by John Larkin
John runs the blog here at eCommerceLift and is a verified Shopify Expert. Interested in an initial growth consultation? Click here
8 years ago
6 Tips That Will Maximize Your Store's Mobile Impact Right Now
Mobile commerce has exploded recently. In the past it was always considered a distant second to desktop, less relevant and something that shoppers ignored. But with recent stats showing the tremendous growth that mobile has experienced, it has become imperative that merchants jump on board and embrace mobile or else risk losing sales from their store.
In this post we are going to explain why mobile for eCommerce has become so important, as well as what merchants can do to make their store more mobile friendly for customers.
The Facts behind Mobile eCommerce
There have been numerous reports about the significant growth in mobile and the facts seem to prove its enormity. This year revenue from eCommerce on mobile is projected to be $50 billion, this is a staggering number. It becomes even more noteworthy when compared with previous year’s figures as the revenue has jumped a bewildering $48 billion since 2010 (Custora) meaning eCommerce on mobile is big business.
We can also look at Shopify’s recent revelation where they stated that over half on the traffic visiting their eCommerce sites was coming from mobile. They had recorded that 50.3% of traffic had come from phone and tablets and 49.7% had come from mobile (Shopify) proving it’s importance to merchants.
However despite the overwhelming evidence that mobile is what customers want so many online stores are lacking in giving customers even a basic mobile shopping experience which is turning some customers off. Harris Interactive reported that 41% of buyers complete a purchase on mobile as they thought it was too difficult to enter credit card information, while 47% say they gave up because the checkout took too long.
In this post we are going to explain why mobile for eCommerce has become so important, as well as what merchants can do to make their store more mobile friendly for customers.
The Facts behind Mobile eCommerce
There have been numerous reports about the significant growth in mobile and the facts seem to prove its enormity. This year revenue from eCommerce on mobile is projected to be $50 billion, this is a staggering number. It becomes even more noteworthy when compared with previous year’s figures as the revenue has jumped a bewildering $48 billion since 2010 (Custora) meaning eCommerce on mobile is big business.
We can also look at Shopify’s recent revelation where they stated that over half on the traffic visiting their eCommerce sites was coming from mobile. They had recorded that 50.3% of traffic had come from phone and tablets and 49.7% had come from mobile (Shopify) proving it’s importance to merchants.
However despite the overwhelming evidence that mobile is what customers want so many online stores are lacking in giving customers even a basic mobile shopping experience which is turning some customers off. Harris Interactive reported that 41% of buyers complete a purchase on mobile as they thought it was too difficult to enter credit card information, while 47% say they gave up because the checkout took too long.
Steps to Make Your Store Mobile Friendly
Slowly eCommerce merchants are coming to the realization that mobile is an essential part of their business. They are looking for advice on what they should do to make their sites attractive to customers on mobile. Here are some of the key things merchants should do to make mobile the most enjoyable experience for customers:
1. Back to Basics
Your mobile site should be a replica of your desktop site with the same colours and overall theme however, all of the extras need to be cut out. Mobile needs to be simplistic and clear. On mobile the screen is smaller and therefore adding clutter to the page will make it difficult for users to navigate and see your products.
Overall, with the lack of screen space your store must be more compact thus removing everything that is just there for style or is unnecessary should go while only things that are of upmost priority are left behind. It will make it much easier for mobile users to navigate around the site and give them a clear picture of your products instead of being bombarded with squished up images, text and icons that are just littering up the screen.
2. Think about Links
One issue that tends to irk mobile users is links. Links on mobile are often ill-considered and fail to work properly on mobile. They either are too small for a finger to tap, too easily tapped when a customers is just scrolling the page or too difficult to locate. Links that aren’t up to snuff can break a customer’s patience and make them just give up on your mobile site.
To make links that deliver the best user experience merchants need to consider how customers use their mobiles and how they tap and scroll with their fingers. Links need to be easily clicked so make them big so that all finger sizes can click them with ease. Additionally make sure customers can't accidentally click on a link while scrolling as it is extremely irritating to have windows pop open that haven’t intentionally been clicked.
3. Make it Snappy
Customers on mobile expect a quick response time. In fact more than 3 seconds is considered too long. Therefore making your site as fast as possible is definitely something merchants should strive to achieve.
Remove unnecessary aspects that potentially could slow down your site and make it as quick as possible so customers don’t get bored and click away waiting for a loading bar.
4. Product Pictures
Like desktop, pictures also can make or break a mobile website. However, things are a little more difficult on mobile. There needs to be a balance of great quality images while also having a fast loading speed. You may have to choose images with lower resolutions to enable your website to be as fast as customers want which may sacrifice some quality.
Additionally, having cluttered images may not be optimal as they may be difficult to see through mobile. Choose simple images with little distractions from your products such as a white background so that customers can clearly see and assess your products so that they are happy to purchase.
