Mobile Behavior: an Omnicom Group Company

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is the biggest shopping event of the year. CNET came out with a roundup of iPhone Apps for Black Friday shopping, which included a handful of popular mass retailers that rocked 2009. For those who would rather avoid the big crowds, but crave designer labels on sale this is for you. Here are five iPhone apps for the fashionable and mobile-savvy shopper.

• “Lucky At Your Service” is the iPhone app introduced by Conde Nast’s Lucky magazine that retrieves the inventory of retail stores. The app shows products based on category, such as shoes, and lets shoppers browse by type of shoe, brand, color, or size. Typing in a keyword, like “Diane von Furstenburg patent pump” and clicking the “Find It Near You” button will utilize your GPS or zip code to determine which stores in the area have the item available. Shoppers can make an online purchase or place the item on hold at the store.

• “Teen Vogue Haute Spot” is Teen Vogue’s answer to shopping on the mobile. The iPhone app is an extension of the magazine’s pop-up retail store, the Teen Vogue Haute Spot, and has been running for two years. Teen Vogue created a brand experience that their teen readers crave. “It is as if you’re walking into the store and closets of Teen Vogue,” said Laura McEwen, Teen Vogue publisher. The app enables users to peruse the apparel and beauty products found in the store and click to buy them.

• We previously mentioned Seventeen Magazine's Fashion Finder iPhone app which allows users to search for local availability of clothes, shoes and accessories by style or price point. Once the Seventeen Fashion Finder tracks the item down it will notify you by text message and place the item on hold until you visit the store.

• Gilt Groupe launched “Gilt on the Go,” an iPhone app for shoppers to literally follow the website everywhere they go. On the app shoppers can preview when the sales start (diligently at noon), shop, and purchase all on your mobile phone. It also sends sale alerts to your mobile so you will never miss an opportunity to shop for your favorite designer.

• Barcode scanners are great for competitive price shopping. RedLaser is a barcode scanner on the iPhone and you can scan the item’s barcode and the app will access a range of prices, information, and even online reviews of the product.

• The Gap recently held a contest to create a Gap iPhone app with a concept that was closely modeled after a live shopping experience. The top five winners can be found here.

It’s apparent that an increasing number of brands (and magazines) are creating mobile apps to make connections from the product to the consumer. From "purchase now" to "try on later," all the mobile apps mentioned have a different call to action. Does this make shopping easier? Is it enough to replace an actual shopping trip, a one-of-a-kind experience that some refer to as “retail therapy?"

Janice Momoko Chow is a freelance strategist and writer in New York City.  She writes Momoko Mashups and for PSFK, a global innovation consultancy that spotlights new ideas and trends in consumer and business culture.

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