Online department store Very.co.uk has become the first UK retailer to implement Adobe’s Scene7 platform to deliver rich media video and images to mobile devices.

Very.co.uk launched its iPhone and iPad shopping app in April 2010 to enable mobile visitors to browse and shop its entire fashion collection while on the go. Using Adobe Scene7, the app enables visitors to zoom in to view intricate detail on main product images and alternate views, as well as watch full screen videos. Since April, the app has been downloaded over 50,000 times.

“The app is part of our multichannel strategy to make all products and content available on any device and any browser,” says Neal Preece, eCommerce development director at the Shop Direct Group. “We know that customers who watch product videos on our eCommerce sites tend to make a more considered purchase, and we wanted to replicate the same, detailed customer experience on the Very.co.uk mobile app. The Adobe Scene7 platform has been an invaluable resource for us in delivering rich experiences; whether it’s online shopping or using a mobile, our brand is accessible to consumers every way they like to shop.”

Very.co.uk is aimed at fashion-conscious, tech-savvy consumers, and is part of Shop Direct Group, the UK’s largest online and home shopping company. The store currently offers more than 1,800 product videos on its eCommerce website, which are now all accessible via the iPad and iPhone app. Adobe Scene7 allows mobile shoppers to easily select items to zoom in on for extra detail using a pinch and zoom touchscreen feature, and to examine alternate views and video clips, helping them make a more informed purchase. Shop Direct also plans to leverage Adobe Scene7 to launch two mobile-optimised e-commerce websites in 2011.

“Mobile consumers are becoming more sophisticated in the way they shop, driving the need for retailers to develop and publish rich content to multiple marketing channels,” says Kevin Lindsay, group manager, conversion optimization, Omniture Business Unit at Adobe. “In fact, in a recent survey we conducted of leading enterprises worldwide, 80 per cent of respondents cited plans to deploy rich visual merchandising features for mobile commerce over the next 12 months. Adobe Scene7 enables marketers and retailers to leverage a single platform to deliver the same immersive experiences to mobile as they can online, reducing the resources required to publish to each channel.”  
Adobe Scene7 delivers dynamic content to any channel, including web, email, print and mobile. Scene7 is performance-optimised to dynamically generate and deliver unlimited variations from master imagery – shortening time to market and reducing costs. Solutions include Dynamic Imaging, eCatalogues, eVideos, Dynamic Banners, Visual Configurators, Web-to-Print, Asset Publishing, Media Portal, Targeted Email & Print, and Mobile. Companies using Scene7 solutions include QVC, Harrods, Ralph Lauren, Blockbuster, and Levi Strauss & Co.