5. Cut the Copy
Even if you pride yourself on writing beautiful product descriptions, about pages and amazing content on your store, it’s probably best not to be precious about this on mobile. Copy can be difficult and exasperating to read on a small screen and it will end up just cluttering your store. Instead be concise and to the point so customers are overwhelmed with text.
The font that you use for your copy should also be altered. You will probably need to readjust the font sizes, making them larger and more legible for customers using small screen.
6. Simplify Checkout
Awkward, bad or untrustworthy checkouts on mobile are a massive turn off for perspective customers browsing your site. Reassessing your checkout process and making it as simple as possible for mobile users should be done to boost mobile sales and reassure customers that it’s fast and easy to shop through their phone or tablet.
Cut any unnecessary forms and pages, make the process as straight-forward and streamlined and try to instill trust in your customers that they are safe shopping on mobile. This will increase the likelihood of a sale and get more traction on your mobile store.
What can I do today?
It may seem overwhelming for merchants to make their website as mobile friendly as possible but the truth is it will help deliver sales for your eCommerce store. To avoid being overwhelmed by making your store mobile friendly we suggest not to jump in at the deep end and do everything at once to make your store mobile. Instead, think of smaller steps you can do to make an amazing mobile store. Right now you could start focusing on improving the pages of your most popular products first and then slowly rolling out changes to the rest of your site. This could be a small but significant change that could lead to your store growing with the help of mobile.
Want to know why you customers are leaving your mobile site? Check out this infographic!
Slowly eCommerce merchants are coming to the realization that mobile is an essential part of their business. They are looking for advice on what they should do to make their sites attractive to customers on mobile. Here are some of the key things merchants should do to make mobile the most enjoyable experience for customers:
1. Back to Basics
Your mobile site should be a replica of your desktop site with the same colours and overall theme however, all of the extras need to be cut out. Mobile needs to be simplistic and clear. On mobile the screen is smaller and therefore adding clutter to the page will make it difficult for users to navigate and see your products.
Overall, with the lack of screen space your store must be more compact thus removing everything that is just there for style or is unnecessary should go while only things that are of upmost priority are left behind. It will make it much easier for mobile users to navigate around the site and give them a clear picture of your products instead of being bombarded with squished up images, text and icons that are just littering up the screen.
2. Think about Links
One issue that tends to irk mobile users is links. Links on mobile are often ill-considered and fail to work properly on mobile. They either are too small for a finger to tap, too easily tapped when a customers is just scrolling the page or too difficult to locate. Links that aren’t up to snuff can break a customer’s patience and make them just give up on your mobile site.
To make links that deliver the best user experience merchants need to consider how customers use their mobiles and how they tap and scroll with their fingers. Links need to be easily clicked so make them big so that all finger sizes can click them with ease. Additionally make sure customers can't accidentally click on a link while scrolling as it is extremely irritating to have windows pop open that haven’t intentionally been clicked.
3. Make it Snappy
Customers on mobile expect a quick response time. In fact more than 3 seconds is considered too long. Therefore making your site as fast as possible is definitely something merchants should strive to achieve.
Remove unnecessary aspects that potentially could slow down your site and make it as quick as possible so customers don’t get bored and click away waiting for a loading bar.
4. Product Pictures
Like desktop, pictures also can make or break a mobile website. However, things are a little more difficult on mobile. There needs to be a balance of great quality images while also having a fast loading speed. You may have to choose images with lower resolutions to enable your website to be as fast as customers want which may sacrifice some quality.
Additionally, having cluttered images may not be optimal as they may be difficult to see through mobile. Choose simple images with little distractions from your products such as a white background so that customers can clearly see and assess your products so that they are happy to purchase.
5. Cut the Copy
Even if you pride yourself on writing beautiful product descriptions, about pages and amazing content on your store, it’s probably best not to be precious about this on mobile. Copy can be difficult and exasperating to read on a small screen and it will end up just cluttering your store. Instead be concise and to the point so customers are overwhelmed with text.
The font that you use for your copy should also be altered. You will probably need to readjust the font sizes, making them larger and more legible for customers using small screen.
6. Simplify Checkout
Awkward, bad or untrustworthy checkouts on mobile are a massive turn off for perspective customers browsing your site. Reassessing your checkout process and making it as simple as possible for mobile users should be done to boost mobile sales and reassure customers that it’s fast and easy to shop through their phone or tablet.
Cut any unnecessary forms and pages, make the process as straight-forward and streamlined and try to instill trust in your customers that they are safe shopping on mobile. This will increase the likelihood of a sale and get more traction on your mobile store.
What can I do today?
It may seem overwhelming for merchants to make their website as mobile friendly as possible but the truth is it will help deliver sales for your eCommerce store. To avoid being overwhelmed by making your store mobile friendly we suggest not to jump in at the deep end and do everything at once to make your store mobile. Instead, think of smaller steps you can do to make an amazing mobile store. Right now you could start focusing on improving the pages of your most popular products first and then slowly rolling out changes to the rest of your site. This could be a small but significant change that could lead to your store growing with the help of mobile.
Want to know why you customers are leaving your mobile site? Check out this infographic!
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