Jewelry and diamond retailer Zales has rolled out a mobile-optimized storefront to better address the needs of its on-the-go customers. The m-Commerce site, which was developed in a partnership with Usablenet, was designed to provide customers with instant access to inventory, along with mobile payment capabilities. 

“Zales sees the mobile site as a bridge between our stores and our web site that consumers can use while on-the-go,” said Roxane Barry, Director of Investor Relations for Zales . “Irrespective of where they are or their immediate intent, we wanted a mobile experience that allowed our customers to quickly and easily interact with our brands.”

The m-Commerce storefront is fully optimized across all smartphone brands and features a variety of tools to enhance customer engagement and increase mobile purchases. Features include a search engine to sift through Zales’ inventory of more than 1,000 jewelry types and styles, a browsing area, and an account registration area to manage shopping cart items and view purchases. Registered users and guests also gain access to a mobile checkout option.

“With simpler navigation and condensed information, the m-Commerce site is not intended to replace our in-store or online experience, but rather give our customers the opportunity to interact with our brand whenever and wherever they are,” Barry said.

Developed as a reflection of Zales’ e-Commerce platform, the mobile store contributes to the retailer’s initiative to track the success of shoppers’ cross-channel interaction with the brand, according to Barry.  “Zales strives to provide a great cross-channel guest experience every day so we are consistently evaluating each experience — in store, online and mobile — to ensure that we exceed our guests’ expectations.”