough
framework of design elements. Second, a retailers online environment and design
elements can be transferred to a mobile format, therefore making the majority of
marketing design elements exploitable for mobile usage. Yet, which design elements
should be utilised for mobile and for what reason? In order to answer such an issue, it
is paramount to recognise each of the marketing design elements before empirical
testing can commence (Eroglu et al., 2001). Alike to Ha et al. (2007) whom developed a
taxonomy of online visual merchandising display methods for testing, this article
develops a framework of online/mobile marketing design tools whose effects can be
studied empirically.
2. Relevant literature
2.1 Online marketing
Businesses implement online marketing strategies to achieve their marketing
objectives (Chiang, 2012). Generic online marketing strategies could include search
marketing, display advertising, e-mail marketing and affiliate marketing (The
Economist Intelligence Unit, 2006). Additionally, it could also include marketing efforts
within web sites such as visual merchandising (Ha and Lennon, 2010), sales promotion
(Chiang, 2012) and social media (Mangold and Faulds, 2009).
This article focuses solely on the marketing and visual design of a fashion retailers
mobile app (often seen as synonymous with that of online visual merchandising)
merchandise presentation, site design and graphics (Ha and Lennon, 2010). The online
retailer is able to visually portray their brand, personality and identity via these visual
design stimuli. By doing so, they are able to impact upon the consumers emotional
response, behavioural reaction and hedonic experience (Kim and Lennon, 2010).
Literature concerning online visual merchandising stimuli and their effects is
becoming highly saturated. Academics have tested the effects of visual design stimuli
online such as the brand name (Shukla, 2009; Ruparelia et al., 2010), layout (Harris and
Goode, 2010), personalisation (Da Silva and Alwi, 2008), product information (Ha and
Lennon, 2010) and product imagery (Ha and Lennon, 2010) as examples. However,
m-commerce literature of the same theme is scarce and a comprehensive view of online
retail design stimuli in a singular research article is also lacking.
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When the brick and mortar retailer began to move online, it was found that they
could not merely transfer their traditional marketing methods, merchandising
techniques and service to create a parallel online environment (Rafiq and Fulford,
2005). Offering a service improvement, extending their product ranges, providing
better value and increasing promotional activities (Rafiq and Fulford, 2005) were all
undertaken in a bid to target a new consumer market. In the same way therefore,
it cannot be assumed that the online retailer can merely transfer its environment to a
mobile format without first evaluating how and why. What services should they be
providing? How should they appear? How can services be improved? What type of
service does the mobile consumer require and for what purpose? These hypothetical
examples demonstrate only a handful of queries a mobile developer might enquire.
2.2 M-commerce and the mobile app
M-commerce allows consumers to browse and purchase via mobile devices (Yeh and Li,
2009). E-commerce takes place on a device that provides access to the internet, most
commonly a personal computer (Yang, 2012); the consumer is able to purchase via a
retailers electronic store. M-commerce alternatively takes places on a mobile device,
allowing users access to the internet and information, equivalent to the experience
of a laptop computer (Aldas-Manzano et al., 2009). When mobile technologies improved
to provide mobile phones with broadband capabilities, the vision to take the internet
with you for any time or place became a reality.
The mobile app, otherwise known as the native app, offers a convenient, user-
friendly way to browse and purchase from a brand (Grotnes, 2009) and can be accessed
via smartphones and tablet computers. It is one of three mobile channel options for a
retailer, alongside the mobile web site (Wong, 2012) (the online web site viewed on the
mobile browser), and the web app (Goldman, 2010). The web app is the retailers web
site, accessed via the mobile browser which will have been formatted for mobile usage
(Goldman, 2010). Native and web apps can provide one click navigation and an
enjoyable shopping experience in comparison to several clicks and textual entry via the
unoptimised mobile web site (Wisniewski, 2011; Lu and Su, 2009).
The native app (Wong, 2012) is downloaded fromthe mobile application store by the
user, offering a condensed and mobile-optimised retail store, which depending on the
retailer may be transactional or non-transactional. The application store is a database
of available apps that allows the user to discover, download and install new apps onto
their device (Wong, 2012). In March of 2012, there were 500,000 apps available for the
iPhone alone, with downloads far outreaching 25 billion ( Jacobs, 2012).
