Avenue 32, a luxury online shopping platform, has launched a multichannel offer that enables its young fashion designers to showcase their products wherever shoppers are, without having to fork out for their own optimised site.

Instead of opting to build separate tablet and smartphone apps, fashion designer and Avenue 32 CEO Roberta Benteler has invested in a mobile site that offers different experiences depending on the device being used. Built by Usablenet, the smartphone-ready site is task-based, while the tablet site is focused on browsing and discovery.

On entry, the shopper is offered the opportunity to bookmark the site on their homescreen, a smart way to ensure repeat business. You are also quickly given the option to sign up to a newsletter just by entering your email address, paving the way for future marketing campaigns.

Offering a guest checkout, where the user doesnt need to register, along with a call or email option clearly signposted for customer service issues, plus free returns, make the Avenue 32 site highly attractive to busy and impatient online shoppers. Product pages provide ‘Complete the Look’ and ‘You may also like’ features, a great upsell opportunity for designers on the site.

“In fashion, where branding is everything, it is imperative to have a well-designed web presence experience that reflects the image of the brand at all touch points,” said Roberta Benteler, CEO of Avenue 32. “Avenue 32 is competing against household names, but we can differentiate ourselves by adopting the right technology, choosing appropriate partners and delivering a personalised and engaging user experience.”

Carin van Vuuren, CMO, Usablenet, said: “We are entering the age of impatience, where consumers will get frustrated if sites aren’t optimised and without such offerings, brands cannot remain truly competitive. Speed and engagement are essential and Avenue 32’s mobile and tablet sites provide fresh content and a rich user experience that will allow users to explore new designers with ease.”

Since the sites launch in 2011, mobile traffic more than doubled and average transaction value increased by 270 per cent. The focus on the multichannel experience has increased the number of mobile orders by 400 per cent. Most of the companys mCommerce happens on smartphones, with orders on tablet constituting around 20 per cent.