Ah, the smartphone. Do we even use it for calling people anymore? Consumers today are relying heavily on their phones for everything from informational searches to shopping – and if your site isn’t prepared to handle those customers, you will be missing out.
Take a look at these statistics from Branding Brand –
- In January 2015 alone, mobile devices generated 53% of 157 million online visits;
- From January 2014 to January 2015, the share of desktop and laptop visits dropped from 55% to 47%;
- Revenue-wise, from January 2014 to January 2015, the share of smartphone revenue increased from 8% to 12%.
Other statistics also show how profitable mobile can be. Close to 80% of all mobile searches for local businesses result in a purchase, and most customers prefer accessing a mobile site rather than using a mobile application.
You can test how mobile-friendly your website is here.
How can you optimize your mobile site? Here are a few tips.
Keep It Simple
Simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to an excellent mobile shopping experience. Consumers are working with much smaller screens, so it needs to be clutter-free, easy to navigate, and clear.
- Prioritize content. Keep only what users need the most – too much information on a page, and too much text on a page, can be a put-off.
- Any text on the page should be short, to the point, and catchy. Think bullet points, titles, slogans, and short testimonials- not essay-type Amazon book reviews.
- The basic features and buttons, such as the menu, forward & back buttons, home screen, and help, must be consistent across pages.
- Keep form fields to a minimum – not more than 5 or 6. And make sure to include easy drop-down options. Fewer form fields keep the page neat and streamlined and help conversions.
- Always include an easily accessible search bar, mainly if you sell many SKUs. Example: Amazon’s mobile site keeps the search bar right where it needs to be on all pages.
Easy Scroll Is A Must
Nothing is more frustrating for a customer than having to pinch, zoom in and zoom out to see the information on a site. Scrolling menu bars are a must for easy navigation, and boxes that can be checked with the tap of a finger make filling form data more accessible. You also need to ensure that the call-to-action buttons and selection buttons are of a decent size and spaced well apart. Fingers don’t offer the same precision as a mouse arrow, so make sure your customers can quickly check out and not navigate backward!
Understand What Your Customers Want
You need to know why your customers are visiting your site. In what context are they using your mobile site? Is it to buy products, search for products, or purely for research? Note their preferences, usage, and how they interact with the brand via mobile. When you focus on these aspects, you can uncover and understand what problems they may be facing and provide them with a better overall experience.
Hassle-free Checkout
Even on a desktop site, complicated checkout options turn customers away. Mobile shopping requires an even more straightforward checkout process! A one-step checkout process is ideal, capturing essential data as it is entered. Store customer data such as credit card information and multiple delivery addresses. Offer digital payment options like PayPal and e-wallets since these applications help reduce the amount of data the consumer has to enter, thereby speeding up the process and increasing payment safety.