For some retailers, sales via mobile devices have seen a 320 per cent year-on-year
increase (IMRG, 2011a). With 4.2 million consumers visiting retail mobile web sites and
nearly a third of mobile shoppers engaging with retailers via their app (IMRG, 2011b),
the growth of m-commerce acceptance is becoming very apparent. Recent figures have
shown that 11 per cent of mobile users have used an app to buy clothing and
accessories (PayPal, 2011). In the last quarter of 2011, UK mobile sales reached 5 per
cent of online sales, rising from 0.4 per cent two years previous (Whiteaker, 2012).
3. Products and services m-marketing design framework
The online environment offers retailers a perfect opportunity to utilise interactive
and personalised marketing tools (Cyr et al., 2008). Businesses utilise marketing
processes to create and maintain value, expectations and relationships with consumers
via their products and services, in a way that benefits their organisation
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(Boone and Kurtz, 2011). Yet, what product and services marketing processes or
elements are available to the organisation to influence their mobile consumer and
which should be used for mobile?
The visual design and layout of a web site often consists solely of visual imagery
and textual content (Cyr and Trevor-Smith, 2004); visual and written information
(Mikhailitchenko et al., 2009). In fact, our brains are wired to process visuals, text and
audio: what we see, read or hear simultaneously (Cisco, 2008). Due to this, marketers
are able to utilise visuals and text concurrently to design a more persuasive marketing
message. However, if used individually, it is the purpose of the imagery or text that is
of importance to its marketing objective.
Through the acknowledgement of online literature regarding product and
services marketing elements, it became apparent that four areas were of particular
significance: multimedia product viewing, informative content, product promotions
and consumer-led interactions.
3.1 Multimedia product viewing
Product viewing has been classified as an e-marketing design tool within the work of
McCormick and Livett (2012). Kim and Lennon (2010, p. 414) similarly refer to the
displaying of apparel products online as product view presentation methods.
It relates to the consumers ability to view the product offerings of the retailers
online store via multimedia features. These can include photography and graphics,
multimedia videos or the utilisation of image interactivity functions such as
zoom, rotation and catwalk videos on individual product pages (Kim et al., 2007;
McCormick and Livett, 2012).
3.2 Product promotion
Sales promotion is listed as one of the six primary communication elements within the
promotional mix (Chaffey and Smith, 2008). It centres upon the promotion of products
and reduction of product prices in order to encourage purchase intentions and boost
sales (Tong et al., 2012). The promotion acts as a persuasive incentive to purchase the
product (Park and Lennon, 2009), therefore leading to the amendment of sales
promotion to product promotion, for the context of fashion retail literature. However,
whereas multimedia product viewing is principally visual, product promotions often
consist of both visual and textual information in order to create a more persuasive
and powerful message.
3.3 Consumer-led interactions
In addition to visual elements that either display or promote the products, the retailer
can furthermore offer influential visual aids that allow the consumer to interact with
the app. Functional symbol keys and drop down menus, for example, are employed to
aid the consumers experience and service, allowing the user to lead their own retailer
interactions. Intuitive personalisation features, either visual or textual such as product
recommendations (Lee et al., 2011; Ranganathan and Ganapathy, 2002) are also guided
by the users interactions with the app and its products. The aids do not necessarily
display or promote the products, but allow user control over the app and a personalised
experience. Due to this, such visual elements are classified within the category of
consumer-led interactions.
Consumer-led interactions, are defined as the consumers personal interaction with
the web site/mobile apps design stimuli and the retailer (Yoon et al., 2008). If the
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consumer has personal control over how they access the information or content and/or
benefit from an interactive experience with the retailer and the site, then they are
engaging in interactivity and consumer-controlled interactions (Lee et al., 2011). By
incorporating interactivity, customer satisfaction is increased (Dholakia and Zhao,
2009) and it is suggested that the retailer is able to begin building and enhancing the
individual buyer-seller relationship (Feinberg and Kadam, 2002).
3.4 Informative content
A fourth category takes a textual form. Informative content consists of readable text,
written for the purpose of informing the user. The Collins English Dictionary (2009)
agreeably states this as the purpose of information. It may simultaneously utilise
visuals to enhance the message, but its primary purpose is to inform the user about the
products (McCormick and Livett, 2012), services (Huizingh, 2000) or other relevant
information relating to that fashion brand. Whereas multimedia product viewing
comprises of visual cues, informative content is predominantly textual, yet may also
include some visual aids in conjunction.
Content has been extensively explained by Grandon and Ranganathan (2001) as
information and services offered on a web site. A profusion of other academics have
stated web site content variables including product information (Kim and Lennon,
2010b), services information (Huizingh, 2000), company information, frequently asked
questions (Lohse and Spiller, 1999) and fashion information (McCormick and Livett,
2012) all of which are informative and textual in nature (Cyr and Trevor-Smith, 2004).
