Mobile and Tablet Optimized Design Provides Entry to Upscale Retail Experience

Brick-and-mortar businesses have the added challenge of simulating their real-world location in the digital space, instantly. And to get the foot of today’s savvy shopper in the door, you may first need to get a click on a link.

The West Ave at River Oaks — a shopping facility located in a posh district of Houston — realized that in order to distinguish their stores, their website had to both sell its upscale experience and go one step further to be a handy tool and guide.

Sherpa! Web Studios designed West Ave’s site to provide an improved shopping experience for patrons before and during their visit. How? A touch-compliant directory, optimized for smartphones and tablets, interactively delivers useful information for visitors — store locations, hours, phone numbers, driving directions, even PDFs of the facilities’ restaurant menus.

Additional notable features include:

• Site-wide photo gallery places highlighting of luxury establishments one click away
• Gesture-based directory map allows for filterable listings
• Dining locations provide lunch or dinner menus for perusing in advance of visit
• The WHAT'S NEW section, combined with a dynamic Facebook page, keeps shoppers up to date on special deals, events, new openings, and construction updates

Since its launch, Houstonians have found the site, and West Ave itself, to stand out from competitor online shopping and mall directories with simple listings or single graphic.

While the convenience of Internet shopping has increasingly eclipsed in-store retail sales, West Ave has provided the best of both worlds: an impressive collection of boutiques and restaurants plus a digital guide and invitation to immerse oneself in the experience.

Visit www.westaveriveroaks.com.