One in three of all UK online sales are now made via a mobile device and it is predicted that mobile commerce will reach the volume of today's e-commerce sales by 2018. You just have to look around you: mobile is omnipresent. Smartphones are being used while waiting for the bus or when out weekend-shopping, to compare products online with those in store. But as ever-present as these devices now are, the medium is still not being exploited to its full potential as a shopping channel. So why are retailers lagging behind and what can be done to win the battle on mobile for the final click?
I think it’s down to four issues: payments, optimisation, usability and security.
Firstly, although there is increasing investment in mobile-optimised store fronts, retailers are still losing much of their potential revenue because while the store front may be bringing in browsers - the ordering and payment processes are too complicated and time-consuming, leading to many users switching to other mediums to finalise the purchase, or as in the majority of cases just abandoning their baskets.
Secondly, despite the potential and recent growth in mobile commerce this sales medium is not a priority for a number of companies and the sites are poorly optimised. These retailers are not only wasting the opportunity of additional revenue, but are jeopardising their existing customers. More and more consumers expect mobile sites and apps to be optimised to support their buying journey. Websites that fail to function on a mobile device or deliver a less-than-perfect experience will see diminishing returns.
Thirdly, too many companies optimise their mobile presence, without checking usability and whether the result really has added value for the customer. Just having a mobile presence is not enough. Poor usability leads to customer dissatisfaction, leading to loss of customers and ultimately to the loss of sales.
Lastly, there is still strong skepticism regarding data security in mobile commerce. Payment processes should be transparent. Mobile shopping requires confidence in the corresponding payment systems (PayPal, SEPA credit card) and clear ordering processes. These issues result in a low conversion rate for tablets and smartphones compared to the value of traditional PCs. The problem is, users search via mobile but often buy via desktop at home. This switch between devices in practice often leads to loss of customers, with about 85 percent of the mobile-filled baskets never being ordered.
To improve this mobile dropout rate we need to work on two key measures: to begin with, a responsive design when shopping or searching, and then a streamlining of the payment process.
Many companies neglect to look at the change in use of mobile compared to the desktop. The mobile shopping experience must be even more intuitive than on the desktop, so the first step is creating a responsive design for the entire shop. And when the customer decides to make a purchase, the second step should be making the checkout process quick and easy. It may sound simple but for many companies this is still not the case; the user often has to click through several pages from confirmation, address, selecting the payment method, inputting of payment information, and that’s all on a desktop. This long process is often the same for mobile, on a much smaller screen and it quickly becomes clear that these many steps are just too complicated. It is no wonder then that so many mobile shoppers choose to complete the journey on a desktop and that payment on mobile has still not gained traction.
Consumers demand constant improvements so it can prove very costly for those retailers that fail to provide mobile solutions, or fail to keep up with trends in mobile payments. With mobile commerce growing each year, online retailers need to adapt and facilitate consumer convenience and confidence. The rise of mobile commerce looks set to continue and will play a key role in how people buy products online. Those retailers failing to optimise every area of the shopping experience, risk losing the battle for the final click and customers altogether.
By Philip Rooke, CEO of Spreadshirt.
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