Therefore the category title was designed to reflect this.
Table I demonstrates the connection between each marketing category including
their purpose, differences and previous online effects.
3.5. Framework development
The four areas of products and services m-marketing design each contain individual
marketing elements relating to the category, illustrated within the research
framework (Figure 1) and described in the body of the literature. The framework
has been compiled regarding design elements apparent in online and mobile
literature and from a general exploration of online and mobile retailer channels. It
should be noted that although there is an abundance of marketing design elements,
not all will be appropriate for mobile and have therefore been excluded to form a
holistic framework entirely applicable to m-marketing. The descriptions of each
design element are presented for category justification, academic appreciation and
anecdotal evidence of their current usage. The academics are referenced regarding
their discussion of the particular stimuli in their own work, to provide support to the
framework development.
4. Multimedia product viewing
Multimedia creates an interactive and sensory experience, transferring information to
the consumer and providing satisfaction, enjoyment, information and entertainment
(Gulliver and Ghinea, 2010). It can additionally improve the discovery process, inform
or persuade consumers and encourage higher levels of web site involvement (Simmons,
2007). Three key multimedia elements have been identified: videos, graphics and image
interactivity technology (IIT).
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4.1 Video
Video is an interactive web site feature important for the enhancement of the users
shopping experience (Kim and Lennon, 2010). Videos produced for the purpose of
selling and marketing the products shown (Scott, 2010) have been classified as a
multimedia product viewing element by previous retail academics (Kim and Forsythe,
2007; Rowley, 1996).
Stimulus
category
Principle
form Purpose
Examples from literature: intentions and
effects
Multimedia
product viewing
Visual Product display (Kim
and Lennon, 2010a;
Kim et al., 2007)
Confidence (McCormick and Livett, 2012)
Repatronage (Fiore and Jin, 2003)
Perceived information (Kim and Lennon,
2010a)
Purchase intentions (McCormick and Livett,
2012; Kim and Lennon, 2010b; Kim and
Lennon, 2010a; Fiore and Jin, 2003)
Informative
content
Textual Product/service/fashion
information (Grandon
and Ranganathan, 2001;
McCormick and Livett,
2012)
Decrease perceived risk (Park and Stoel, 2002)
Intention to re-visit (Kim and Lennon, 2010b)
Purchase intent (McCormick and Livett, 2012;
Kim and Lennon, 2010b; Park and Stoel, 2002)
Purchase decisions (Szymanski and Hise,
2000)
Inspiration and entertainment (McCormick
and Livett, 2012)
Product
promotions
Visual/
textual
Sales promotion (Park
and Lennon, 2009)
Purchase intentions (Park and Lennon, 2009)
Impulse purchases (Dawson and Kim, 2010)
Consumer retention (Chaffey et al., 2009)
Consumer-led
interactions
Visual/
textual
Consumer-retailer
interaction (Yoon et al.,
2008; Evans et al., 2001)
Customer satisfaction (Dholakia and
Zhao, 2009)
Reduction of uncertainty
(Weathers et al., 2007)
Relationship building
(Feinberg and Kadam, 2002)
Table I.
Products and services
m-marketing design
categories
Product and
services m-
marketing design
Multimedia
product viewing
(Cyr and Trevor-
Smith, 2004)
Informative content
(Ranganathan and
Ganapathy, 2002)
Product promotions
(Tong et al.,
2012; Solomon
et al., 2008)
Video
(Cyr and
Trevor-Smith,
2004; McCormick
and Livett, 2012)
Graphics
(Cyr and Trevor
-Smith 2004)
Product imagery
(ha and lennon,
2010)
Promotional
imagery (Ha et al.,
2007)
Image interactivity
technology
(Kim et al.,2007;
McCormick
and Livett,2012)
Virtual reality
(Lu and Smith, 2007;
Fiore and Jin, 2003)
Practical product
information
(Rowley, 2009;
McCormick and
Livett, 2012)
Practical services
information
(Lohse and Spiller,
1999;
Rowley, 2009)
Trend information
(Rowley, 2009;
McCormick
and Livett, 2012)
Style advice
(Rowley,
2009; McCormick
and Livett, 2012)
Vouchers
(Baker, 2003)
Incentives
(Kim and
Kim, 2004)
Rewards
(Chaffey and Smith,
2008)
Discounts
(Park and Lennon,
2009)
Competitions
(Baker, 2003)
Social media
(Ho and Dempsey,
2010; Rowley,
2009)
Social media
(Rowley, 2009;
McCormick and
Livett, 2012)
Consumer-led
interactions
(Lee et al.,2011;
Yoon et al.,2008)
Augmented reality
(Lu and
Smith, 2007)
Personalisation
(Vesanen, 2007;
Kim et al.,2011)
Customisation
(Venkatesh
et al.,2003;
Wirtz et al.,2010)
Merchandise
categorisation
(Haet al.,2007)
Figure 1.
