Moosejaw Mountaineering Mobile Business Growth Reaches New Heights With IBM Smarter Commerce Mobile, Social Business Strategies Help Overcome "Show rooming" Concerns

ARMONK, NY and MADISON HEIGHTS, MI ---  Moosejaw Mountaineering is using software from IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative to expand its mobile commerce and social business strategy.  More than 30 percent of Moosejaw customers are shopping on the company's mobile site, up from 25 percent a year ago, with about 16 percent of sales coming from mobile devices and tablets.

Moosejaw Mountaineering’s digital shopping trends coincide with the findings of IBM’s Online Retail Index. After the holiday shopping season, mobile commerce continues to dominate first quarter growth, driven most extensively by tablets. Overall, mobile sales increased 31 percent over 2011 with mobile site traffic increasing close to 40 percent.

One of the first merchants to employ a mobile commerce and viral marketing, Moosejaw is embracing social media to spur brand loyalty. The outdoor retailer, known for pioneering digital brand marketing, was founded in 1992 and now has eleven retail stores throughout the United States with 80 percent of sales coming from online and mobile commerce.   

Nearing 100,000 fans, Moosejaw’s social presence has a cult-like following that engages consumers and drives them to the nearest shop locations.  Using social media, Moosejaw delivers customers a glimpse into the company’s culture with a combination of irreverent posts from Moosejaw staff, video clips of Moosejaw’s interoffice antics, and loyal shoppers posting pictures of their latest outdoor adventures with Moosejaw’s flag that is sent with every order.

 “Our mobile and social strategies have taken on a life of their own. Through these channels we are learning that our customers have certain unspoken expectations of us -- they expect us to know them,” said Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford. “No matter what items we have on our shelves, at the heart of Moosejaw’s business, we are a marketing organization using the latest forms of technology to engage our customers wherever they are – on a social site, shopping in the store, summiting Everest, backpacking the Chilkoot Trail, or climbing at their local in-door gym.” 

By combining marketing and technology, Moosejaw is able to tackle show rooming concerns, maintain consistency across all shopping channels and foster brand loyalty.  Show rooming -- consumers shopping in stores while using mobile devices to compare prices and product details -- is often viewed as a threat to brick-and-mortar retailers. Innovative merchants are putting these concerns to rest by looking at new ways to improve the shopping experience for digitally-savvy shoppers.

According to a recent study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, consumers shopping with a mobile device actually spend more money. Forty-two percent of consumers using a mobile device while in-store spend more than $1,000, while 21 percent of shoppers, who left their smart phones at home, spent the same amount. 

Moosejaw is embracing the reality of mobile in-store shopping -- recognizing that consumers want more product information than they might normally find on store shelves or displays.  By using mobile point-of-sale software designed by IBM business partner Crossview, Moosejaw is able to deliver outdoor enthusiasts with a wide range of brands and cross-section of merchandise.

Creating a showroom for clients shop in, Moosejaw is known for its ‘endless aisle’ strategy.  In stores, Moosejaw stocks only 4,000 to 5,000 product SKUs, while the warehouse used for fulfilling online orders holds about 80,000 products. In order to bring these products closer to shoppers, each store has designated associates who are using mobile devices to interact with customers in the store.

Using mobile devices, customers and Moosejaw sales associates can stand in the store aisles and gauge the availability of products, check warehouse stock and find desired items that can be shipped to the customer’s home.  Moosejaw can use the device to check competitive prices and extend a price match to ensure that the customer receives the best price.  Based on this successful system, new stores in Natick, MA, Boulder, CO and Kansas City, MO have only two payment terminals (instead of three or four) and 60 percent of all transactions at these locations are completed on a mobile device.

Instead of losing in-store mobile sales, Moosejaw is able to capture those sales and fulfill orders from items in its warehouse, while delivering directly to the customer's home.  Moosejaw’s ‘agnostic channel’ approach works to blend the lines and create a more holistic shopping experience for their customers.

About Moosejaw
At Moosejaw we sell the best outdoor gear and apparel in the world and have the most fun possible while doing it. Our goal is to engage customers with our unique brand voice and a little youthful enthusiasm. We call it Moosejaw madness. Moosejaw offers products from popular brands such as The North Face, Arc’teryx, Patagonia, Mountain Hardwear, and Black Diamond, as well as its own Moosejaw brand and many others. The company serves a diverse customer base including serious outdoor enthusiasts, active individuals pursuing an outdoor lifestyle, and high school and college students who are passionate about the Moosejaw brand. Moosejaw operates through Moosejaw.com as well as eleven retail stores.