El Corte Ingles, the largest department store in Europe and fourth largest worldwide, recently partnered with global mobile and multichannel technology platform company Usablenet, to launch an optimized mobile version of its site that extends the El Corte Ingles brand to customers anytime, anywhere.
The new El Corte Ingles mobile site features HTML5 capabilities and provides customers with key features and functionality available on the traditional website, including full m-commerce functionality where registered users and guests have the ability to purchase items directly from their mobile device.
It also offers an advanced scrolling image carousel, allowing customers to view high-quality, rotating carousel product images displayed on the homepage and product detail page without slowing their browsing experience. Users can also double tap on product images to further zoom in and see the product in greater detail, as well as search and browse from El Corte Ingles’ entire inventory of products.
And thanks to expandable navigation, users can quickly and efficiently browse by category without loading extra pages and slowing down the browsing experience.
“With an increasing number of consumers using mobile to aid with their purchases, it was important for us to create a mobile version of our website that provides a positive user experience on all mobile devices,” explains the head of the e-commerce division of El Corte Ingles. “Our new site was designed to provide El Corte Ingles customers with the same high-quality shopping experience that they have come to expect across all channels.”
According to ABI Research, mobile shopping will account for $163 billion in sales worldwide, or 12% of global ecommerce revenue by 2015. As consumer adoption of smartphones and other web-enabled mobile devices continues its rapid ascent internationally, major European brands are leveraging the mobile web as a significant channel to more deeply engage with consumers and drive sales.
“Mobile commerce has exploded onto the international stage, with a growing number of consumers using their smartphones to browse, shop and purchase items from leading retailers across the globe,” says Usablenet CEO Nick Taylor. “El Corte Ingles is another strong example of the power of Usablenet’s platform and our ability to scale a brand’s mobile presence to support a global audience, while accounting for differences in infrastructure, device-type and mobile networks.”