Product and services
m-marketing design
framework
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Video content is expected to contain, and can also take the form of fashion week
shows (Siddiqui et al., 2003) or entertaining product videos created for product
promotion purposes. Catwalk videos are also classified as a multimedia product
viewing element (McCormick and Livett, 2012) as they enhance visualisation (Kim
et al., 2011) and product viewing in a video format.
Video media can also now be integrated into mobile services to provide enhanced
enjoyment (Lu and Su, 2009). Catwalk and merchandising videos are already being
incorporated into fashion apps (e.g. Very and Warehouse[1]), allowing a thorough
visualisation of how the garment will look (McCormick and Livett, 2012). Yet, time
and software limitations and the diverse motivations of the mobile consumer may
discourage the user from viewing such material.
4.2 Graphics
Graphics: pictures, logos or images, can be used for marketing purposes or in
conjunction with the retailers branding strategy, as pictures are often a visual
representation of the brands values (Rowley, 2004). For example, imagery may be
designed to illustrate the products for purchase only (product imagery) (Ha et al., 2007)
or alternatively to promote the displayed products whilst incorporating and building
the brand image (promotional imagery) (Ha et al., 2007).
Product imagery (Ha et al., 2007, p. 479) refers to the images of individual products
for the purpose of product viewing and purchasing. The imagery offers accurate
product information to the consumer concerning the appearance of the garment and is
therefore of high task relevancy (Ha and Lennon, 2010).
In a mobile context, product images are laid out as small thumbnails due to size
limitations. Academics have commented on the positive effects of using larger images
for product viewing as they enhance the physical product inspection (Kim et al., 2006;
Kim and Lennon, 2008; Santos, 2003). Retailers are therefore taking full advantage
of smartphone screens sizes, allowing the user to view full screen products when the
image is tapped (e.g. Oasis, Zara see footnote 1).
Promotional imagery differs from product imagery due to its advertising purpose
(Ha and Lennon, 2010) yet it is still necessary for product display. The images are also
a sales promotion tool, often shot in a particular setting and designed to build
consumer interest and purchase intent (Solomon et al., 2008).
Promotional imagery is often placed within Campaign or Lookbook sections
of mobile apps (e.g. Zara see footnote 1), utilised to demonstrate the newest
campaign imagery to consumers in order to inspire purchase intentions and
enjoyment (Fiore, 2002).
4.3 IIT
Interactivity is an essential e-marketing design element (Yoo et al., 2010) that enables
both a hedonic and utilitarian user experience via its provision of entertainment
(Kim and Forsythe, 2010) whilst simultaneously saving time (Fiore et al., 2005) and
effort (Broekhuizen and Huizingh, 2009) for the user.
IIT is examined by Kim et al. (2007) as the term to describe the use of product
viewing functions such as zoom, 3D virtual models and close-up pictures to enhance
the consumers online shopping experience. Studies have found that web sites of higher
interactivity can lead to increased desires to browse, enhanced attitudes, purchase,
repatronage and entertainment (Li et al., 2001; Kim and Forsythe, 2008; Shim and
Lee, 2011). Virtual reality has additionally been found as an area of IIT (Fiore and Jin,
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2003), a feature that enables the user to try on products and coordinate items on 3D
virtual models (Ha et al., 2007). The virtual technology enables an improvement of
product presentation and encourages consumer acquisition (Shim and Lee, 2011).
Mobile apps that incorporate interactivity design elements may enhance the
experience for the user and lead to satisfaction, directly leading to mobile consumer
trust and purchase intentions (Yeh and Li, 2009). The majority of transactional fashion
apps have utilised partial IIT, such as an automatic 3601 view (e.g. River Island see
footnote 1), multiple views (e.g. Oasis see footnote 1), enlargement/zoom options
(e.g. Mulberry see footnote 1) and 3D virtual models (e.g. Mango see footnote 1).
