Furniture, lighting and home accessories store Heal’s has introduced a mobile commerce-enabled site that lets consumers search, browse and buy from its inventory.

The company used Venda’s mobile platform and Digby LocalPoint Storefront to power the mobile site. Heal’s decided to launch the mobile commerce site to give consumers more options to shop its products no matter where they are.

“Heal’s’ key strategy is to provide their valuable customers with access to Heal’s’ products anytime, anywhere from the convenience of their smartphones,” said Dan Lowden, vice president of marketing at Digby, Austin, TX.

The smartphone’s increasing affordability and accessibility make it a must-have tool for consumers across age segments and geographic locations. On Christmas Day alone, 6.8 million smartphone devices were activated, a 140% increase from 2010, according to findings from Flurry Analytics.

The 2011 holiday shopping season also emphasized the growing prevalence of mobile commerce. In September 2011, PayPal predicted that nearly half (46%) of consumers planned to make a holiday purchase on a mobile device. PayPal analysts said that with growth of “couch commerce,” retailers promoting and encouraging mobile purchases were poised for success. Results from IBM indicated that during December 2011, 14.6% of all online sessions occurred on a mobile device, a 7.5% boost over 2010. Mobile purchase rates also increased from 5.5% in December 2010 to 11% in 2011.

Nobody just watches TV anymore. And no event illustrates how ingrained multitasking is better than the biggest TV extravaganza of the year, the Super Bowl.

Some people watch the game with their laptops handy, searching for terms ranging from “hot wings” and “Hail Mary” to the brand name of their favorite Super Bowl advertiser. Other people seem so tethered to their smartphones that they must have watched the game with a beer in one hand and an iPhone in the other.

Job Functions (* = essential)
1. *Elicits business requirements in the form of user stories.
2. *Elicits bug reports based on user feedback and/or diagnostic data.
3. *Authors bug reports based on user feedback and/or diagnostic data.
4. *Constructs and documents analytical models of problem domains.
5. *Constructs and documents software component designs.
6. *Defines and constructs tests for software contracts.
7. *Implements software contracts.
8. *Documents usage of software units and components.
9. *Confers with peers and supervisors to perform job functions.
10. Leads small teams in an agile software process.
11. Communicates requirements and best practices to external personnel.
12. Performs other non-essential duties as assigned.

Technical Skills (* = essential)
1. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with Java.
2. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with web development.
3. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Eclipse or similar IDE tools.
4. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Maven, ant/ivy, or other build tools.
5. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with junit, testNG, or other TDD tools.
6. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with jbehave, cucumber, or other BDD tools.

Experience / Education (* = essential)
1. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with agile process frameworks.
2. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with test-driven development.
3. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with behavior-driven design.
4. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with continuous delivery / devops environments.
5. BS/MS/MCS in computer science / software engineering / related field, or equivalent experience.

Work Conditions (* = essential)
1. *Ability to work in standard office conditions.
2. *Ability to tolerate repetitive use of keyboard at workstation.
3. *Ability to work on several concurrent projects simultaneously.
4. *Ability to work under stress and deadlines.
5. *Ability to work extended / non-standard hours.
6. Ability to travel internationally.

Reporting Information
This position will report directly to the Director of Research, and will work with mainline technical leads, testing technical leads, and product line leads as appropriate.

About Digby R&D
At Digby R&D, you will have the opportunity to work with small teams of highly motivated software development professionals who work with cutting edge technologies. We are committed to building high quality systems through the application of solid, agile engineering practices. We create an environment in which all of our team members can improve their craft.

About Digby
Digby helps brands achieve their strategic multi-channel goals – to drive store traffic, engage with consumers in the store, enable mobile commerce and provide web-style analytics to the physical retail store – all through their own branded mobile experience. Digby is a well-established startup whose client base includes Bed Bath and Beyond, Cabela’s, Toys “R” Us, The Home Depot, Wet Seal, Brooks Brothers, Golfsmith, Orvis and many more. We conveniently located off of 360 and Mopac just along the Barton Creek Greenbelt in south Austin. We have recently started several new development initiatives – you can play an integral part in these efforts. Learn more about us at www.digby.com.

How to Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter, a resume, and the names and contact information of three references to: rd-careers@digby.com.

Job Functions (* = essential)
1. *Develop and maintain a documentation strategy for all Digby product lines.
2. *Elicit and refine documentation requirements from product owners and customers.
3. *Develop and refine text components (messages, help text, etc.) for customer-facing systems.
4. *Develop and maintain user guides and best practices documents.
5. *Develop and maintain API developer guides and best practices documents.
6. *Communicates requirements and best practices to external personnel.
7. Performs other non-essential duties as assigned.

