August 3rd, 2011

From: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/8/prweb8684683.htm

Online Classifieds Go Mobile and Appeal to Weekend Audiences by Providing Apps for iPhones and iPads to Browse and Sell Used Stuff

Canadian online classified leader Used.ca is witnessing a new trend in the social commerce industry. More and more buyers and sellers are posting and making their purchases without ever logging on to a PC – they are doing it directly from their smartphones and tablets.

Victoria, BC (PRWEB) August 03, 2011

Used.ca (http://uedev.bpsrvr.com/) helps users go mobile by offering two new ways to browse through and inquire about ads on mobile devices – the iPhone “Used Viewer” App and the iPad “Used iPad Viewer” App. There is also a quick posting app for the iPhone: “Used Post” App.

The iPhone “Used Viewer” App allows users to view ads on their local UsedEverywhere classifieds site (http://uedev.bpsrvr.com/sites/) directly from their iPhones. The Ad Viewer App allows browsing of online classifieds quickly and efficiently without having to do a lot of zooming and scrolling because all of the key information is presented in a clear concise format on the iPhone screen.

The “Used iPad Viewer” App allows users to quickly scroll through their favourite ads with the swipe of a hand directly from the iPad or iPad 2. In its launch week the Used iPad Viewer App was downloaded hundreds of times and it quickly gained popularity with the number of daily downloads quadrupling by the end of the week. These download trends are continuing as more people shift their browsing from computers, to smartphones and tablets.

The iPhone “Used Post” App allows users to quickly post ads to the site directly from their phones. Ads include up to four photos that are posted directly from the iPhone. Posting from the app saves time because users no longer have to download pictures to their computers.

“This is a sign of the times. As our customer base does more of their everyday computing on mobile devices the online classified and social commerce industries must adapt and deliver our business to our customers on their preferred platform,” says Tish Hill, Used.ca GM. “UsedEverywhere offers apps to help iPhone and iPad users quickly buy on the fly directly from their smartphones.”

The most popular days for downloading all three apps include Saturdays and Sundays, suggesting that mobile downloads/browsing/posting are more popular on the weekends. Also, the most prominent time of day for posting an ad is between 3pm and 6pm, suggesting there are many students posting once out of school, parents posting once the children are home or working professionals posting at the end of the work day, possibly when work gets slow.

More mobile applications for devices such as Blackberries and Androids are in the planning stages in response to Used.ca user feedback – via the toll free help line, online help, and social media channels such as the Facebook page and Twitter feed.

The Used.ca family of sites (http://uedev.bpsrvr.com/sites/), established in 2003, is Canada’s biggest Canadian owned online classified network. There are local city sites in the UsedEverywhere network across the country including UsedOttawa.com, UsedWinnipeg, UsedRegina, UsedVictoria and more.