It would be expected that an app that incorporated full IIT functionality, would lead to
trust and purchase intentions (Yeh and Li, 2009), therefore highlighting its importance
to mobile shopping.
5. Informative content
Informative content regards any copy found on the app, written for the purpose of
informing the user. Five design elements have been identified from the literature, all
of which are utilised online for the purpose of informing the consumer regarding
products and services: practical product information, practical services information,
trend information, style advice and social media content.
5.1 Practical product information
The practical information or verbal content (Ha and Lennon, 2010, p. 144) generated
alongside a product informs the consumer about the specific item; essential for their
thorough product understanding (Rowley, 2009). Product-related information including
colour, price, care instructions, sizing availability, texture and fabric (Kim and Lennon,
2010), provides the consumer with an elevated perception of trust and satisfaction
with the site (Simmons et al., 2010). The information is therefore lucrative for
product purchases.
It is even more essential that within a mobile context the product information is
enough to reduce the customers perception of purchasing risk (Kim and Forsythe,
2010). However, some retailers have yet to provide more than just a price and colour
(e.g. Zara see footnote 1), and may therefore suffer as a consequence.
5.2 Practical services information
Any textual information utilised to inform consumers of practical information
concerning retail services, are categorised within practical services information.
Rowley (2009, p. 358) refers to this category and the usage of careers and store
location information on certain web sites as company and financial information;
regarded by Lohse and Spiller (1999) as a form of service. Other services information
could include FAQs, contact information, delivery costs, returns information and
company policies.
Practical services information is often condensed within apps and categorised to
include the most appropriate and contextual information such as returns, delivery and
care guides (e.g. All Saints; Debenhams see footnote 1). However, some retailers have
added their entire services information in pdf format (e.g. French Connection see
footnote 1). Higher quality information on online retail stores has been found to affect
the consumers heightened sense of satisfaction (Ha and Lennon, 2010) and empirical
testing might acknowledge which method is the most appropriate for delivering both
quality and satisfaction.
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5.3 Trend information
Trend information is now an expected trait of fashion retailer web sites (Siddiqui et al.,
2003). Retailers create an ideal fashion image in the mind of their consumers through
imagery and suggestive textual information to encourage and persuade consumers
to continue buying into the newest seasons collections (Dawson and Kim, 2010).
They inform the consumer of the latest fashion trends whilst promoting their
interpretation and collection of trend-inspired products. It can evoke pleasure and
inspiration (McCormick and Livett, 2012) and add value to the consumers experience
(Siddiqui et al., 2003).
Mobile retailers offer textual trend information to their users via their integrated
blog content (e.g. Oasis, French Connection see footnote 1), and visual information via
their promotional Lookbook imagery of the newest seasons apparel (e.g. Zara see
footnote 1). The requirements of the mobile consumer may however be different to
the online consumer, and perhaps such information is not as essential for the consumer
on the move.
5.4 Style advice
Style advice differs from trend information, going beyond informing into
assistance and recommendations for consumers (Ranganathan and Ganapathy,
2002), helping them to find new product information and encouraging their purchasing
decisions (Hsiao et al., 2010). The consumer is advised on how they can wear and style
the latest fashion trends, producing a variety of hedonic experiences (McCormick
and Livett, 2012) and creating a successful shopping experience (Jayawardhena
and Wright, 2009).
Style advice is often added as textual information within mobile app blogs. Yet some
retailers are incorporating innovative features into their apps such as Wear with
ideas (River Island see footnote 1) and What should I wear occasion inspiration
(Mango see footnote 1). Is the mobile consumer looking for advice, however, or have
they arrived at the app already knowing what they will buy?
5.5 Social media
Social media content within retailer web sites refers to information that has been
created by the retailer or its affiliates for the purpose of hedonic entertainment (Shin,
2010), added value (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010) and promotion (Mangold and Faulds,
2009). The content (textual and visual) is spread via social media platforms and social
areas integrated within the app or web site, delivering short pieces of information to
the user. Although some aspects will encourage great consumer interaction online,
its usage within mobile is currently more for the purpose of event, promotion and
latest news information.
