Shopping Around Town with Olivia

Popular Finnish women's magazine Olivia has released its first application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad: Olivia shoppaa. And a mere two days after release, the app is at No. 6 in the top ten paid apps at iTunes in Finland. (You can download the app here.)

The first of its kind for Finland, the new app gives women shoppers in Helsinki the best shopping tips, with lists of stores, details and maps, the nearest boutiques plus shop descriptions from Olivia's fashion and beauty editors. All the information will be regularly updated. And the shops featured in the app will offer special discounts for app users only.

"It's a shopping guide with the best of fashion boutiques, beauty shops and cafés in Helsinki, carefully hand-picked by Olivia magazine editorial staff," says Helena Jutila, Olivia's web editor and the brains behind the app. "We're using Olivia's reputation as a reliable recommendation source."

Initially, Olivia wanted to build a shopping map for the web, but it quickly became clear that it was smarter to turn it into an application that can be used on the go - going mobile was best for the kind of location-based guide that Olivia staff envisioned. "There was no similar app in Finland yet, but we were inspired by The Scoop of the New York Times," says Jutila.

The biggest challenge was getting the app out in time for Christmas, says Jutila, so it could be a help for shoppers.

"So far we've gotten overwhelmingly positive feedback on the app through social media from the users," says Jutila. "They like the sophistication of the app and they already are giving us ideas for new categories we could add. Plus the shop owners have been very enthusiastic about participating."

Bonnier Publications Oy, of which Olivia is a part, will be developing similar apps for two of its other titles: interior design magazine Divaani, with design and interior decoration store recommendations and women's health magazine Evita with wellness shopping tips. "They will be released in spring," says Jutila. "Since we have such powerful and reliable brands, we are in a good position for extending them to different types of services on several platforms."