Following the announcement by UK department store giant John Lewis that it has surpassed £1 billion sales online a year earlier than expected the retailer also revealed a new £40 million web platform, a revamp of its mobile site which now accounts for 25% of traffic, and announced that will launch a new app later this year. It’s no surprise they are revisiting an already successful app after research from Flurry Analytics earlier this year revealed shoppers spent six times as long in mobile retail apps in December than a year previous. Such apps need to do more than simply be an entrance to the company’s mobile store and truly add value. So with apps now central to building loyalty and traffic what are retailers doing to stand out and what lessons can be learnt?

1)      EBAY – Offer variety by going niche

EBay’s selection of targeted apps to meet its customer needs and improve their shopping experience is wide-ranging – from its full EBay store to the more targeted EBay Fashion and EBay Motors as well as its more niche apps such as ticket outlet StubHub! or entertainment media outlet half.com. However its RedLaser app allows EBay to further demonstrate the strength of its offer by allowing consumers to scan barcodes to find the best deals on eBay, online or in their local area and has recently been updated to add further functionality. (more…)

We can’t believe Apps World North America 2013 is  over!  Thank you to everyone who visited/spoke/exhibited and helped to make it a great two days showcasing the most innovative and exciting developments in the mobile app industry. We’re already looking forward to next year’s show, but here’s our photo highlights of 2013 – with special thanks to our photographer May Suen:

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Welcome to day two of Apps World North America 2013, we hope there aren’t too many sore heads following last night’s official show party in downtown San Fran, thanks to everyone who came and helped make it such an excellent event.

It’s time to get the game-faces back on this morning, as we have a whole heap of top-level apps industry discussion to look forward to. Here’s a short selection of some of the in-depth, not-to-miss sessions you can catch today. (more…)

Good morning to all developers, mobility specialists, mobile marketers and app industry professionals! The waiting’s finally at an end; Apps World North America is up and running at the Moscone Center West.

Day one of Apps World promises great excitement, with vaunted speakers doling out spoonfuls of sparkling content on a variety of topics.

From monetisation to mobilisation, expertise will be provided by companies such as Twitter, CBS Interactive and National Geographic among others across 10 conference tracks, alongside a free exhibition hall with over 150 exhibitors. (more…)

We’re delighted to announce the launch of the official Apps World app. Available on Android, iOS, mobile web and iPad, the app is designed to enhance the experience of Apps World attendees before, during and after the show, by putting the following features and information at their fingertips:

- Full event schedule
- Personalised agenda
- Exhibitor listings
- Access to Apps World Connect
- Interactive floorplan maps
- Social networking
- Speaker listings

….and lots, lots, more…

Download the free app today

Thanks to Genie Connect!

It’s a give away bonanza at Apps World in San Francisco on 7-8 February, with many of the key apps industry players keen to woo the North American developer community with top prizes, competitions and free-to-attend developer briefings.

The event includes four jam-packed developer conference tracks, where some of the leading names in the industry will share their insight and experience on the technical and business related challenges developers face. Not to mention a load of special theatre sessions from the likes of Microsoft, Rackspace, Enyo and Intel. (more…)

Windows 8 Developer Workshops : There’s only a few weeks until Apps World kicks off in San Francisco on 7-8 February at the Moscone Centers, and Microsoft is hosting a series of Windows 8 free to attend expert briefings and developer workshops over the two days, aimed at delivering the knowledge you require to code high quality apps and games for its innovative new operating system.

A team of Windows and Windows Phone experts will be on hand throughout the event to answer your queries, offer assistance with porting and development and all the support you’ll need to create amazing W8 apps

Workshops will include advice on how to ensure your apps generate the stickiness that keeps downloads ticking over, rather than fading into obscurity. They’ll be examining how to use Visual Studio, C# and XAML to build Windows Phone 8 Apps, and demonstrating how easy it is to port games to Windows Phone. (more…)

Mag+ is excited to kick off its first ever SDK contest—Unleash the Content—at this year’s Apps World conference. The contest invites iOS developers to build a better, cooler, smarter content app using Mag+’s new SDK. They’re opening the code to their app and saying “Do something cooler.”

TV App developers will be heading to the Moscone West on 7 & 8 of February for the free TV Hackfest taking place as part of Apps World, agile web evangelist Moovweb has just been announced as a sponsor of the two day hackathon.

Moovweb is pioneering a fundamentally new approach to front-end development. Using the Moovweb platform, developers and designers can transform websites for mobile, tablet, television, or any post-PC touchpoint without the need for APIs or backend integration. The Moovweb platform has served billions of mobile page views for high profile customers such as Macy’s, Accenture, TicketWeb, Chico’s, Cox Communications, and dozens of other businesses. (more…)

Apps World is pleased to announce the Intel Enterprise App Developers Theatre at the San Francisco event on February 7-8, which runs for both days and examines various developer opportunities with Intel’s software tools.

Enterprise applications are of course a hugely lucrative and profitable space, with issues such as bring your own device (BYOD), mobile device management (MDM) and enterprise mobility impacting the vast majority of workplaces. But what of how the apps are developed, and the best practice surrounding it? The Intel Developers Theatre will try to shed light on the issues surrounding enterprise app development, in particular how to engage the developer community and how to quickly build mobile-ready back ends.

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