Fast-fashion retailer Rainbow Shops wanted a mobile app that could offer a unique customer experience. As a result, Rainbow Shops partnered with Oven Bits, an award-winning digital product studio, to launch the brand’s first-ever mobile commerce app.
The mobile app will complement Rainbow Shops’1,100 stores nationwide by creating a mobile shopping experience that blends branded and social content with commerce.
David Cost, VP of Ecommerce and Digital Marketing at Rainbow Shops, explained to Loyalty360 why Rainbow Shops partnered with Oven Bits to create a mobile commerce app.
“We evaluated many mobile application developers,” Cost said. “All of them had solid integrations with Demandware. Oven Bits stood out and won the business based on their demonstrated excellence in user design and experience. Oven Bits apps look and feel different. They delight the user with a unique experience that is far and beyond mobile web.”
Cost explained that the unique experience drives app success in three very important ways:
1. Provides initial motivation to download our app
2. Increases sharing: People like to share unique and cool experiences with their friends
3. Drives engagement
“When a customer installs Rainbow Shops’ mobile app, they are increasing their commitment to our brand,” Cost said. “They are dedicating screen real estate to our logo on a device they will look at hundreds of times a 
day. Push notifications will let us communicate with them in a more direct way. The app will make it easier for our customers to “Shop, Wear and Share” their #RainbowStyle.”
Cost said the Rainbow Shops app is scheduled to launch on both Apple iOS and Android by the end of April.
Ryan Moede, VP, Growth at Oven Bits, told Loyalty360 about the app’s impact on customer engagement.
“The new shopping apps on iOS and Android will be an incredibly effective platform for strengthening Rainbow Shops’ relationship with their customers,” Moede explained. “By blending authentic social content and commerce with an amazing user experience, the apps are more than just another way to shop. They will be a beautiful way for customers to discover, share, and engage with the Rainbow community.”
Moede said that mobile is now at the center of the digital ecosystem.
“And with mobile commerce projected to account for nearly 25% of all ecommerce revenues by the end of next year, its importance is only growing,” he explained, “As such, marketers need to think holistically about how they can meet and provide value to customers where they are, whether through a rich, engaging native app experience, or through a responsive or mobile optimized web design. All are needed to make each micro-moment valuable to both the customer and marketer.”