Swanson Health Products has opened up a new sales channel with the launch of a mobile Web site that lets consumers buy affordable vitamins and health food products right from their mobile devices.

The health products retailer realized that with more than 60 million smartphone users and 300 million mobile phone users in the United States alone, mobile commerce is a natural extension of traditional ecommerce Web sites. Swanson also noticed an upward trend of visitors accessing its site through mobile devices, which further confirmed the need for a mobile site.

“We see the growing trends of mobile Internet use on cell phones and smartphones and know that mcommerce is a natural progression for us to extend our existing ecommerce offerings,” said Tara Kessler, public relations specialist at Swanson, Fargo, ND.

“Our mobile site was developed to give our customers access to the same products, shopping experience and discounts as our Web site, just on a platform that is designed for the mobile Internet,” she said. 

“Swanson Health Products is a customer service driven company and our mobile site is viewed as an opportunity to serve our customers on a new platform for a more convenient and efficient shopping experience on mobile devices.”

Swanson is a retailer of vitamins, supplements and natural health care products.

The goal when creating the mobile commerce site for http://www.swansonvitamins.com was to develop a site that can be used across all different phones. Any phone with a browser can view a mobile-optimized Web site.

Consumers visiting the site can browse various health products via the following categories: on sale now, top-rated and buy-one-get-one free. Shoppers can also browse by brand and product.

Consumers are able to login using their online accounts and can view previous orders and such.

“We are targeting consumers who use a mobile device to compare prices, browse or purchase online,” Ms. Kessler said. “For this reason, we chose to build a mobile site first versus creating apps for specific devices. 

“To get the word out, we have distributed an online press release and we also use social media as well as our traditional marketing channels,” she said.

“Currently, we are researching the viability of developing device-specific apps.”