[London, ENGLAND] In what must be one of the
most optimistic European Internet services to date,
Zoom.co.uk
is enabling shopaholics to buy clothes while
on the move using a WAP phone.
Making the service possible is a deal with
BT’s Genie
mobile Internet service, and software developed
in conjunction with WAP software specialist Dimon.
To purchase clothes while, for example, traveling
on a bus or having lunch, the user logs into the
relevant WAP site using a Zoom username and enters
the code for the product which can (says Zoom) be
found online. To complete the purchase, the user
chooses size and color, and clicks “buy this.”
It may seem an odd way to purchase fashion items,
especially in London where Saville Row tailoring
involves multiple measuring and fitting sessions
to ensure customer satisfaction. Yet Zoom has
already become one of the U.K.’s most successful
fashion sites, scoring 14 million page impressions
per month on its regular, non-WAP Web site.
Zoom’s WAP service is not just for fashion shopping
but includes e-mail access which could well turn
out to be the more popular and useful service for
Zoom’s users.
“We aim to utilize all accessible channels from
interactive TV to PC and WAP to allow our users
access to Zoom in whatever platform they prefer
to use,” said Eva Pascoe, managing director, Zoom.co.uk.
Zoom is, in fact, jointly owned by the Arcadia Group,
the UK’s second largest clothing retailer, and
Associated Newspapers Ltd, and has a special interest
in promoting fashion sales across all media. Its
partners include leading High Street brands such as
Pink Soda, Elle Creation, Jo Boxer, TopShop, TopMan,
Racing Green, Dorothy Perkins, Hawkshead, and Principles.
Who knows? Perhaps shoppers will forget about
“feeling the quality” and click “buy this”
frequently on their WAP phones. At least they
will earn “zoompoints” on every transaction.
