Report: Steve Madden to expand mobile push

New York City Shoe retailer Steve Madden said it will step up its mobile efforts by rolling out a Mobile Club in the next six months that will send customers exclusive deals directly to their phones, according to a report on MediaPost News.

Andrew Koven, president of e-commerce and customer experience for Steve Madden, addressed MediaPost’s Mobile Summit in Lake Tahoe, Calif., on Friday and told attendees that it plans to tighten the link between in-store and online shopping via customers' handsets. The company already launched a mobile-optimized site this spring.

The new Mobile Club initiative will be promoted through Steve Madden's website and in stores and give customers the chance to earn points toward rewards that could include having a shoe named after them or going to the video shoot of one of the music artists the brand partners with to help market its shoes, handbags and accessories, the report said.

Koven said the company is sticking with text-messaging as the chief means of delivering offers and product information since it's a common mobile format and will help Steve Madden collect user data. The company said it is holding off from utilizing mobile barcodes for now because of the lack of standardization among various emerging technologies.

Koven said the retailer will also roll out a program using its in-store TVs and signage encouraging shoppers to text to a shortcode to get more information about products worn by featured bands and artists.

It is also extending existing loyalty efforts to mobile including the ability to sign up for a birthday message from Steve Madden on Facebook or to vote on planned new shoe designs via social properties such as Facebook and Twitter.

At the same time, he stressed that the company wants to avoid alienating visitors to its brick-and-mortar stores with overly aggressive cross-promotion of its mobile offerings.