OMAHA, NE— Hayneedle.com’s newly developed iOS mobile app will provide a significant proportion of smartphone shoppers with a new, unique way of shopping the website in an initiative that reflects the collaborative nature of digital technology development at Walmart.com.
Ryan Paulson, vp/technology at Hayneedle, told HOMEWORLD BUSINESS® that the new app is the first element of the company’s online business that uses visual search, but it also enables shoppers to search based on style preferences, to save items to a favorites list and to finish purchases quickly and securely via Apple Pay, while also providing immediate access to limited-time best-price deals.
Although the technology is noteworthy, the consumer was the most important factor in the app development, Paulson said. Hayneedle had to consider optimization, usability testing and analyzing customer feedback in the app development process, but the goal was to provide consumers with a unique interaction even beyond what they might encounter on the company’s mobile website.
“We are always working to improve customer experience and to continue to learn what our customer’s needs are,” he said. “When you look at mobile specifically, we wanted to provide an app that’s easy to use from the navigation standpoint. Where what the customer is looking to find is not hidden behind complicated menus or complex navigation. Our app lets them see what we offer right away, and gets them from intent to purchase to actually making a purchase.”
The visual search function in the app, for example, connects Hayneedle shoppers from inspiration— whether it arises from a piece of furniture they encountered in a friend’s home, in an office setting or in a magazine photo— to product selection by using an image to quickly call up a presentation of similar products.
Paulson noted that the app can use the resources of the iPhone itself to improve performance, and that will remain an ongoing opportunity.
“Since the app release, we’ve released two upgrades for users and continue to have a roadmap going forward to add functionalities that will continue to benefit the user,” he said.
Because the app can use the smartphone CPU, Hayneedle has the opportunity to provide features that aren’t practical on the mobile site, he said, and continue refining the customer integration to best effect.
“First and foremost, we want to be able to provide an experience for the shopper,” he said. “People expect that using an iPhone app will provide a better experience, so in order to meet their expectations, we have been able to take advantage of the native functionality of the iPhone. We have a commitment to make improvements— not only to improve basic functionality but to provide additional services and enrich the offerings.”
Paulson noted that enhancing the app capability provides Hayneedle additional opportunity as more consumers engage in showrooming. Visual search creates an advantage when in-store shoppers choose to check Hayneedle for products similar to ones they see and immediately photograph with their smartphones. At the same time, other app functions that make searches and navigation easier encourage consumers to engage in the showrooming more often, which is a benefit to e-tailers.
Showrooming even could prove a benefit to Hayneedle’s parent, Walmart, which is inevitably going to be showroomed itself. If Hayneedle, with its easy-to-use app, edited and arranged product selection, and online lifestyle merchandising, becomes the virtual alternative of choice, Walmart wins long term.
“No matter where someone is, we are finding that consumers are always looking at the environment and seeing new things they like, and ultimately daydreaming about what they might see in their spaces. So it was extremely important for us to have a functionality like visual search in place. This functionality will allow users to take a picture of an item that they may have seen in a store, a friend’s house or even in a magazine, and easily find it on Hayneedle,” Paulson said.
Visual and style searches along with Apple Pay help to integrate the app experience as they conform to ways consumers prefer to shop.
“We approached the app design and entire app experience separately from how we have approached and designed the desktop and mobile website experiences,” Paulson said. “We wanted to build the app from the ground up. We didn’t want to replicate the mobile website, but instead wanted to use it as an opportunity to make an easy-to-use app with functionality not available on traditional websites. ‘Shop by style’ within the app is more intuitive, Apple Pay really helps reduces checkout friction and visual search makes the experience more efficient.”
Development of the app didn’t happen in a vacuum, as the company has been working in cooperation with all the various e-tail operations under Walmart.com to advance the online initiatives of each.
“Being part of the Walmart family of brands allows us to collaborate with not just Walmart and Jet but also other unique brands such as Bonobos and Modcloth,” Paulson said. “We’re constantly learning with one another and sharing those key learnings across all aspects of the business. It’s not only tech learnings, but other things like marketing perspectives. In the end, this sharing helps all of our brands improve and grow.”
He noted the structure established under the Walmart.com umbrella invites collaboration.
“It’s definitely a very communicative, open environment, not only within the separate offices but also between each,” said Paulson. “We regularly meet at the technical leadership level, and our internal teams do as well. It’s a give-and-take, open-sharing environment. We contribute the Hayneedle perspective to the other brands, and they do the same with their perspectives.”
In moving forward, he said, Hayneedle will bring a solutions-oriented approach to updating the app, adapting it based on customer engagement and use.
Down the road, Paulson added, Hayneedle customers who use the app should enjoy a “crisper, cleaner, faster experience.”
A challenge he identified is keeping shoppers informed about what they can accomplish using the app.
“A difficulty for us is how to educate people about the app,” Paulson said. “We are leveraging the capability of push notifications, and we want to make sure our marketing is inspiring, that all deals are being shared and up to date. We want to keep users engaged as we add different functionalities. We also want to combine with other marketing outlets like email and print to keep the app top-of-mind. We’re going to continue meeting our customer expectations and keep them coming back. We even have a little headset icon on the face of the app telling people: We want to hear from you. Call us. If you don’t want to call, we have a feedback form, and you can rate us through the app store if you choose. We want to forge that connection to the customer.”
