The mobile apps market has been going strong ever since the first iPhone hit the streets. Of the thousands of apps created, retailer apps strangely seem to be low on the list. But for the past few weeks, Marketnews has had the chance to exclusively test out one major retailer's first foray into the app world: Future Shop.

Many have quietly wondered why the mammoth technology retailer, owned by U.S.-based Best Buy, hadn't yet jumped on the mobile apps bandwagon. Future Shop is already heavily involved in everything from social networking to online forums; even creating virtual salespersons to walk customers through the e-tailing Website. Clearly, the idea of an app has been brewing with the company some time, and the fruits of those labours have finally been revealed.

The first section of the app contains 23 product categories divided in grid-like fashion for easy navigating and locating the desired product.

My first impression of the app, which will be available first for the iPhone (and thus also the iPod Touch and iPad), is that it employs a clean design, with information that's accessible in an easy, succinct way. It's divided into five main sections, selectable via a menu that runs across the bottom of the screen: Browse, on Sale, Stores, Cart, and More. The most useful features of the app are also the most basic: the ability to browse through available products, see what's on sale, easily find a store nearby, and purchase products.

Products can be narrowed down to very specific purchases. Start with TVs, for example, then select the desired size range, followed by the screen type. You can also select by price, brand, or even just look for what's currently on sale.

The first section allows customers to browse through essentially Future Shop's entire product catalogue (more than 100,000 products) by punching in a desired product's name (or WebID) in the general search field, or by selecting based on category. The section is divided in a grid-like fashion with 23 options ranging from the typical Computers, TV & Video, and Cellular Phones; to some more specific, but somewhat unexpected, categories, like Marine Electronics (a new category Future Shop added to its store this summer), eBook Readers (looped in with Gadgets in general), and Trade-in Games, affording a list of all available used gaming titles. There's also a category for gift cards, where customers can purchase them in varying designs and denominations; and for ConnectPro to obtain pricing on the various installation services offered.

Just like with the Website, customers will see detailed information about a product; and can also read user reviews, or even share the link with a friend through means like e-mail and Facebook.

Naturally, every category has a sub-category to further narrow your search. For example, click on TVs & Video, and you can select by the size range of the TV, then by the type (3D, LCD, LED, plasma). Or you can select from TV accessories, or Blu-ray players, DVD players, and other related products. With Cellular, you can first select by carrier, than by the type of plan and phone you want (monthly, prepaid, or smartphone). Or select the cellular accessories sub-category to see what you can buy for the phone you already own.

 Once the appropriate results page is displayed, the results can be sorted by a number of parameters: price (highest to lowest or lowest to highest), alphabetically, thus grouping all products from the same manufacturer together, or by relevance. With each product selected, you'll see the same detailed information you'd see on the Future Shop Website: a photo of the product, a link to customer reviews (along with the five-star rating), price, WebID (in case you want to flag it for quicker look-up later), product description/details, and specifications. Instead of flagging the WebID, you can also simply add the product to a virtual Wish List (accessible via the More tab at the bottom), or Share it with others by e-mail, Twitter, or Facebook.

The Sale section does exactly what it promises: lists currently on-sale items, grouped by the same 23 categories, but accessible via a line list. I'm not sure how often the information is updated (unfortunately, that information was not available at the time I tested out the app). One limitation is that you can't determine how long an item will be on sale: is that a weekly sale price? Daily special? Seasonal price? What's more, how do you know if the sale applies in your particular area?

The Stores section uses your phone's GPS sensor to determine your current location (if you allow it) and find the closest Future Shop stores. Then, you can view the store's address, phone number, daily store hours, and even a map, noting exactly how far it is from you. An addition I'd like to see: the ability to tie this in with the phone's built-in GPS (or even a third-party downloaded navigation app) to be guided directly to the store with turn-by-turn directions. It would also have been nice to be able to tell the app in which location I want to find stores; so I can find one close to my cousin's house in Barrie, ON, for example, to stop off on the way there.

Another feature that would have really enhanced this app is the ability to check store stock; especially when it comes to hot items like the iPad, iPhone 4, or an anticipated new video game title. Imagine viewing the item through the app, finding a store near you, then determining quickly if that particular store has inventory. According to Future Shop, in-store stock will be added soon.

Using the phone's GPS, the Future Shop app will locate the stores closest to you, then provide details on each, including address, phone number, store hours, and even a map view to determine the distance from your current location.

If customers so desire, products can actually be ordered through the app, just like they can be ordered through the Website. Tap the price to add it to a virtual shopping cart; then click the Cart option to complete the transaction. There, you can also redeem promotional codes, just as you would through the full Website. The transaction is completed just as it would be on the Website, however, customers only have the option for delivery; no in-store pick-ups can be arranged through the app, although Future Shop says that functionality is coming ".

The More section includes some of the typical legal requirements, like the privacy policy, terms & conditions, terms of use, and app version information, plus that wish list we talked about earlier. Most interesting is the link to Future Shop's community forums, where mobile users can tap into the latest discussions and blogs, and even post their comments from a mobile device. If you prefer, there's a link to switch to the full Website instead.

The most compelling part of the More section of the Future Shop app is the link to a condensed version of the retailer's Community Forum, allowing mobile phone users to read blogs and discussions, and post their own comments.

All in all, I found the app to be just as, if not more, intuitive to use as the Canadian Tire mobile Website that launched earlier this year. However, Future Shop's app (note that Canadian Tire's is merely a mobile version of the Website, not a downloadable application,) offers one major feature that the Can Tire's does not: the ability to actually make purchases. The community forum access also reinforces the importance Future Shop places on social networking, as does the ability to share items with contacts on Facebook and Twitter. And the ability to push sales information to each individual user is useful.

The other day, after five good years of use, my boyfriend's Xbox 360 decided that it would display that dreaded red ring of death. On the way to a bar-be-que with friends, he wanted to pop into a store to buy a new one. As I drove, it took several minutes for him to load up several retailer Websites (including Future Shop's), search for the console, and determine the price, as well as whether they were selling that bundled version with the free game that was on promotion at the time. This app would have allowed us to find the item in mere seconds versus the many minutes it took. In today's fast-paced, always-on society, every second counts. And Future Shop's app will certainly help consumers save plenty of seconds, while also getting the retailer's message out to consumers in a useful and easily accessible way.

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