Roman Zenner (Back to homepage)

Recently I was wondering how major webstores present themselves on Apple’s iPhone. After a quick look-around I found a Top10 list of retailers in the States and had a look at how their webstores can be browsed via a mobile device. (Of course, this is not a well-founded, scientifically correct procedure – the list might still be arbitrary and I simply haven’t got any other mobile device than an iPhone, but I hope to at least get an idea of how major etailers present themselves in the mobile space.)

Amazon

Amazon presents a mobile interface that pretty much reflects the look and feel of its webstore. Lists and product descriptions are clearly arranged and the checkout process also resembles the original website. To top it off, Amazon has published its free Amazon Mobile application, which makes browsing the complex catalog even easier.

Staples

Office supplier Staples uses the services of Usablenet.com to publish its content. The different categories are easy to access and the whole application is fairly fast. When it comes to product presentation, its not as elegant as Amazon’s and only uses basic HTML markup. As far as I could see, the site hasn’t got a checkout process, customers are asked either to make a phone call or access the full version of their webstore.

Dell

Quite similar to Staples, Dell also uses Usablenet.com to present their content in the mobile space. In contrast, however, here it is possible to use a mobile checkout and order the desired products directly from the mobile store.

Office Depot

When accessing Office Depot it becomes clear that the company seems to be in a transition process to optimise their content for the mobile space. Some parts of their product range can be viewed in the mobile version, other products are directly linked to the full desktop version of their website.

Apple

Accessing the Apple website, there is no special mobile site. Maybe they would like their typically elegant design to be enjoyed on a big screen? ;-)

OfficeMax

OfficeMax, offering office supplies and office furniture, will use the services of usablenet.com in the future. Right now, visitors are directed to a single landing page telling everybody that a mobile version is to be released soon.

Sears

Like Staples and Dell, department store Sears also runs on usablenet.com. In order for customers to enjoy an enhanced shopping experience, Sears have also launched their own iPhone application called sears2go.

CDW

CDW sells IT devices online and has not got a mobile site.

Newegg

As a retailer of PC parts and computer components, Newegg does not have a mobile site.

BestBuy

BestBuy is a retailer of consumer electronics in the United States. They provide a version of their online store for the mobile space which – in terms of usability and layout – is one of the best in this Top 10. It features its own checkout process as well as a mechanism to find BestBuy’s brick-and-mortar stores.

So, what do we learn from this short, non-representative excursion? First of all, 7 out of 10 retailers have decided to embrace the mobile web as futher marketing channel and are providing optimised versions for the iPhone. When it comes to technology, 4 of these retailers have chosen to rely on usablenet.com, while the others have developed their own platforms. In my opinion, the latter – especially Amazon and BestBuy – appear more professional and streamlined when it comes to usability and layout. One thing I did not expect was that the kinds of products sold via a mobile-enhanced site do not seem to matter. Whether it is dvd players or even refrigerators, people can buy them from their mobile phones.