At the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE) in San Diego this past June, I stumbled upon a new iPad app that’s contributing to the mobile shopping craze. The app is called Coffee Table, and it’s revolutionizing and re-energizing the catalog industry in a very green way.
An aggregator of catalogs, Coffee Table seamlessly integrates the print marketing vehicles into one iPad application, creating a type of virtual mall available both online and offline. From a retailer's standpoint, the app doesn't require IT department support to run or integrate with Coffee Table. All the retailer is required to do to be a partner is sign up and submit a PDF of its catalog to Coffee Table. The catalog then has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of more eyes than is possible with a paper version. Coffee Table features catalogs from Crate & Barrel and Lucky Brand, to name a couple, and the list is growing.