Technical Skills (* = essential)
1. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Microsoft Office, Adobe Technical Suite and/or other publishing tools.
2. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with wiki authoring tools such as Confluence.
3. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Gliffy or other graphic tool.
4. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with HTML/CSS/JavaScript.
5. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with XML/DITA.
6. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with JavaDoc API documentation.
7. Familiarity (2+ years experience) working with / documenting mobile applications.

Experience / Education (* = essential)
1. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) as a technical writer.
2. Familiarity (2+ years experience) working in an agile software development environment.
3. BA/MA in English, Journalism, or related field, or equivalent experience.

Work Conditions (* = essential)
1. *Ability to work in standard office conditions.
2. *Ability to tolerate repetitive use of keyboard at workstation.
3. *Ability to work on several concurrent projects simultaneously.
4. *Ability to work under stress and deadlines.
5. *Ability to work extended / non-standard hours.

Reporting Information
This position will report directly to the Director of Research, and will work with Director of Product, mainline technical leads, and testing technical leads, and product line leads as appropriate.

About Digby R&D
At Digby R&D, you will have the opportunity to work with small teams of highly motivated software development professionals who work with cutting edge technologies. We are committed to building high quality systems through the application of solid, agile engineering practices. We create an environment in which all of our team members can improve their craft.

About Digby
Digby helps brands achieve their strategic multi-channel goals – to drive store traffic, engage with consumers in the store, enable mobile commerce and provide web-style analytics to the physical retail store – all through their own branded mobile experience. Digby is a well-established startup whose client base includes Bed Bath and Beyond, Cabela’s, Toys “R” Us, The Home Depot, Wet Seal, Brooks Brothers, Golfsmith, Orvis and many more. We conveniently located off of 360 and Mopac just along the Barton Creek Greenbelt in south Austin. We have recently started several new development initiatives – you can play an integral part in these efforts. Learn more about us at www.digby.com.

How to Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter, a resume, and the names and contact information of three references to: rd-careers@digby.com.

Job Functions (* = essential)
1. *Elicits business requirements in the form of user stories.
2. *Elicits bug reports based on user feedback and/or diagnostic data.
3. *Authors bug reports based on user feedback and/or diagnostic data.
4. *Constructs and documents analytical models of problem domains.
5. *Constructs and documents software component designs.
6. *Defines and constructs tests for software contracts.
7. *Implements software contracts.
8. *Documents usage of software units and components.
9. *Confers with peers and supervisors to perform job functions.
10. Leads small teams in an agile software process.
11. Communicates requirements and best practices to external personnel.
12. Performs other non-essential duties as assigned.

Technical Skills (* = essential)
1. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with Java.
2. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with SQL DBMS.
3. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with ORM.
4. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Eclipse or similar IDE tools.
5. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Maven, ant/ivy, or other build tools.
6. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with junit, testNG, or other TDD tools.
7. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with jbehave, cucumber, or other BDD tools.

Experience / Education (* = essential)
1. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with agile process frameworks.
2. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with test-driven development.
3. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with behavior-driven design.
4. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with continuous delivery / devops environments.
5. BS/MS/MCS in computer science / software engineering / related field, or equivalent experience.

Work Conditions (* = essential)
1. *Ability to work in standard office conditions.
2. *Ability to tolerate repetitive use of keyboard at workstation.
3. *Ability to work on several concurrent projects simultaneously.
4. *Ability to work under stress and deadlines.
5. *Ability to work extended / non-standard hours.
6. Ability to travel internationally.

Reporting Information
This position will report directly to the Director of Research, and will work with mainline technical leads, testing technical leads, and product line leads as appropriate.

About Digby R&D
At Digby R&D, you will have the opportunity to work with small teams of highly motivated software development professionals who work with cutting edge technologies. We are committed to building high quality systems through the application of solid, agile engineering practices. We create an environment in which all of our team members can improve their craft.

About Digby
Digby helps brands achieve their strategic multi-channel goals – to drive store traffic, engage with consumers in the store, enable mobile commerce and provide web-style analytics to the physical retail store – all through their own branded mobile experience. Digby is a well-established startup whose client base includes Bed Bath and Beyond, Cabela’s, Toys “R” Us, The Home Depot, Wet Seal, Brooks Brothers, Golfsmith, Orvis and many more. We conveniently located off of 360 and Mopac just along the Barton Creek Greenbelt in south Austin. We have recently started several new development initiatives – you can play an integral part in these efforts. Learn more about us at www.digby.com.

