Zappos overhauls shopping app for Android
The shopping site redesigns its native app and adds a widget that tracks shipping, as well as the ability to store and organize multiple credit cards.
Zappos knows that making it easy to buy things means more sales, so it's overhauled its Android app with a new design focused on browsing and a quick checkout.
The app, available today for Android and Kindle devices, lets shoppers save searches and share or "favorite" items while browsing and, of course, buy the items. The new checkout process comes with a way to store and manage multiple credit cards by tagging them with different colors, but customers can also use PayPal. It also comes with a package-tracking widget, which the Zappos mobile team says is unique to shopping apps. The widget, which works only with Android 3.0 and above, lets you see the status of your shipment in real time.
The app currently has good ratings and has 1 million to 5 million installs in the last 30 days. It's nowhere near parent company Amazon's shopping app, which has had 10 million to 50 million installs in the last month. Zappos wouldn't say exactly how successful the previous Android app was in getting people to actually buy things, but it said the rate is growing, especially with a renewed attention to Android. The first version of the app was just a rehash of its iOS app, but the team found that it wasn't very successful.
The latest version is the most significant redesign so far, according to Zappos, and while it works well on smartphones, it's meant to really shine on tablets. That focus makes sense, given that tablets are a preferred device for browsing and shopping. More browsing, and a quick way to check out -- Zappos hopes -- means more purchases.