Covenant Group has launched its first mobile phone apps for iPhone and Droid for member stores of the country's second-largest independent Christian chain.

The apps, which will be made available to all existing users of the Covenant Group branded website program beginning in early August, allow customers to search the member stores' inventory database, check availability and pricing, and place reservation orders for pick-up—without pre-payment.

"As far as we are aware, these are the first phone apps available for any Christian retail brick-and-mortar retailer," said Chuck Wallington, Covenant Group founder and president. "We envision someone sharing a book over lunch with a friend, and that person taking the book and scanning the bar code to see if their local Christian store has it in stock. Of course, they can also type in the author, title or other keyword to locate it as well.

"Over the last several months of testing it in our retail store, I've had dozens of people who asked me, 'Do you have that in your store right now?' " added Wallington, owner of Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C. "[They were] very anxious to download it for themselves so that they could search our inventory as well."

Covenant Group provides marketing and support services to stores with a standard program for retailers with annual income of more than $1 million and an affiliate program for stores under $1 million in annual sales.

The app search capabilities and database are driven from the website database of each individual store.

"In today's retail environment, our stores literally need every tool they can get to compete," Wallington said. "We're all about driving customers into the stores we serve, using any technology we can apply."

For more information, contact Chuck Wallington at cwallington@covenantgroupstores.com.