In the net: High-fashion e-retailer launches iPhone app

London – A new mobile phone application represents another step forward in the convergence of technology with online luxury shopping. Fashion portal Net-A-Porter launched its NET-APP application for the iPhone and iPod touch this week. ‘Convergence is most important for the future of mobile technology – especially when it comes to shopping online,’ says Net-A-Porter CEO Natalie Massenet.

Net-A-Porter, as a pioneer of high-end retail online, has always strived to be ahead of the curve when it comes to online shopping patterns. The launch of NET-APP is a response to the fashion consumers who not only want to buy high-priced designer goods online, but want to buy it on the move as well. ‘Our customer is always online and we want to give her what she wants,’ Massenet says. ‘Our business model has always been centrally located between content and commerce. The future is about condensing infotainment online.’

‘There are no seasons any more in fashion,’ said designer Roland Mouret, who took part in the NET-APP launch at the Apple store on Regent Street. Mouret is the fashion-meets-technology innovator who, in 2007, made his comeback collection available solely online and exclusively on Net-A-Porter. ‘I love that immediacy about fashion being online. Now the lead times between showing and delivering are getting shorter and shorter. And that’s because the consumer is demanding it like that.’

Read our markets report on mobile apps for more on how brands can effectively use this new medium.