Matalan app orders rise 28% after mobile platform launch

Matalan has reported a 28% year-on-year increase in September app orders following the August launch of its new mobile platform, which attracted 1.76 million downloads in two months.

The UK retailer developed the replacement app with mobile technology specialist Apadmi as part of investment in its digital business, stores and product ranges.

What happened

September’s increase followed 20% year-on-year growth in app orders in August, according to figures reported by Retail Gazette. Monthly active users have risen 10% month on month since the launch.

The app’s conversion rate reached 4.4%, exceeding Matalan’s 3.4% target by one percentage point. Average spending per app order was 14% higher than on the retailer’s website.

The platform is Matalan’s first fully native app and replaces its previous version. It incorporates the Matalan Me loyalty programme, bringing membership and shopping functions together.

Changes include upgraded search, fuller product information and checkout using Apple Pay and Google Pay. Customers can also scan product barcodes while visiting stores to check availability, read reviews and view further details.

That barcode function gives the app a role beyond purchases made directly on a phone, connecting information available online with products customers find in Matalan’s shops.

Search is also an area of competition elsewhere in fashion retail, with John Lewis and department stores gaining fashion search share. Matalan’s changes focus on helping shoppers find and assess products within its own app.

The background

The first month’s results showed that 93% of existing app users had moved to the replacement platform. The app generated two million sessions during that initial period.

At that stage, average order values were 10% above those on Matalan’s website. The latest figures therefore show a widening spending gap between the two channels, rather than downloads alone increasing.

Online sales grew 10% in Matalan’s last financial year, helping to stabilise trading while the business worked on its stores and merchandise. For the year to February, its pre-tax loss narrowed to £54.7m and adjusted EBITDA rose 24% to £69.4m.

Investors committed a further £25m in March to support spending across stores, product and digital. In June, the retailer extended its existing debt facilities to 2029.

The wider programme includes refreshing stores and repositioning fashion ranges as Matalan seeks to attract shoppers back to the business. The app is one element of that programme, rather than a standalone overhaul.

Elsewhere in retail’s digital operations, UK retail media spending reached £2bn after a 32% rise. That concerns advertising expenditure; Matalan’s update instead measures customer activity and purchasing through its own mobile platform.

What people are saying

Matalan digital director Dre Nicolaides said the encouraging aspect of the launch was that customers were using the app to make purchases, not simply installing it. He pointed to stronger order numbers and conversion as evidence of that engagement.

His assessment places the emphasis on shopping behaviour after download. The reported measures cover adoption, repeat activity, conversion and order value, although the update does not give a total sales figure for the app.

What happens next

Nicolaides said Matalan intended to add further features as it sought to expand its digital business. The update did not identify those features or set out a release timetable.

The broader development agenda for online retailers also includes preparing for AI shoppers, as urged by H&M’s SEO lead. Matalan has not identified AI shopping tools as part of the next phase of its app plans.