Review: Net A Porter Magazine iPad App

This is part of the Top Magazine iPad series

The introduction of Net a Porter’s iPad app has contributed to a growing iPad retail phenomenon. It seems that in the transition from website to app,  Net a Porter have made a huge effort to make the app resemble a magazine. They have featured their products in the form of a fashion shoot or fashion feature which gives the products character. In comparison to real magazine  Net a Porter has a brief amount of pages; as much as a weekly magazine.

Our ratings:

1) Usefulness/Value to User

The Net a Porter app offers an aesthetic  experience whilst maintaining clear product information. The products are displayed beautifully in high quality photography, whilst the product information is displayed in an optional side panel. Because this app doesn’t have to load external data, you can view items faster than on the website. The whole interactive experience of clothes purchasing on the iPad is more exciting than the website. It’s not just about zooming in and out, it’s about  bringing up panels, bringing up windows, and different angles. The magazine app also boasts a range of designer interviews and shopper feedback which makes you feel as if you are engaging with a community of shoppers.

8/10

2) Useability/ Interface

The app opens with an elegant magazine front cover and you swipe across to the right where the ‘contents’ page is displayed in a pictorial grid of 10 features such as ‘Editor’s choice’, ‘Cirque de Spring’.  To open up the magazine in a larger interface, you simply click the thumbnail of the page and the article opens.  Alternatively, if you would like to swipe across the pages you can choose to swipe to the right and this might make it feel like you are flicking across magazine pages, in a sense. The modelling pictures on the magazine are almost tangible because the colour is so rich. I feel this is the key to the success of online retailer products- the high quality image.

7/10

3) Price

The price is free which is an incentive to explore this app instead of buying a real magazine app. The revenue for the magazine will come from designers and labels that advertise. It is also worth the investment in this app, to find new ways to present the products and to further communicate with people.

7/10

4) Additional functionality

As well as the sharing function which seems inherent to all iPad apps, there is also a wishlist. The pictures of models are interactive so the app zooms into each model’s outfit, in turn.  Also,  should you feel that your iPad is in need of some clothing, you can purchase a new outer case from brands like Burberry, Gucci and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

6/10

Summary

Net a Porter have certainly achieved some innovation for their retail industry by amalgamating their products into a magazine form. The app stands as a competitor to premium magazine apps because of it’s attractive price. Although it doesnt boast as much bonus functionality as real magazine apps, it still has a few social media features which make it more exciting than the Net a Porter website.

This is part of the Top Magazine iPad series