retail

JCPenney Joins App-Happy Holiday

Add JCPenney to the list of retailers hoping to dial up a happier holiday. The company has just unwrapped a new iPhone app that it says makes it easier for shoppers to find gifts, arrange shipping options and use more targeted search functions.

The introduction comes just in time, as mobile is shaping up to be an increasingly important weapon in retailers’ holiday playbook. IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark says mobile accounted for 28% of Cyber Monday’s actual sales, a 27% jump from last year, and it drove 41% of traffic. And JCPenney says that more than 50% of its Cyber Monday transactions were via a phone or tablet.

And it also comes amid all kinds of mobile scrambling among its competitors. Target just introduced a mobile shopping game, created in partnership with Google. Kohl’s is linking its new loyalty plan to the mobile wallet within its app.

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And Macy’s is getting attention for its innovative image-recognition search feature: Shoppers can take a picture of an outfit they see on the street, and the app helps them find similar items in the store.

“We thought it was important to make considerable improvements to the JCPenney app and mobile experience, because many of our in-store shoppers are using mobile devices to find the latest deals online and confirm what they’re looking for is available to them when and where they need it,” says Mike Rodgers, chief customer officer for JCPenney, in its announcement. It includes better access to coupons, and the ability to scan a barcode and check an item’s availability online.

Separately, Penney’s turnaround efforts got a big thumbs-down this week when an influential analyst at Goldman Sachs downgraded the Plano, Tex.-based chain’s rating.

“While we were hopeful that JC Penney’s return to its “old” strategy would recover a sizable portion of lost sales, recent results lead us to believe competitive changes in the industry from off-price and online will prevent management from achieving its multi-year outlook,” analyst Stephen Grambling reportedly wrote in his assessment. “We expect future earnings misses and corresponding downward revisions.”

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