Cotton Traders meets the consumer demand for mobile, by launching shopping apps in 2020

London, 7th January 2020, British multi-channel apparel retailer, Cotton Traders, has today announced that it has partnered with app commerce platform, Poq, to launch their first apps for customers. 

Founded in 1987, by former England national rugby union team captains Fran Cotton and Steve Smith, the Cotton Traders brand was created to provide casual wear with premium quality that fits all shapes and sizes – values that are prominent in the retailers’ commitment to customers. 

As part of its’ latest growth strategy, Cotton Traders is repositioning the brand and extending to a younger target audience. A part of this initiative, is a digital-first approach, with the launch of an iOS and Android app at its core. The business has seen significant growth in customers moving from shopping on desktop to tablet and mobile, a trend that is consistent across the retail sector.

Shona Jameson, Chief Marketing Officer, Cotton Traders explains, “Over the past 2 years, we’ve seen more and more customers choosing to browse on mobile. However, one of the biggest challenges we faced, was that where our mobile traffic was high, conversion on mobile was lower when compared with desktop.  

“To tackle this we decided to launch our first-ever shopping apps, coming later this year. We know that the experience on app will be easier and more convenient for our customers, but also is beneficial for the business. Apps tackle the challenge of higher mobile web traffic but lower conversion on mobile. We’re excited to launch our apps, an entirely new channel for our customers to shop on and we look forward to growing our customer engagement and brand loyalty on our new apps.”

Paul Hurst, Head of Digital, Cotton Traders

Cotton Traders viewed partnering with Poq as ‘low risk’. The senior execs at the business followed the progress of early app adopters, like Missguided and PrettyLittleThing, who power its apps on the Poq platform. Cotton Traders can rely on the expertise of the tried and tested app platform from Poq. 

Building on the steady growth that the business has experienced on its’ digital channels and evolving the business with changing consumer behaviour, the iOS and Android apps will empower the retailer to have greater data and insight into how its customers are shopping.

The business intends to initially launch its apps to its’ UK customer base, where the greatest volume of consumers are already shopping on mobile. With a loyal customer base, that frequently shop with the retailer, Cotton Traders is in a strong position to engage and retain these shoppers with its apps.

“We’re excited that a traditional multichannel retailer, like Cotton Traders has prioritised providing the best customer experience to its shoppers by embracing app commerce. Shopping apps have become an expectation for today’s consumer and we’re proud to partner with Cotton Traders to provide a great shopping experience through its apps.”

Oyvind Henriksen, Co-Founder & CEO, Poq

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