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American Eagle, The Gap, TopShop ranked top mobile fashion retail apps

December 4, 2013

Plastic Mobile, a mobile marketing agency, announced today the findings from its new Mobile X Retail App Report, where a team of mobile experts examined the mobile apps for 10 leading fashion retailers. From both qualitative and quantitative data collected by Plastic Mobile, it was announced that American Eagle, The Gap, and TopShop received high marks for their respective mobile commerce apps.

Each retail app was tested in various use cases such as in-store, en route and at home, to evaluate its on-the-go performance. Each app was rated against a vigorous set of predetermined criteria, including loyalty, transaction, customer service, and in-store experience, among various others as outlined in the report.

The rankings:

1. American Eagle
2. The Gap 
3. TopShop 
4. Zara 
5. Urban Outfitters 
6. Forever 21 
7. H&M 
8. Express 
9. Abercrombie & Fitch 
10. American Apparel

Plastic Mobile awarded American Eagle the No. 1 ranking as the experts found that the mobile commerce app goes the extra mile in incentivizing customers — loaded with mobile-exclusive promotions, features and push notifications.

"Mobile is already predominant in the urban customer's everyday life. So it's imperative that a branded mobile app experience is more about the user and less about the brand's offering. Only by designing a mobile user-experience that adds actual value and utility can a brand become memorable in the customer's mind," said Melody Adhami, president and COO at Plastic Mobile.

The Mobile X Retail App Report also addresses four key areas of opportunity for fashion retailers to truly harness the potential of their mobile apps — social media integration, customer service, in-store experiences, and loyalty programs. The report acknowledges that consumers are no longer restricted to an in-store, one-way conversation with their favorite brands. The biggest missed opportunity identified for the retailers reviewed, was the chance to connect with their consumers by conducting a dialog on social media. An interactive, two-way experience is a key component to encouraging, and ultimately driving, mobile loyalty behavior.

Read more about mobile retail.