The mobile site is optimized for all Web-enable phones, including the iPhone and Android devices. The company partnered with Digby to use its mobile commerce suite of software.

“Lilly Pulitzer is a unique brand in that we have a multigenerational customer,” said Kendall Swenson, senior promotions associate for Lilly Pulitzer, King of Prussia, PA. “We’ve found that the Lilly lovers life is full of different activities, whether she’s dropping the kids off at school, engaging in her local charities and women’s leagues, working, her social schedule is hectic.

“We’ve found that a high percentage of our customer service e-mails were being sent via iPhone or BlackBerry as our girl is constantly on the go,” she said. “We want her to be able to buy her Lilly instantly, no matter where she might be running to.

Lilly Pulitzer provides apparel for women, children and men, accessories including eyewear, shoes, handbags, jewelry, belts and gifts, fragrance, stationery inspired by the Palm Beach lifestyle.

Color me mobile
Consumers can access the mobile site by going to http://www.lillypulitzer.com via their handset. They can browse and search across the entire catalog, read product descriptions and see full-color images, integrate their address book and find the nearest store.

In addition, there is a mobile-optimized checkout, access to new arrivals and integration with existing backend cataloging and order processing systems.

Here is a screen grab of the mobile site:

“We have upwards of 85,000 fans on our Facebook page and the fastest growing demographic is the 45-plus range,” Ms. Swenson said. “We’re looking to continue to capture an older customer and grow this base.

“We will be launching an application for iPhone in the coming months,” she said. “We’ve been locking in our Facebook fan base.

“We’ve found that this is the most direct way to reach out customers, especially those that are digitally savvy.”

Here is another screen grab of the mobile site:

The Lilly Pulitzer and Digby partnership was a catalyst for the recently announced union between Digby and Venda – Pulitzer’s ecommerce platform provider.

In the beginning of June, the companies announced the availability of Venda A.M.P, a mobile portfolio that is integrated with the ecommerce platform.

According to Brennan Hayden, vice president at WDA, East Lansing, MI, creating a mobile site is a good step for brands entering mobile.

“The case for a custom mobile Web site is pretty clear, a mobile Web site is more important [than an app],” Mr. Hayden said. “There are 80 million mobile Web users, most with smartphones and only about 15 million who use the free apps that brands like to give away.

“So for reach, mobile web wins hands down, and will continue to by a wide margin according to all projections,” he said. “Adding the higher frequency of web interaction to app interaction – the engagement might be greater than 20 to 1.

“As for user experience, the idea that a brand can rely on their regular Web to suffice for mobile, even for the venerable iPhone, is just unstudied wishful thinking I am afraid.”

Final take
Rimma Kats, editorial assistant at Mobile Commerce Daily, New York.