February 3, 2017
21 Ways to Boost Mobile-friendly Ecommerce Sites
Ecommerce is big business nowadays. This year is expected to see a six per cent rise in online consumer shopping, which made up a record 14 per cent of UK retail sales last year. Yet the majority of ecommerce sites are still built around desktop usage, even though most online traffic is now carried via mobile.
It’s clear that mobile-friendly ecommerce requires more attention and planning than it currently receives.
We’ve assembled a list of 21 ways to improve the buying experience for shoppers on the move:
- Investigate your site’s current performance. Ask friends and family to make purchases on a variety of Android and iOS devices, while taking detailed notes.
- Test the system’s robustness. Probe for errors – put four items in your basket, delete two, change the delivery address and enter expired card details.
- Identify flaws. From the tests outlined in points 1 and 2, it’ll be obvious where your existing site is failing to deliver. These weaknesses should form the basis of any revisions.
- Examine purchase histories. It’s important to identify if people are ignoring certain functionalities, or whether customers prefer to use your site in specific ways.
- Strip out unnecessary facilities. Mobile-friendly ecommerce has no room for superfluous options, so drop them if they’re not proving popular.
- Don’t enforce registration. Encourage people to save their details, but don’t make it essential for placing orders. Remember cookies work differently on mobile devices.
- Focus on the essentials. Offer concise product descriptions that can be expanded, and relegate detailed information to clearly identified subpages.
- Offer expandable images. People want to see what they’re buying, so provide product photos from multiple angles that can be expanded and scrolled through.
- Use icons. Everyone knows what a shopping trolley icon denotes. Free up space for product listings by using instantly understandable icons rather than words.
- Incorporate video. Mobile audiences are three times more likely than desktop viewers to watch videos, but don’t play them automatically – it damages loading times.
- Prioritise social media. Mobile audiences communicate by Facebook and Twitter nowadays, so integrate this into your site for enquiries and customer service.
- Ensure responsive page display. If someone’s struggling to enter data in portrait mode, they’ll rotate their device. Does your page automatically adjust its display?
- Don’t rely on Java. JavaScript can be unpredictable, so mobile friendly ecommerce sites shouldn’t be overly burdened with it.
- Use automation as far as possible. GPS can establish a customer’s location, simplifying delivery options or directions and automatically filling data fields.
- Emphasise security. Explain to audiences why your site is safe to use, what data will be stored, and any measures that’ll protect their financial information.
- Streamline payment processes. People using smartphones don’t want to complete lengthy registration forms or billing/address fields – speed is of the essence.
- Accept PayPal. Entering card data can be inconvenient or impractical on mobile devices. PayPal’s mobile app is hugely popular, so build in compatibility.
- Offer to save card data. This is another way of ensuring repeat customers aren’t entering card data in front of strangers on unsecured connections, as well as increased convenience.
- Test for lost connections. What happens if a customer’s mobile signal is lost mid-transaction? Is your site robust enough to save the order?
- Automated responses. Consumers want reassurance that their order has been successfully processed, so dispatch an email or text once a transaction is complete.
- Keep in touch. Finally, mobile friendly ecommerce sites should periodically approach customers with emailed offers, newsletters or incentives to maximise repeat custom.
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February 3, 2017