H&M has finally added mobile commerce to its site and mobile application that lets consumers shop the retailer’s extensive inventory.

The Swedish clothing retailer unveiled mobile commerce in conjunction with ecommerce last week to its digital properties in the United States. H&M’s online stores let consumers shop products that are available in-store and buy items in additional sizes as well as online-only items.

“H&M’s ecommerce presence in the U.S. has been highly anticipated, and making mobile commerce available immediately in this rollout simply makes it all the more accessible to consumers,” said Matt Garrity, director of business development at Canvas, New York. “The demand is certainly there.”

Mr. Garrity is not affiliated with H&M. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

H&M did not respond to press inquiries.

Seamless shopping
When consumers go to H&M’s mobile site or open the retailer’s app, a full page takeover informs shoppers that they can now shop online.

H&M’s iPhone and Android app essentially pull in the retailer’s mobile site for a similar browsing and checkout experience.

Consumers can shop from H&M’s women’s, men’s and kids’ products. Items are categorized by new and popular products or by type of clothing.

With the launch of online commerce, H&M is also debuting a line of home furnishing products.

A filter button at the top of the page lets consumers sort products by color, size and label.

Consumers can view size guides and additional photos via the product pages before it is added to a shopping cart.

From there, shoppers create an H&M profile with their billing and shipping information. There is also a box where consumers can type in promotional codes to check out.

H&M’s mobile site and app also lets consumers find nearby stores, shop look books and access coupons.

The retailer is waiving its standard $5.95 shipping fee for the month of August to celebrate the launch of mobile and online commerce.

Shoppable products on H&M’s mobile site

Past initiatives
Despite not offering mobile commerce up until now, H&M has been active in mobile for quite some time, especially with advertising.

For example, H&M ran an in-app mobile advertising campaign earlier this year with Session M to reward consumers with points in exchange for watching the brand’s new commercial featuring David Beckham (see story).

The brand also leveraged Instagram and location-based mobile advertising last year with a campaign that encouraged consumers to go on a scavenger hunt to find statues of David Beckham in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles (see story).

Commerce is table stakes for retailers with a solid mobile strategy nowadays, and H&M is late to jump on the bandwagon.

H&M originally announced that it was adding online commerce in 2011, and since then consumers have been waiting for the feature to be rolled out. H&M has steadily been rolling out online shopping to other countries besides the U.S. in the past few years.

Nonetheless, adding the ability to shop from smartphones, tablets and desktops solidifies H&M’s digital investments and makes particular sense with the company’s massive amount of inventory.

“Large inventories present challenges, but H&M is certainly equipped to handle this type of online volume,” Mr. Garrity said.

“Especially for clothing retail businesses, mobile commerce is a large revenue channel now, with sky’s-the-limit potential,” he said.

“H&M is offering a mobile experience that feels aligned with their brand and is easy to use. Mobile can even bolster their already remarkable in-store sales, while simultaneously becoming an independent sales engine.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York