Cotton Traders to launch customer apps with Poq

Cotton Traders, the multi-channel apparel retailer, has announced it will launch its first customer apps in 2020 having signed a partnership with app-commerce platform Poq.

The move into apps is part of the brand's growth strategy to attract a younger consumer. It was founded in 1987 by former England national rugby union team captains Fran Cotton and Steve Smith and specialises in casual wear with premium quality that fits all shapes and sizes.

As part of this strategy is a plan to launch an iOS and Android app to help drive mobile conversion as the brand has witnessed an increase in customers browsing via mobile.

Shona Jameson, Chief Marketing Officer, Cotton Traders explained: "Over the past two years, we've seen more and more customers choosing to browse on mobile. However, one of the biggest challenges we faced was that where our mobile traffic was high, conversion on mobile was lower when compared with desktop."

Paul Hurst, Head of Digital, added: "To tackle this we decided to launch our first-ever shopping apps, coming later this year. We know that the experience on app will be easier and more convenient for our customers, but also is beneficial for the business.

"Apps tackle the challenge of higher mobile web traffic but lower conversion on mobile. We're excited to launch our apps, an entirely new channel for our customers to shop on and we look forward to growing our customer engagement and brand loyalty on our new apps."

Cotton Traders will initially target UK customers with the apps and chose Poq having tracked the success the platform had with well-known fashion brands such as PrettyLittleThing and Missguided.

Oyvind Henriksen, Co-Founder and CEO, Poq, said: "We're excited that a traditional multichannel retailer like Cotton Traders has prioritised providing the best customer experience to its shoppers by embracing app commerce. Shopping apps have become an expectation for today's consumer and we're proud to partner with Cotton Traders to provide a great shopping experience through its apps."