With the popularity of social networking, brands have strategised to
communicate with consumers directly over networks such as Facebook and Twitter
(e.g. Topshop, ASOS see footnote 1). Due to such, many apps choose to spread
additional social news via app newsletters and blogs (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010),
offering information and playfulness to the user (Keng and Ting, 2009). The H&M (see
footnote 1) app has incorporated a social media wall, updated with their networking
status updates. Oasis (see footnote 1) uses a newsletter feature that can be viewed
within their app, and Topshop (see footnote 1) utilises an Inbox area where the user
can scroll through small e-mail posts to read the latest news. Yet the mobile consumers
motivation to read such information is currently unknown.
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6. Product promotions
Sales promotion has been singled out due to its relevance to e/m-store design and
merchandising. Agreeably, sales promotion has been listed as one of four critical
elements of mobile marketing by Megadadi and Nusair (2011). Six product promotion
techniques have been identified as appropriate for mobile apps: vouchers, incentives,
rewards, discounts, competitions and social media promotion.
6.1 Vouchers (coupons)
Coupons are the most popular form of sales promotion (Solomon et al., 2008) as
consumers using promotional codes gain an increased positive perception of product
value (Park and Lennon, 2009). Price promotions are an important tactical tool to
increase purchase intentions (Park and Lennon, 2009), yet it is not yet known whether
voucher promotions will increase the intentions of the mobile consumer.
The H&M (see footnote 1) app has incorporated an interactive method of voucher
retrieval, allowing the user to collect vouchers that encourage consumers to not only to
patronise online, but in-store (Fiore and Jin, 2003). Debenhams have incorporated a voucher
redemption section within their purchasing page, creating a consistent purchasing
experience to their web site (Muller, 2008) and brand image congruity (Hu et al., 2012).
6.2 Incentives
Incentives are initiated as an encouragement tactic, to persuade the consumer to buy
due to a convincing motivation. Incentives can include promotions such as Buy one
get one free (Dawson and Kim, 2010) and shipping discounts (Dawson and Kim, 2010)
which may be loyalty based (Meyer-Waarden, 2008). The consumer is incentivised to
purchase beyond gaining a coupon discount.
Mobile apps can utilise the promotional effects of incentives to persuade consumers
to start shopping mobile, similar to how online vouchers initially persuaded
consumers to begin online purchasing. By offering users the latest incentives via
promotional pages within the app (e.g. River Island see footnote 1), the mobile
consumer has more reasons to purchase via the new technology. Incentives are also
arguably an acquisition technique (Chaffey et al., 2009), yet could incentives within a
mobile app lead to consumer acquisition also?
6.3 Rewards
Rewards refer to retailer loyalty rewards (Meyer-Waarden, 2008); the sharing of
discount codes, price promotions and gifts to those consumers who purchase often
(Park and Lennon, 2009). The rewards are circulated via e-mail or mobile marketing,
where the consumer has chosen to join a retailers mailing list due to their fondness of
the brand (Singh et al., 2008). This type of sales promotion acts as a consumer retention
technique (Chaffey et al., 2009) and thanks the consumer for their continued loyalty
(Meyer-Waarden, 2008).
App rewards could include offering mobile-only voucher codes (e.g. H&M see
footnote 1) or mobile exclusives (e.g. French Connection see footnote 1) to app users.
The fact that the user has downloaded the app voluntarily confirms a certain amount
of loyalty (Singh et al., 2008), and apps that offer these users an initial reward may gain
increased loyalty or profits (McMullan and Gilmore, 2008).
6.4 Discounts
Online discounts have been described as offering a percentage off the original price
(Lowe, 2010) without the need of a voucher. Retailers place items into a sale, reducing
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their price by a specific amount in order to promote their sale as such, e.g. 50 per cent
off (Lowe, 2010) and to increase impulse purchases (Dawson and Kim, 2010).
Alternative types of sales can include clearance, seasonal and limited time only sales,
all with the aim of increasing purchases and profit (Dawson and Kim, 2010).
In a mobile and online setting, the most notorious forms of discounts are sales
events. Discount pages can be accessed via home screen banners (e.g. River Island see
footnote 1), via blog posts (e.g. H&M see footnote 1) and via app newsletters
(e.g. Oasis see footnote 1), to create increased sale awareness. Discounts are a
tactical way to boost retail sales, yet the mobile consumers desire for sale products is
not yet known.
6.5 Competitions
Consumers enter competitions to win brand prizes. As their contact details are the
entry requirement, competitions are an immediate and persuasive method of obtaining
personal consumer details for later direct marketing (Chaffey et al., 2009). They create
publicity for the retailer whilst additionally exciting consumer interest (Solomon et al.,
2008) and building brand-consumer relationships (Rowley, 2009).
