NJN: Blue Nile Sells $300k Diamond via iPhone App

(IDEX Online News) – Consumers are beginning to purchase big-ticket items through their mobile phones. A Blue Nile customer recently bought a diamond engagement ring that cost more than $300,000 through the company’s iPhone app.

“Large jewelry purchases, running from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars, via smartphones happen quite frequently,” John Baird, director of brand and corporate communications at Blue Nile, told Internet Retailer. “When it comes to diamonds and fine jewelry, Blue Nile’s mobile shopping site and iPhone app are extremely powerful tools.”

According to Internet Retailer, many people are doing more Web browsing on their smartphones than on their computers.

“People are shifting their Web behaviors from the desktop to the smartphone, and that includes shopping,” Bill Siwicki, Internet Retailer’s managing editor of mobile commerce writes.

Neel Grover, president and CEO of Buy.com Inc., says he sees customers purchasing products every day through their mobile phones. “These products will range from a book to a bottle of wine to a several thousand dollar television.”

Smartphone Web traffic is growing for many retailers, including Dungarees.net, which saw an increase from 1 percent in 2009 to 8 percent in 2011. JetBlue Airways’ smartphone traffic is at 10 percent, electronics retailers Crutchfield is at 12 percent and movie ticket retailer Fandango is at 40 percent.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what you sell, smartphone shoppers are visiting your site,” Siwicki said, “and many more of them are on the way.”