Is your eCommerce website mobile friendly? If not, are you aware of the massive amount of sales you're potentially missing out on? A report from Custora released earlier this month found that eCommerce sales on mobile devices in the US alone are poised to hit $50 billion this year. The growth in mobile eCommerce sales over the past four years has been meteoric, “from $2.2 billion in 2010 to $42.8 billion in 2013,” the report said. If that doesn't convince you to invest in mobile eCommerce, nothing will.
Mobile eCommerce isn’t a passing trend
Back in 2010 only 3.4 percent of visits to online stores happened on mobile devices. Custora’s report found that by the end of the first quarter of 2014 that number has climbed to 36.9 percent. Think about it, people are constantly on the go so they're going to be more reliant on technology. Mobile eCommerce is a matter of convenience and necessity. That’s not to suggest people are going to move away from shopping online on their computers, but more and more online purchases are being made on mobile devices. Ignoring this fact puts your business at a disadvantage.
Device Diversity
While Apple devices continue to lead in terms of the percentage of orders being made, its stronghold on the market is slipping. The percentage of mobile eCommerce orders on iPhones dropped from 75.1% in 2012 to 50.6% in the first quarter of this year according to the Custora report. This means it’s important for your mobile site to work seamlessly across a multitude of devices. Responsive web design isn’t a luxury anymore, it’s expected. In fact, Google Mobile announced it will start telling users if a website may not work on their device. Do you really want the world’s most popular search engine telling people your website might not work for them?
Responsive Web Design
As stated, people now expect websites to work flawlessly on their mobile devices. Missing images, text that runs off the screen, and buttons that are difficult to click will only increase your bounce rate. The mobile eCommerce experience is often a quick one, don’t complicate the process. By making things as easy as possible for customers you're going to boost your conversion rate. Remember, the mobile eCommerce experience needs to be one of ease and comfort.
Market Correctly
While the importance of social media continues to grow, this shouldn’t be your focus when it comes to mobile eCommerce. “Email marketing generated 26.7% of sales on mobile phones, compared to only 20.9% on desktop, and 23.1% on tablet,” according to Custora, while “social media accounted for only 0.6% of sales on phones and 0.2% on tablets.” What does that mean exactly? It means your email marketing campaigns are more important than before. They need to be easy to read and understand on mobile devices and link to the proper pages.
The right time to get a mobile eCommerce platform in place was about a year ago. However, it’s better to be late to the party than to never show up at all. Just because you don’t have a mobile store already doesn't mean you can’t get one, but seeking out an expert is definitely the best place to start. To set up a free consultation with an industry-leading eCommerce agency click the button below.
