Retailers Offer Apps with a Catalog Feel

Some retailers today think they have found a way to give online shopping more of the feel of an outing at the mall or an hour with a catalog — by creating apps that resemble magazines for tablet computers.  Just as magazine publishers are producing iPad apps that mimic print in a way they never could on ordinary websites, retailers are making iPad catalogs, with big, stylized photographs that users can flip through on the couch or in bed.  And also like magazine publishers, they are adding rich features like video, sound and 3-D views. 

The idea is to offer “shop-ertainment,” said Siva Kumar, chief executive of TheFind, a shopping search engine that last week introduced Catalogue, a tablet app that pulls together interactive catalogs from about 30 retailers including Crate & Barrel and Sephora.  Traditional retailers like Sears and Ralph Lauren, along with e-commerce focused companies like Amazon, Gilt, QVC, HSN and eBay have all introduced tablet apps.

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