This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
The secret to increasing mobile e-commerce sales you need to know
In this article, you'll come to know about the secret to increasing mobile ecommerce sales.
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
It’s no secret that we’re spending more time on our phones than ever before. And, there’s more there for us to engage with, too. Digital natives (those born after the invention of the internet) are rising into positions of power and decision making at larger organizations. As they do so, the quality of the content we consume on mobile devices also rises.
This is no mere correlation. It’s the new normal.
This makes it challenging for business owners and content marketers to keep up with the expectations of their followers in order to build trust and drive sales. On the other hand, this explosion of high-quality mobile content presents an opportunity. The shoppers are there, and they will engage. In general, mobile audiences respond to great content and web experiences. They respond so much in fact that in 2017, mobile commerce sales amounted to $549 billion.
That figure is expected to rise to a staggering $669 billion in 2018. According to BigCommerce, Mobile Commerce accounts for more than 31% of total sales. Sure, a lot of this is because millennials and digital natives now have the majority of buying power. It’s also because UX and convenience on mobile have increased in parallel with cost. And security concerns are decreasing. Of course, if you’re a brand that hasn’t begun to see the huge impact of mobile on your bottom line –– you’re probably wondering how you can tap in.
What’s the secret all of these businesses selling like crazy on mobile knowing that yours doesn’t?
Well, the answer to that is relatively simple. Those brands continuously make the mobile commerce experience easier and more accessible. They smooth out the traditional wrinkles and bumps which historically prevented or discouraged people from shopping on mobile. Above all else, their secret to increasing mobile e-commerce sales is ensuring a better user experience across the board. So what’s involved in creating a better user experience for shoppers buying on mobile?
Let’s dive in!
Increase privacy for mobile shoppers
One of the major historical hang-ups of mobile commerce is privacy. Buying things on a phone or tablet, especially if you’re connected to shared WiFi, used to be risky business. Hackers could pose as legitimate businesses, collect personal information, and steal credit card information or even entire identities from people trying to shop on their phones.
This caused understandable wariness among people at large to share their details over a mobile network. Today, things have changed. Mobile commerce often proves to be more secure than it’s desktop counterpart. You can accept payments using Touch ID, for example.That’s not to say that scammers, hackers, and all those other mobile nasties are gone for good. Not by a long shot.
But as an ecommerce merchant, there are things you can do. And technologies you can use right now to mitigate your risk, and ensure your shoppers don’t just love your products and your site, but that they are safe to buy.
1. Protect your shoppers from scams and hacks
2. Reassure your shoppers that you’re doing everything possible to keep them safe while shopping with you.
Those two points might seem like the same thing, but having the systems in place to protect customers is one thing. Telling them about it is another crucial step. Are you already thinking that mobile is maybe a “nice to have” for you and that desktop is where the bulk of your efforts should be? Then consider this recent example from NatoMounts.
They’re a BigCommerce customer who, after optimizing their site for mobile, saw site traffic from mobile increase to 80% with a 5% mobile conversion rate.That might not sound like much to the uninitiated. But with desktop conversion rates sitting at around 2% (and mobile conversion rates historically even lower), those results are incredible.
How did NatoMounts optimize their site?
They combined improved privacy for shoppers, with more (and easier) ways to pay. And those additional mobile payment options leads us to the next point.
Make Mobile Payments Safe and Easy
Easier said than done you might say. But whether your shoppers are buying an iPhone or Android, through PayPal or Amazon, there are lots of ways to make paying for things simple and safe.
Nobody likes having to take out their card and type in their long number every time they want to buy something. Especially on a mobile device where numbers are small and the boxes, you type them in often cumbersome.
So, to win the customer experience game here, we have to simplify the process.
That’s where digital wallets come in. It is one of the most time-saving, conversion-boosting additions to mobile commerce there’s ever been.
What are digital wallets?
Digital wallets are a way for shoppers to pay for things with two or even one single taps. Think Amazon’s one-click purchase, but for mobile, and not limited to Amazon. In fact, Amazon Pay can be considered a digital wallet. Shoppers with digital wallets have all of their card details stored securely behind several complex walls of encryption.
And when they visit your site, if you have their preferred payment method enabled, they can simply tap the way they want to pay. No need to enter or share any private financial details with potential prying eyes. Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, Android Pay, Square, Visa Checkout and PayPal, all have the functionality to allow shoppers to pay for things on their phones with just a couple of taps.
Adding these payment options to your site’s backend should be a breeze, too, if your e-commerce platform is at all worth its salt. Okay, so privacy and digital wallets are going to help drive more mobile sales for you in 2018. But what about helping shoppers to navigate your site in the first place? You could do what NatoMounts did and make your entire mobile website a one-pager.But really, as long as your site is optimized for mobile, you’re well on your way to reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions.
It’s still an unfortunate reality that bounces rates are higher (up to 40% higher) on mobile than on desktop. Factors which affect bounce rates include page load times, site design and how well your site addresses the searcher’s query.Making the menu on your mobile site easy to navigate is one thing you ought to prioritize when making your business more mobile shopper-friendly. Just take a look at Rosenthal’s mobile website, for example…
The headline is clear and easy to read. They have great visuals, and it’s obvious where the navigation is.
And once you open the navigation menu, it’s easy to scroll and tap on the area you want to visit. Another great example of a site that’s mobile-friendly comes from Hyphen Sleep.
Beautiful interface, easy to scroll through the product shots and plenty of reviews to act as an incentive.
Add to that the ability to pay with Apple Pay, Amazon Pay or PayPal, and those roadblocks are gone. When it comes to mobile commerce, it’s especially important to smooth out those bumps which could cause a potential customer to bounce. It’s the simple things which can make all the difference. Let’s recap them:
. Improve privacy by enabling customers to pay using digital wallets.
. Digital wallet options include Apple Pay, Android Pay, Amazon Pay and PayPal.
. Make your site more mobile-friendly.
. Have an easy-to-navigate menu.
. Don’t clutter up your site and risk losing people due to slow loading times.
If you need to check your site’s mobile speed, by the way, you can do so using a tool such as TestMySite.
Make these adjustments, or get started on making them now. And come January, you’ll be in a strong position to make 2018 your best year yet for mobile sales.