At the current time, competitions within fashion apps are scarce. On the launch
of the Mulberry (see footnote 1) app, the retailer included a competition to win a
Mulberry iPad case to those who had downloaded the app. These types of competitions
reward the consumers loyalty to the brand (McMullan and Gilmore, 2008) and might
encourage further app usage.
6.6 Social media promotion
Consumers are able to share information regarding products and promotions with their
virtual community (Jayawardhena and Wright, 2009) initiating self-enhancement for
the consumer (Ho and Dempsey, 2010). They are offered an option to voluntarily deliver
(Singh et al., 2008) and recommend products to friends via a list of social networks
(Rowley, 2009), i.e. Facebook, Twitter (Pitta, 2011), as an encouraging tool to spread
positive word of mouth (Ho and Dempsey, 2010).
Fashion apps have incorporated the same ability to share, like or e-mail products to
particular networks (e.g. H&M, River Island, French Connection see footnote 1), but
whether this tool is adopted or even liked, is yet to be tested.
7. Consumer-led interactions
The internet enables direct marketer-direct consumer interactions (Evans et al.,
2001). Buyer-seller interactions and relationships comprise of faster and more
relevant exchanges of information (Varadarajan and Yadav, 2002), greater user
control (Dholakia and Zhao, 2009) and can additionally create experiences that
utilise virtual and digital imagery (Klein, 2003). Therefore, the design category of
consumer-led interactions is suggested in this literature to surround three elements:
personalisation (relevancy), customisation (user control) and augmented reality
(product experiences).
7.1 Personalisation
Personalisation has been found as an attribute of web site design, affecting consumer
satisfaction, loyalty (Kalyanaramanm and Sundar, 2006), increased patronage
intentions (Srinivasan et al., 2002), perceived value (Chang and Wang, 2011) and
brand relationships (Nguyen and Mutum, 2012).
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The retailer provides influential and personalised recommendations to the
consumer regarding personal information they have entered. This form of
personalised marketing allows the retailer to tailor their interactions for each
individual consumer (Vesanen, 2007), offering them a targeted solution for their needs
(Nguyen and Mutum, 2012).
The ASOS (see footnote 1) app personalises what products to promotionally offer
and recommend to the consumer based on their usage of the app. It is imagined in the
future that apps will be able to know where the user shops and what they buy, to
provide them with information and advice of relevance (Goldman, 2010). This may
then increase the patronage intentions and satisfaction of the mobile consumer.
7.2 Customisation
Customisation enables the consumer to tailor their settings (Lee and Benbasat, 2003)
and modify the format and design of the online environment. Allowing consumers this
opportunity reduces their uncertainty (Weathers et al., 2007) and increases enjoyment.
Customisation features within apps such as altering the number of garments
on a page, have been found to provide higher levels of consumer satisfaction and trust
(Yeh and Li, 2009). Merchandise categorisation is another important customisation
feature that affects the browsing convenience and efficiency for the consumer
(Mild and Reutterer, 2003). The user is given the option to refine the merchandise by
filtering out those that do not meet their preferences (Manganari et al., 2011). Many
apps have integrated refine tools such as these to aid the users product search.
However, whether the consumer perceives convenience and ease of use fromthe service
would be an interesting insight.
7.3 Augmented reality
Augmented reality involves overlaying digital data over a live camera feed so that
digital imagery appears within the physical world (Lu and Smith, 2007), as seen within
the computer-mediated environment (Li et al., 2001). Whereas virtual reality replaces
the real-world scenes, augmented reality becomes a part of the real environment
(Lu and Smith, 2007). It enables the enhancement of product viewing (Shim and Lee,
2011) yet is primarily led by consumer interaction with the technology.
eBay (see footnote 1) incorporated augmented reality into their fashion mobile app
as a tool to try on products such as sunglasses. The products were digitally placed
over the cameras output so users could see themselves wearing the sunglasses on the
mobile screen. Although the app was trying to recreate a real-ife experience, the
consumers perception of such a feature would be interesting to discover.
8. Research implications and future research
In the same way that Rowley (2004) published her perception of the elements of
branding design, this paper pieces together a variety of marketing literature to deliver
a holistic framework of mobile marketing design elements. Eroglu et al. (2001)
additionally stated the importance of taxonomy development as the first step of theory
building and analysis. With such a framework, academics and practitioners will be
equipped to conduct mobile-related studies regarding individual design elements.
