Kalio Enables Consumers to "Touch" Products with New KalioTablet Extension for iPad and Android

CUPERTINO, Calif., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Kalio® Inc., a leading SaaS-based e-commerce provider focused exclusively on the needs of mid-sized retailers, today announced the KalioTablet™ Extension for Apple iPad® and Android™-based tablet devices. Built for the KalioCommerce™ Spring 2012 release, the extension seamlessly delivers the rich e-commerce functionality that Kalio is known for, with a familiar tactile interface, and tablet form factor. Additionally, merchants are now able to interact with consumers by quickly extending a rich shopping experience to popular and convenient tablets without extensive design and content engineering. The KalioTablet Extension leverages the same content, promotions, pricing, checkout, and customer loyalty features as the primary web storefronts.

"Touch of Class is launching a tablet-optimized version of our web site using the KalioTablet Extension," said Gary Bell, Vice President of Information Services at Touch of Class, Inc. "Our goal is to provide a rich browsing experience that is optimized for iPad and Android tablet devices. Kalio made it easy for us to meet this goal with the new extension. Now, our customers can navigate our site, select product options, and have a smooth checkout experience regardless of which device they use to shop with us. The extension positions us to take advantage of this rapidly growing channel of traffic and builds upon the success we've had with the KalioMobile™ Extension we launched last February. With KalioMobile, we quickly doubled our sales from iPhone and Android mobile phone customers. I have high expectations that our KalioTablet Extension will significantly improve sales and quickly become one of our customers' favorite ways to shop Touch of Class."

According to Strategy Analytics Group, global tablet computer shipments leapt to 26.8 million units in the fourth quarter of last year, setting new sales records for the devices. For all of 2011, 66.9 million tablets were sold around the world, up approximately 260% from the previous year.

"Consumers expect rich e-commerce experiences, regardless of what device they are using," said Emmanuel de Boucaud, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Kalio. "Yet mid-market retailers must control design, deployment, and engineering costs associated with managing multiple forms or instances of their site. With the new KalioTablet Extension, online retailers capitalize on economies of scale afforded by sharing content, promotions, customer care rules, and payment systems across all online touch points, including tablets. The new extension delivers a rewarding consumer experience and leverages the navigation paradigm they are accustomed to on their tablets."

KalioCommerce Tablet Extension—Rich, Native Functionality

The ability to navigate e-commerce sites with familiar fingertip actions on tablet touchscreens is integral to the KalioTablet Extension user experience. With the new extension, consumers can use their fingertips to zoom in, toggle between product views, pinch or stretch views, swipe to move, or touch to navigate. More than just the standard interface designed for use on a computer, the KalioTablet Extension leverages tablet functionality for the richest e-commerce experience on that form factor. Buttons are appropriately sized to avoid inadvertent selection of nearby choices. Methods of input for selecting options and quantities are designed to avoid the disruption of activating the pop-up keyboard. Category and options lists are shown in ways that are familiar to tablet users and make it possible to easily scroll by touch and select the desired choice. The result is deeper customer engagement, more extensive site exploration, and ultimately, greater sales.

Unlike online catalogs or mobile apps (mobile applications) that scrape or mimic e-commerce sites to render them on tablets, the KalioTablet Extension delivers the full e-commerce site experience in the appropriate form factor for tablets.

"Retailers that use the KalioMobile Extension have seen an average of 45% increase in conversion from smartphone traffic. We expect retailers that use the KalioTablet Extension to experience the same or better conversion rates as they extend their sites to these popular devices," added de Boucaud.

The KalioTablet Extension for iPad is available immediately to all KalioCommerce retailers. Support for Android-based tablets will be available later in 2012. For more information, retailers can contact Kalio at www.kaliocommerce.com or (408) 550-8040.

About Kalio, Inc.

Kalio® Commerce, develops and delivers powerful software-as-a-service solutions built specifically to meet the online sales and merchandising needs of mid-sized retailers. The Kalio Commerce Platform delivers retailers unprecedented freedom to manage their own sites and grow their online businesses at a rate that is more than double the industry's average. The platform enables merchants to design and manage their e-commerce website in a fully hosted, professionally supported environment but at a price point that is commensurate with their business size. A strong alternative to custom code or expensive custom hosted solutions, only Kalio Commerce delivers the rich e-commerce functionality required to differentiate retail brands and deliver engaging and profitable retail sites in a low-cost-of-entry SaaS platform that is stable, supported and improved with new selling features on an ongoing basis. Learn more at www.kaliocommerce.com

Android™ is a trademark of Google Inc.

iPad® is a registered trademark of Apple Inc.

Contact:
Kelli Tejada
+1 (415) 271-9820
[email protected]

SOURCE Kalio Inc.