SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/13/12 -- Skava, the leading provider of multi-touch point retail technology, today announced the launch of Harry & David's tablet optimized eCommerce website created by Skava, to meet their growing tablet based audience. Harry & David looked to improve the user experience based on the unique flow that tablet users anticipate from a leading retailer and increase engagement and conversion rates.

"The number of customers accessing our website from tablets has grown exponentially in 2012 so we wanted to create a more engaging and pleasing shopping experience for them," said Sue Eagan, Director of Mobile and Tablet eCommerce, Harry & David. "Our tablet traffic has more than doubled over the last year and it continues to trend upwards. We wanted to create a visually rich, engaging experience, leveraging the unique capabilities of tablet devices and optimize the shopping experience. Skava has been a terrific partner in helping us achieve these goals."

Harry and David chose Skava to create the new tablet website in order to:

• Optimize the Harry & David brand experience across platforms
• Better leverage unique capabilities and high resolution imagery of tablets
• Improve ease of navigation for tablet shoppers
• Create an engaging shopping experience for high value customer segment
• Increase conversion rates for tablet shoppers

Since its launch in 2010, 18% of Americans have acquired a tablet, which means it has seen a far higher adoption rate when compared to the smartphone. Forrester Research predicts that by 2016, 1 in 3 Americans will own a Tablet(1) and Tablet eCommerce traffic is growing rapidly. While almost all of the top 100 US online retailers have optimized their website for smartphone, the results of the November report "Impact of Tablet for Retailers 2012" conducted by Skava shows that prior to Thanksgiving; only seven percent of the top 100 US retailers had optimized their websites for tablet devices. The report also shows that a tablet shopper is almost four times more likely to purchase goods online than those shopping with a smartphone (2.3% for tablet as compared to 0.6% for smartphone visitors). Furthermore, a tablet shopper spends more on their tablet than any other device while the average order value on tablet is $123 compared to $108 on the desktop.

"The vast majority of retailers are relying on their desktop website to serve as their tablet website and this can often become a frustrating experience for the tablet user who relies on fingers to navigate the site as opposed to a mouse," said Dan Kowta, Creative Director at Skava. "Some frequent problems encountered by users are that certain links do not work, flash causes serious issues and checking-out can be a more difficult and time consuming experience. Tablet commerce is still in its infancy, but Harry & David is leading the way in creating an easy to use and more engaging tablet experience for their customers."

About Skava:
Skava is one of the leading providers of mobile and multi-touchpoint solutions to many of top tier retailers in the US. The Skava platform converts their eCommerce platform across mobile web, tablet, Facebook and in-store technologies. It is regularly recognized as being one of the leaders in the field and sets itself apart by providing innovative, superior quality solutions in a rapidly changing digital world.

Skava has been pioneering app development since 2002. It has built multiple top selling apps and its mobile websites have been nominated for multiple prestigious awards including the Webbys and Meffys. It built the first retail site fully optimized for tablet (t.staples.com) and is working with multiple retailers developing their in-store technology solutions. It has delivered millions of new Facebook fans to its clients and every year build hundreds of cross channel marketing campaigns.

Clients include: Macy's, Gap, Bloomingdales, Sears, Kohls, Staples and Banana Republic

About Harry & David
Harry & David is America's largest multi-channel marketer of gourmet premium fruit gifts, fine chocolates, baked goods, confections and home décor accessories.

Nearly 80 years ago, Harry and David turned their extraordinary pears into the perfect holiday gift. You can still send Royal Riviera® Pears as well as many other varieties of fresh fruit of the highest quality, handpicked to our exacting standards in our 19 local orchards and in many others around the world. We make it easy to send gourmet edible gifts like our many flavors of Moose Munch® caramel popcorn, chocolate dipped fruit, truffles and more, most of which is made in our own kitchens from recipes honed over time. We handpack all this yumminess in gift baskets and exclusively designed gift boxes, many of which are even topped off with a hand tied bow. Then we ship our gifts to arrive on time, in perfect condition. Guaranteed! Through our stores, wholesale, catalogs and websites, gifts from Harry & David, and its brands Cushman's and Wolferman's, are designed for festive occasions, entertaining and self enjoyment throughout the year. Harry & David is a DBA of Harry and David, LLC. http://www.harryanddavid.com

(1) Sucharita Mulpuru & Sarah Rotman Epps with Patti Freeman Evans, Douglas Roberge, Why Tablet Commerce May Soon Trump Mobile Commerce, Forrester Report, July 25, 2011.