'Net Features : tablet

CVS iPad App Gives Shoppers a Virtual Storefront Experience

Michael Garrity — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:45:00 GMT

Earlier this week, CVS launched an innovative new iPad application for online shoppers that provides them with a detailed, virtual 3D e-commerce experience in the palms of their hands.

With the app, customers can explore a digital version of a CVS/pharmacy store to shop for products or access services from the Pharmacy, ExtraCare, Photo Center or MinuteClinic departments. This interactive pathway provides customers with a personalized shopping experience and brings the virtual drugstore to life, so that they can access it on-the-go, or from the comfort of their own homes.

Some of the features in the app include: enhanced prescription management, access to weekly ads, an online and mobile Photo Center and a catalog-style shopping experience.

“The new CVS iPad app provides the millions of customers who visit CVS.com on a tablet device each month with a virtual feeling of visiting their neighborhood CVS/pharmacy from their homes or on-the-go,” said the company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, Brian Tilzer.

The development of this new e-commerce application marks one of the first times that a major retail brand has released a virtual 3D store for a mobile device. But as mobile shopping, particularly on tablets, continues to rapidly gain popularity among consumers, it seems safe to expect to see these kinds of digital storefronts proliferate, especially from major large-scale retailers that have the technology and development teams to create them.

What do you think about virtual storefronts? Would you like to see them become more commonplace in mobile e-commerce? Let us know in the replies!

iPad Traffic Falls After Holidays

Allison Howen — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:35:00 GMT

There has been a bit of a shake-up in the tablet world, thanks to the Kindle Fire’s popularity over the holiday season.

In fact, insights from online advertising network Chitika reveal that the iPad’s tablet Web shares fell by 7.1 percent following the Christmas holiday, while the Kindle Fire’s Web tablet Web shares rose by 3.03 percent. That being said, the iPad still maintains the overall largest share of tablet traffic at 78.86 percent. It is also important to note that Chitika expects the iPad’s share of tablet traffic to return to the 80 percent range as consumers return back to work and decrease their browsing habits on their new devices.

Chitika’s insights analyzed hundreds of millions of smartphone and tablet impressions from the Chitika ad network in the U.S. and Canada from December 1st through December 27th. The results also found that the iPhone 5 gained 1.1 percent of the smartphone usage share after the holidays, while the Galaxy S III gained 1 percent. Moreover, just as Apple’s iPad rules the tablet market, the iPhone also currently maintains the largest share of smartphone traffic at 8.27 percent.

Mobile Clicks and Mobile Ad Spend in the UK

Allison Howen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 07:43:00 GMT

Ad management platform Marin Software released findings from its Quarterly UK Online Advertising Report. If you’re looking to get the most value out of your ad spend, it is towards mobile and tablet devices you should look.

Mobile and tablet users accounted for 12 percent of all UK paid search clicks in December 2011 according to Marin, Which represents a 49 percent increase in click share as a percentage of the total since October 2011. Over the same period, search share on these devices increased 29 percent to 7.5 percent of total search advertising spend. When volume of searches outpaces spent, clicks on campaigns are typically less expensive – and that’s a good sign.

"In December 2011, we saw search marketers allocate a larger portion of budgets to mobile devices than ever before," said Matt Lawson, Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships at Marin Software. "However, the budgets for mobile search advertising still lag user adoption of devices. Given this gap, we expect mobile search to see continued investment as advertising dollars chase consumer behaviour in 2012. Marin Software enables clients to be more efficient in their mobile marketing initiatives, offering advertisers a powerful, intuitive platform for managing desktop and mobile campaigns within a single interface."