the iPhone craze and when Android technology was still picking up steam — but
that it has always paid off. The timing was
great for the launch of many of its mobile
apps, and the company has seen a very
positive response from consumers, according to Ranford.
“In our holistic program of online
engagement, it really has given us a broad
mobile strategy,” he says.
1800Flowers.com’s involvement in
E-commerce and M-commerce has es-
pecially spoken most successfully to the
on-the-go gifter, Ranford says. “We feel
strongly about taking
advantage of that
massive evolution of
folks moving to
M-commerce. We’re
very focused on SMS
right now and on
growing our subscriber
base. We can send re-
minders to consumers
for major holidays, for
example, and we like
to promote our mobile
Web offerings via other
Web channels, as well,” Ranford says,
citing E-mail directives driving traffic to
the mobile Web site where customers can
shop and make purchases.
By keeping all of its mobile and social
media marketing opt-in only, 1800Flow-
ers.com has been able to form an enthusiastic online community, according to
Amit Shah, director of online marketing,
mobile and social media.
get those offers on their mobile phones.
Being able to offer products on-the-go
is something they’ve never had before,”
Shah says.
In addition to its own Web site,
1800Flowers.com also maintains a heavy
presence on social media sites such as
Twitter and Facebook, allowing shoppers
to post products to their own pages and
marketers to gauge which products are
most popular with online users. Consum-
ers can also take part in contests such as
the Summer of Smiles campaign, where
users win a free bouquet for correctly
identifying photos of celebrity smiles;
shop directly through 1800Flowers.com’s
Facebook page, which has more than
