NEW YORK – A Tourneau executive at the Luxury Interactive 2012 conference said that mobile, and particularly Apple’s iPad, is an ideal medium to reach its affluent consumers and engage them throughout the in-store experience.

During the “Creating a Dynamic Digital Ecommerce Organization to Increase Sales for Your Luxury Business” opening keynote, the executive addressed how mobile helps the luxury watch retailer continue its storytelling mission to drive new and existing loyal consumers in-store. Over the past year, Tourneau has been ramping up its mobile efforts with iPhone and iPad applications, and the company will also implement QR codes into its strategy for the upcoming holiday season.

“Twenty percent of our traffic is coming from an iPad and this talks to the affluency of our demographic to selling these timepieces,” said Don McNichol, senior vice president of direct marketing at Tourneau.

“We wanted to make sure the storytelling desire was kept whole via the tablet,” he said.

Mobile vs. tablets
Tourneau takes a different approach with both its smartphone and tablet initiatives.

The retailer sees its mobile efforts as highly utilitarian. Unlike its tablet application, the mobile site aims to save affluent consumers time with features such as click-to-call.

Additionally, the mobile site helps consumers save time when they do not have an hour or two to browse timepieces.

The iPad app, however, is more of an in-store marketing channel.

Tourneau has equipped its associates with iPads, which lets them know the brands and products in which consumers are interested.

For example, when an affluent consumer makes an appointment, all of their information is right there in the hands of the store associate.

Sales associates are able to see a consumer’s wishlist and previous engagements with the company.

“Data is king,” Mr. McNichol said. “It helps us create a seamless experience.

“It’s important to avoid channel conflict and test, measure and adapt,” he said.

‘Tis the season
In a move to continue engaging affluent consumers via mobile, Tourneau will be rolling out an interactive QR code campaign this holiday season.

“Target is putting QR codes on all of their shelves and their campaign is centered around you shopping for gifts for your loved ones.

“They’re using QR codes to click-and-buy and you can shop all day long,” he said. “That’s a brilliant campaign, but not so relevant for the watch world.

“These QR codes will bring you to the content, build that desire and tell that story.”

By dipping its toes into different mobile mediums, Tourneau is able to engage with affluent consumers on a much deeper level.

Mobile presents marketers with big opportunities.

Additionally, having a different approach for all of these mediums is smart, especially since consumers tend to interact differently with smartphones and tablets.

“Our job is to create desire – we’re in the luxury business,” Mr. McNichol said. “And you do that through storytelling.

“It goes back to the aspirational element,” he said. “The consumer is going to demand ease of engagement and it’s all about how do we make it easy and give the power to the consumer.

“The power is in the consumer’s hands.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York