Online discount fashion retailer Bluefly, which recently reported that 42 percent of its sales come from mobile users, has invested in a next-generation shopping app that puts the omnichannel shopping experience front and center for its consumers. 

“The digital landscape has quickly shifted to mobile, and we felt it was important to offer our customers a seamless shopping experience through a new mobile app,” said Bluefly president Carly Rosenberg in a company statement. 

The new app, which was built on the Mozu commerce platform, includes a few cutting-edge features that are bound to become standard features in future shopping apps.

Camera Checkout

Users can check out after shopping by taking a photo of their credit card in the app. The app’s technology then captures credit card info through that photo. What’s so great about that? Cart- abandonment rates literally skyrocket at the point when users are faced with punching in that long Visa or Amex number. This technology gives customers less time to ask themselves, “Do I really need this?”

Integrated Instagram

The app also features an Instagram feed inside it—which allows Bluefly to curate imagery and messaging specifically to the mobile shopper. And the romance with this feature is, ideally, mutual: Users get to check out casual, selfie-style images of products they’re considering and can also re-gram (re-post) and save (to Pinterest and other boards) the content they love. 

Real-Time Updates

The new app is part of an integrated content management system, which means there’s no lag time in seeing what products are available and what has sold—in person, online, or through the app. All inventory systems, including the app, are synced to within seconds of each other. When new products, sales, and promotions pop up, app users see them as quickly as website users. 

(Photos courtesy of Bluefly)