In this extract from Ragtrader's Fashion Forecast Report: 2025, David Jones chief retail officer Kate Bergin (pictured) shares why a shopping app is key to the department store's future. Download the free report HERE.
It’s been three months since David Jones launched its very first shopping app to the market, and the department store’s chief retail officer Kate Bergin counts two key wins.
The first is that conversion is significantly higher on the app than via the website. And this is not an isolated case for David Jones. A quick search on Google shows countless businesses confirming that shopping apps deliver higher conversion - mostly thanks to speed, usability and being able to send notifications directly to the user’s phone.
The second is the attraction of new customers. Of the 80,000 people who have downloaded the app so far, a growing portion of these have never shopped via David Jones’ digital channels.
Within all that, a larger portion of these app users are via iOS, with the Google Play Store noting that over 5,000 android users have downloaded the app as of writing. Across both platforms, the app is sporting an average rating of 4.7 stars.
Getting to this point was almost a year in the making, featuring a team of more than 50 across David Jones and global software engineering consultancy firm Mindera, all working across multiple time zones. And while half of them got stuck into the technicalities, the other half conducted market research.
“So we had around 15 testing groups, and we had equal representation of customers that shopped with David Jones, and then we also thought it was important to check with the customer that hadn't shopped with David Jones,” Bergin says. “And the reason for that is they may have interacted with our website previously, and so they gave us lots of key insights, and we also utilize those test groups as we prototype.”
Bergin says the team uncovered insights from the testing groups on what was important to customers, while also ensuring that what they’ve so far developed is up to scratch through the customer’s eyes.
“The things we really focused on was speed - our customers wanted to make it fast and easy for them to browse our products and services - and filtering came out loud and clear. So we needed to make it easy for our customers to find what they're looking for, and then to be able to make an informed decision.”
“Then there was alerts. Because we are the home of the best of Australia and international fashion, we know that our customers want to know when we're launching a new brand or if we've got a new delivery of one of their favorite brands. One of the unique features of the app, of course, is to be able to have those notifications, and then to be able to provide them with up to date tracking their orders. So that's a notification you can receive in the app.”
And then there is wishlisting. According to Bergin, the research showed that its customers wanted to be able to create multiple wish lists. This is a functionality that David Jones will implement in the near future.
“But what was really important to us was making sure that accessibility was key when we were designing the app. So we utilized WCAG 2.0 guidelines to make sure that we've accounted for most user groups that would find it difficult to read on a screen.
“That was really important to us from an inclusivity perspective.”
Looking ahead, it’s expected that downloads of the app will continue to surge. Bergin confirms that more than 70 per cent of its online shoppers buy through a mobile device. On top of this, David Jones’ loyalty program will eventually be integrated with the app, with past indicators suggesting the total membership of the program to be above 1.6 million. This is how many members it had in 2022 according to Woolworths Holdings Limited (South Africa), the then-owner of the department store, based on its 2022 annual report.
Other future implementations include native live chat and express checkout. The aim here is to avoid frictions in the sale process and ease the shopping journey.
“We've got more coming,” Bergin says. “When we do launch the loyalty program, our customers will be able to see their online and in store purchases. So that means you're really connecting the physical and the digital in terms of your account.”
Then there is infusing services on the app. David Jones has beauty services across all its stores and styling services in its top suburban and CBD locations. The aim is to add a function on the app for users to book in appointments.
“And then we're looking at creating a barcode reader after that, so that you can scan items in our stores and be able to add it straight to your wish list,” she says. “Or create even a gift registry on the app, which is another service that we offer that our customers love.
The launch of the shopping app is part of a wider journey in David Jones’ tech revitalisation, amounting to $65 million worth of investment. Following the launch of the app, Bergin says the next step is shifting its website to a headless format - which essentially means separating the front end architecture of the website from the back end content management system.
“That's going to give us greater flexibility, scalability and speed, whilst also enabling more personalized and enhanced customer experience on our website,” Bergin says.
“We're also going to invest in a new order management system, and that's really important so we can continue to provide our customers with more delivery options and even better accuracy in terms of those delivery times, which we know is so important for our customer.”
If you loved this story, you can read more like it in our FREE Fashion Forecast Report: 2025.