NEW YORK - An HSN executive at the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2011 conference said mobile is the retailer?s fastest-growing channel.

HSN considers itself a leader in the mobile retail space as one of the first retailers with an iPhone app, which launched in July 2009, and to put live streaming video in mobile. During the ?HSN: Crafting a video-centric iPad strategy for retail? keynote session, the executive discussed the company's mobile efforts also include a mobile Web site, SMS messaging and couponing. The conference was organzied by Mobile Commerce Daily.

?Our overall strategy around mobile is being driven by the fact these devices are highly personalized,? said Ed Deutscher, director of technology of HSN.com.

?People have them wherever they go and our goal is to be wherever our customer is and provide content whenever she wants,? he said. ?We truly consider mobile as our third channel.?

?It is definitely our fastest growing channel,? he said.

Video plays key role
Central to its strategy is using mobile to bring together content, community and commerce.
Video is a large part of making that happen because of its ability to provide a unique experience to customers and help get the brand in front of as many eyes as possible.

?Two years ago, community wasn?t as prevalent [in the strategy] as today,? Mr. Deutscher said. ?Now we want to bring the three together and feel we?ve done that with video.?

Because St. Petersburg, FL-based HSN broadcasts so much content, it looked for a way to leverage this asset to build a unique app.

The HSN iPad app enable users to watch HSN live as well as watch 15 channels where video content is archived by category, such as fashion, beauty or electronics. They can also create up to five customized channels specific to a product or a celebrity.

?We took a step back and thought about what was unique and loved about our brand, which is the ability to watch it whenever they want,? Mr. Deutscher said. ?We wanted to put video in the fingertips of our customers.

?People can sit for hours and watch HSN video and our customers do,? he said.

The app also enables users to extend the live viewing experience by enabling them to view product descriptions, reviews and other items within a category while watching live video. This is enabled with a split screen.

?If users were simply watching TV, they couldn?t get that information,? Mr. Deutscher said. 

Video also helps drive conversion.

?There are other ways to drive mcommerce but, video helps -- it certainly helps drive conversion,? he said.

The app is supported with on-air promotions.

An important strategy for apps is to make sure they are differentiated in the marketplace, Mr. Deutscher said. 

HSN?s iPhone app, for example, includes a game enabling users to shake their phone to try to match icons. Users have the opportunity to win a special offer if they match three icons.

?What?s going to allow customers to keep that app when they have so many choices?? Mr. Deutscher asked.

The answer is differentiation.

One important learning for HSN has been that its app users and mobile Web site users are different.

?It?s our core customer who downloads the app and wants to shop with us,? Mr. Deutscher said. ?On the mobile Web site, there are more new customers.?

The company is also looking at how to how to count a sale that starts in one channel and is finalized in another.

?If you came to one of our mobile experiences and added to cart and purchased on a desktop, we don?t count that as a mobile sale,? Mr. Deutscher said.

Going forward, the company sees an opportunity in mobile social media.

?We truly believe there is an opportunity in mobile for us to find ways to group customers into affinity groups where they can take advantage of sharing content such as product information and reviews,? Mr. Deutscher said.

Final Take