Ecommerce traffic is shifting. In 2015 the shift towards mobile asserting itself as the dominant user device for shoppers became unavoidable. According to an IMRG report from February 2015, visits to ecommerce sites via smartphone and tablet devices accounted for 45% of all ecommerce traffic in the UK.
The UK retail industry is sacrificing £6.6bn per year due to lack of investment into its mobile offering, according to research by Centre for Retail Research (CRR) and VoucherCodes.co.uk
Other key highlights from the research include:
- Despite retailers reporting their share of mobile sales almost doubled from 2013 to 2014, one fifth (17%) still have no mobile offering
- Retailers recognise the importance of mobile retail, with 66% saying investment in mobile would help them drive growth and 88% believing they will get more visits in store
- 73% of UK shoppers predict they will spend more on mobile this year, and 15% now use mobile as their primary shopping device
- Almost half of consumers (40%) feel the mobile experience could be improved
However, there is a big disconnect between traffic and sales on mobile devices. While 45% of traffic comes from mobile devices, only 28% of sales do. This is in large part because of problems with the mobile experience preventing higher mobile conversion rates.
The best mobile marketing happens when you have meaningful interactions between your users and your business. It certainly goes without saying that your website must be responsive but Let’s look at how to increase your conversion rate.
- Use big touch targets. Making buttons too small or too close together will lead to very frustrated users who will eventually become frustrated and simply click away.
- A little goes a long way. Putting out too much content can be overwhelming. People using mobile devices are often busy and won’t have time to see all your content. Keep your content concise and straightforward but do not sacrifice the Customer experience, as with bricks and mortar, the Customer Experience matters!
- Important links go in the middle. The most accurate touches happen when users touch links in the middle of the screen. The closer the link is to the perimeter, the more likely users will miss the target and again become frustrated.
- Simple gestures work best. Swiping or tapping are the best gestures to use for the important tasks. Gestures needing two hands can be used for secondary tasks if needed at all.
- Completing transactions should be effortless. Include dropdown menus, check boxes and auto-suggest so users don’t have to type out answers. Ask only for the essential information from users.
- Sharing. Using images and videos lead to better social media engagement. Ensure that you have social sharing buttons in just the right spot so users are more likely to click and share.
Showrooming: the practice of visiting a shop or shops in order to examine a product before buying it online at a lower price.
According to comScore, 43.3% of UK smartphone users have used their device in a retail store.
Much noise is made by bricks and mortar retailers bemoaning the “Showrooming” activities of Smartphone users, however, retailers could do more for mobile shoppers. Somo analysed the mobile capabilities of the top 50 high street retailers, finding that:
- 40% do not have a mobile optimised store locator.
- 20% don’t have a transactional mobile site.
- 30% don’t have an iOS app.
- 28% don’t have an Android app.
- 44% do not have a tablet optimised site.
- 46% don’t support responsive web design.
Mobile commerce sales are rising
The percentage of online sales made through mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) rose again in Q3 2015, reaching 45% after stalling at 42% in the previous two quarters, according to the latest results from the IMRG Capgemini Quarterly Benchmarking – the first time it had not risen since tracking started in 2010.
Visits to retail websites on mobile devices reached 63% in the same period, up from 60% in Q2 2015.
While conversion rates are growing on smartphones and tablets, not surprisingly the highest bounce rate recorded was via smartphones (35.4%). These devices also have the highest checkout abandonment rates – a full 52% higher than that on desktop / laptops.
Consumer spending on mobile to top £53 billion by 2024. Although mobile’s real influence on spending expected to be more than double that, with 42% of all retail sales to involve a mobile device in some way or another.
Less than 3% of retailers believe their business is at the cutting-edge when it comes to being mobile ready and a further 70% said they did not currently offer a mobile website or a mobile app for consumers.
Sales made through apps now account for a third (33%) of all retail spend on mobiles, despite only 10% of retailers offering one.
Your mobile presence is the new face of your business and brand damaging if it does not meet expectations. According to the Oracle Mobiles research, this generation is unlikely to use a company’s service again following a poor mobile experience:
- 48% of UK millennials said that a poor mobile experience would make it less likely for them to use a business’s other products (54% globally)
- 31% of UK millennials said it would make them less likely to recommend the company’s products (39% globally)
- 20% of UK millennials said it would even give them a negative view of the business’s products (27% globally)