Product viewing, informative content, product promotions and consumer-led
interactions are assigned as four framework categories that contain a number of design
elements apparent in the mobile and online retail environments. Academics may utilise
the framework to empirically test the elements as stimuli in either a qualitative or
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quantitative format. A variety of online retailing papers have utilised the S-O-R
paradigm (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974) to examine the consumers emotional and
behavioural reactions towards online environmental cues. Such a framework could be
utilised for mobile studies due to the technological similarities of mobile and online
services and the robustness of the theoretical paradigm.
Researchers may choose to empirically test one, some or all elements as stimuli or
an entire stimulus category to examine the consumers behavioural and emotional
reactions. Analysis might identify the consumer effects of each stimuli, connections
between them or in fact connections between categories, whereby one category
might produce the same or alternative outcomes as another. By conducting open and
exploratory research, insights would be gathered as to whether certain stimuli lead to
relationships, repatronage intentions or intent to repatronise the brands brick and
mortar stores as examples. Research may also imply the importance or unimportance
of particular stimuli, leading retailers to implement, enhance or dismiss the
stimuli from their app. A fashion retailer that employs a mobile app for transactional
purposes may hope to benefit from increased purchase intentions and trust,
whereas an app built as a Lookbook may hope to benefit from browsing intentions
and brand satisfaction. Empirical research would equip the retailer with information as
to which stimuli could provoke such responses, leading to the designing of powerful
and influential mobile channels.
Additionally, although the framework has been developed and aided by literature,
other academics may justify why they believe particular stimuli should reside in
other categories, or indeed that further categories could be added depending on the
academics individual approach. Such implementations would be welcomed and
interesting to examine.
Whether the mobile consumer is in fact different to that of the online consumer will
come to light via empirical data and suggest that any prior assumptions of online and
mobile consumer likeness are correct or are in fact false.
9. Conclusion
This article identifies the product and services m-marketing design elements that
retailers and marketers can utilise in order to promote and sell their products via
mobile. The research framework contributes to both academic and managerial
research in the mobile and online field and creates vast opportunities for further
empirical research into the effects of the individual design stimuli. Mobile apps could
soon become a retailers most important sales channels, justifying the requirement for
immediate analysis of the consumers perceptions.
Practitioners and academics are invited to utilise the holistic framework to form
their own studies regarding m-commerce design. Empirical academic knowledge of the
consumers behavioural and emotional responses towards mobile app design would
facilitate designers with vital design information. Such knowledge would advise and
guide fashion retailers as to which design elements might increase and encourage
particular consumer emotions and behaviours, especially those that will benefit their
business (Boone and Kurtz, 2011).
Note
1. Warehouse, Oasis, Zara, River Island, Mango, H&M and Topshop are high-street retailers
selling trend-led fashion items at low to medium price points. All Saints and French
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Connection are premium high-street stores selling trend-led garments at a higher price point
(www.warehouse.co.uk; www.oasis-stores.com; www.zara.com; www.riverisland.com; www.
mango.com; www.hm.com/gb/; www.topshop.com; www.allsaints.com; www.french
connection.com). ASOS is a pure-play fashion retailer selling fashionable ASOS branded
products as well as designer and high-street brands. Very is a pure-play department store
and catalogue retailer selling fashion products from an assortment of brands. Debenhams is
a department store similar to Very but maintains a physical high-street and online presence
for a more mature target market (www.asos.com; www.very.co.uk; www.debenhams.com).
Mulberry is an English luxury brand famous for its leather goods (www.mulberry.com).
eBay is an online auction site, allowing consumers to buy and sell their own new or used
products to others (www.ebay.co.uk).
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design elements
About the authors
Victoria Magrath is a PhD researcher at the University of Manchester, specialising in the design
of the mobile commerce and online retail environments. Her research focus is the marketing and
branding design implications of UK-branded fashion retailer apps for the smartphone or tablet
computer. She intends to discover how the design of a retailers mobile strategy might affect their
consumers and how they may utilise the most successful design elements to deliver beneficial
outcomes such as brand equity and purchase intentions. Victoria Magrath is the corresponding
author and can be contacted at: Victoria.magrath@manchester.ac.uk
Helen McCormick is a Lecturer in Fashion E-tailing at the University of Manchester. Her
research specialism is the fashion online shopping environment, with a particular focus on
interactive E-marketing used by Fashion Online Retailers. Her interest is in exploring fashion
retails development, with particular interest in technology development, interactivity,
entertainment and experience. Her current research is investigating fashion retailers use of
fashion apps on smartphones and tablets.
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