How to Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter, a resume, and the names and contact information of three references to: rd-careers@digby.com.

Job Functions (* = essential)
1. *Designs, implements and maintains software quality strategies.
2. *Designs, implements and maintains documentation quality strategies.
3. *Elicits business requirements in the form of user stories.
4. *Elicits bug reports based on user feedback and/or diagnostic data.
5. *Authors bug reports based on user feedback and/or diagnostic data.
6. *Constructs and documents analytical models of problem domains.
7. *Constructs and documents software component designs.
8. *Defines and constructs tests for software contracts.
9. *Implements software contracts.
10. *Documents usage of software units and components.
11. *Confers with peers and supervisors, both co-located and distributed, to perform job functions.
12. *Leads small teams in an agile software process.
13. Communicates requirements and best practices to external personnel.
14. Performs other non-essential duties as assigned.

Technical Skills (* = essential)
1. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with Java, C++, Objective-C or other OO language.
2. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with web development.
3. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with JIRA or other issue tracking systems.
4. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Fisheye or other code review systems.
5. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Eclipse, xcode, or similar IDE tools.
6. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with Maven, ant/ivy, or other build tools.
7. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with junit, testNG, or other TDD tools.
8. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with jbehave, cucumber, or other BDD tools.

Experience / Education (* = essential)
1. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with QA/QC processes.
2. *Proficiency (5+ years experience) with agile process frameworks.
3. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with distributed and/or international teams.
4. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with test-driven development.
5. *Familiarity (2+ years experience) with behavior-driven design.
6. Familiarity (2+ years experience) with continuous delivery / devops environments.
7. BS/MS/MCS in computer science / software engineering / related field, or equivalent experience.

Work Conditions (* = essential)
1. *Ability to work in standard office conditions.
2. *Ability to tolerate repetitive use of keyboard at workstation.
3. *Ability to work on several concurrent projects simultaneously.
4. *Ability to work under stress and deadlines.
5. *Ability to work extended / non-standard hours.
6. *Ability to travel internationally.

Reporting Information
This position will report into the Research & Development function, and work with the Director of Research, mainline technical leads, testing technical leads, and product line leads as appropriate.

About Digby R&D
At Digby R&D, you will have the opportunity to work with small teams of highly motivated software development professionals who work with cutting edge technologies. We are committed to building high quality systems through the application of solid, agile engineering practices. We create an environment in which all of our team members can improve their craft.

About Digby
Digby helps brands achieve their strategic multi-channel goals – to drive store traffic, engage with consumers in the store, enable mobile commerce and provide web-style analytics to the physical retail store – all through their own branded mobile experience. Digby is a well-established startup whose client base includes Bed Bath and Beyond, Cabela’s, Toys “R” Us, The Home Depot, Wet Seal, Brooks Brothers, Golfsmith, Orvis and many more. We conveniently located off of 360 and Mopac just along the Barton Creek Greenbelt in south Austin. We have recently started several new development initiatives – you can play an integral part in these efforts. Learn more about us at www.digby.com.

How to Apply
To apply, please send a cover letter, a resume, and the names and contact information of three references to: rd-careers@digby.com.

“Whether or not you have a smartphone is closely related to both how old you are and how much money you make,” finds a Nielsen survey of 20,000 Americans with mobile phones conducted in January. I quote:
While overall smartphone penetration stood at 48 percent in January, those in the 24-34 age group showed the greatest proportion of smartphone ownership, with 66 percent saying they had a smartphone. In the same age group, 8 of 10 of those that had gotten a new device in the last three months chose a smartphone. Among those who chose a device in the last three months, more than half of those under 65 had chosen a smartphone.

LONDON, UK and AUSTIN, TX—February 20, 2012—Heal’s, the home of modern designer and contemporary furniture, lighting and home accessories, announced today the launch of a mobile optimised website that creates a rich and unique shopping experience for consumers anytime, anywhere. Heal’s customers can now easily search, browse and buy Heal’s wide range of furniture, lighting, home accessories and gifts for the home from the convenience of their smarpthones whether they are at home, on the go or in a Heal’s store.

Enabled through the Venda Mobile Platform Powered By Localpoint Storefront from Digby, Heal’s’ mobile optimised site enhances their cross-channel strategy and complements their ecommerce site and 6 retail stores across the UK. Heal’s sleek and elegant mobile shopping experience allows customers to search, browse and buy products in as little as sixty seconds when they visit www.heals.co.uk from popular mobile devices such as iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Key features of the mobile optimised site include: large, rich product images with additional views, detailed product descriptions, a homepage banner, shop by category, store locator, an ever-present search bar, ratings and reviews, and social integration with Facebook, Twitter and email a friend.

