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Fox Head Launches Mobile Site Targeting Youth Market

As the 2012 holiday shopping season approaches, many retailers are executing smartphone and tablet commerce strategies to drive increased engagement and awareness. In fact, mobile will play a starring role this year, with consumers expected to spend more than $10 billion on mobile commerce ― and more than $31 billion by 2016 ― according to a Forrester Research report, titled: Mobile Mandate For eBusiness Professionals,

To keep pace with the continued explosion of m-Commerce, Fox Head, an international youth sports retailer, has released a simplified mobile-optimized site to create a streamlined brand experience specifically for consumers under 18 years old.

The site features in-depth search functionality, large, high-definition images and a seamless layout, “offering a relatively easy shopping experience,” John Hazen, VP of Global E-Commerce at Fox Head, told Retail TouchPoints. “This effort is about highlighting our products, not features.”

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Top priorities for the new mobile offering were simplicity and ease-of-use, Hazen added. Thus, Fox Head removed more extensive capabilities from the mobile site, such as image zooming, because “they clutter the mobile screen,” he explained. “We tried to streamline the mobile experience by keeping it uncomplicated, with fewer features, rather than cramming everything offered on an e-Commerce site into a mobile one.”

The new mobile experience, powered by Digby, allows young Fox Head consumers to browse apparel and footwear; motocross, mountain bike and surfing gear; create wish lists and complete purchases; and access in-depth content on extreme sports.

Along with providing a simple, intuitive site that spotlights best-selling items and offers easier add-to-cart functionality, the Fox Head m-Commerce experience also ensures instant access to content developed by the brand: Mobile shoppers can browse through the Fox Head blog, watch extreme sports videos and sift through photo galleries on their smartphones and tablets at any time, from anywhere.

Tapping The Youth Market
As of September 14, 2012, Fox Head touted approximately 3.7 million Facebook fans, with approximately 37% of those fans under the age of 18. The retailer leverages this social audience to keep a pulse on the wants and needs of its target consumers, and in turn, has streamlined its strategies to focus on increasing brand awareness and word-of-mouth among the youth audience, Hazen reported.

“Our Facebook fan base provides a huge amount of demographic information and in-depth data around what our young customers want and what they think about specific items,” Hazen said. “As part of our stronger youth focus, we are honing in on these insights in order to implement more compelling and relevant direct-to-consumer strategies.”

By gathering and analyzing consumer insights, Fox Head also can better determine the effectiveness of specific investments. For example, the retailer consistently measures conversion rates from smartphones and tablets to pinpoint the features and capabilities to which younger mobilized shoppers respond more favorably.

Additionally, 25% of Fox Head e-Commerce revenue was derives from mobile devices ― a number expected to increase considerably over the 2012 holiday season, according to Hazen.  Additionally, Fox Head will release dedicated tablet applications and cross-channel campaigns throughout the holiday season, and soon will integrate PayPal into its online and mobile payment options.

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