“With an increasing percentage of our online traffic coming from mobile devices, enabling a mobile optimised website was a strategic next step for us,” said Mike Traill, Head of Ecommerce at Heal’s. “The shift to mobile creates a huge opportunity for us to engage with our valuable customers on a deeper, more personal level.”

The mobile commerce solution, known as the Venda Advanced Mobile Platform, is a feature rich mobile portfolio powered by Digby Localpoint Storefront, which is integrated with the Venda Enterprise eCommerce platform. This seamless solution provides brands and retailers with a unified platform to connect with and serve their customers when mobile – 365/24/7, delivering highly personalized and rich shopping experiences.

“Heal’s has been a successful online partner of Venda’s and we are excited to extend our relationship to the mobile channel,” said Eric Abensur, Group Chief Executive of Venda. “Mobile is part of any true convergent commerce strategy, allowing brands to deliver a unified customer experience across all platforms.”

According to a recent survey by eDigitalResearch and IMRG, 40% of U.K. consumers using a smartphone while shopping ultimately made a purchase in-store, online or via mobile.

“We are excited to continue our strong relationship with Venda to create a unique and optimized mobile experience for leading UK retailers through our Digby Localpoint Platform to help them build a more personal relationship with their most loyal customers,” said Dave Sikora, President and CEO of Digby. “Heal’s is a great brand that is rich in history and we look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure the mobile channel is a long-term strategic success.”

###

About Heal’s
Founded in 1810, Heal’s is a destination lifestyle store selling a wide range of modern, designer and contemporary furniture, homewares, lighting, accessories and gifts for the home. Over the decades the ‘Heal’s style’ has become synonymous with modern, elegant living; always championing innovative design.

Since 2001 Heal’s has been owned privately by Wittington Investments Limited with Guy Weston as Chairman. Wittington Investments, the investment vehicle of the Weston family also owns department store Fortnum & Mason, Associated British Foods and fashion retailer Primark.
Andrea Warden is currently the Chief Executive and has been since 2004.
Heal’s currently has six stores located throughout the UK and an online store heals.co.uk.
For further information on Heal’s visit www.heals.co.uk or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @Heals_Furniture / @Heals_Press

About Venda
Venda is the world’s largest on-demand ecommerce provider. Processing over 1 in 50 of all UK non-food transactions, its highly flexible ecommerce platform offers retailers the scalability, stability and security for deploying world-class ecommerce sites.

With over ten years’ experience and a presence in the UK, US and France, Venda helps global retailers increase revenues and deliver a return on investment faster than traditional ‘buy and build’ methods. Its expertise in multichannel commerce and knowledge of payment regulations in different countries allows retailers to expand quickly into new markets.

As of December 2010, approximately 100 retailers of all sizes use Venda’s platform to handle millions of transactions each month. These include Accessorize, Anthropologie, Emma Bridgewater, Heal’s, Jimmy Choo, Paperchase, Royal Doulton, and Republic.

For further information please visit http://www.venda.com or join the discussion at www.twitter.com/vendaUK

About Digby

Digby helps brands achieve their strategic multi-channel goals – to drive store traffic, engage with consumers in the store, enable mobile commerce and provide web-style analytics to the physical retail store – all through their own branded mobile experience. Powered by the Digby Localpoint Mobile Platform, Digby delivers mobile websites, applications and SDKs designed for smartphones that empower brands to optimize their mobile strategy across all channels. Solely focused on enabling top brands since 2006 and with more than 50 top retailers already enabled including Bed Bath and Beyond, Cabela’s, Toys “R” Us, The Home Depot, Wet Seal, Brooks Brothers, Golfsmith, Orvis and many more, Digby is the leading provider of multi-channel mobile engagement and commerce for brands. Learn more about us at www.digby.com.

For Venda
Niki Hutchinson at LEWIS:
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627
Email: vendauk@lewispr.com
Web: http://www.lewispr.com

For Digby
Catherine Seeds and Caitlin McClaugherty
KetnerGroup
1.512.794.8876

For Heal’s
Kelly-Ann Teasdale, PR Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7896 7545
Email: kteasdale@heals.co.uk

IBM issued a series of reports during the holiday season showing a growing proportion of online retail traffic and commerce coming from mobile devices. The latest IBM data shows the same pattern playing out on Valentine’s Day. It found 14.5% of all online sessions on
retail sites came from a mobile device on Feb. 14, while mobile accounted for 10.1% of all online sales on Valentine’s Day. The share of mobile sales more than doubled from last year’s 3.9%.