User experience (UX) is more important to a mobile shopping experience than you may at first realize. Imagine pulling up a digital store on your phone and finding it ugly and difficult to navigate, with overly long load times. What are the odds you’d complete the checkout process with an experience like this?
Chances are, they are not high. UX drives the success of mobile eCommerce, with benefits ranging from search engine optimization to enhanced social media integration. Well-optimized UX can make or break your eCommerce efforts, but first, you need to understand how.
Then, you can apply the strategies detailed below for an ideal mobile UX.
The importance of UX optimization in mobile eCommerce
While it may be easier than ever before to build a digital storefront that is accessible from a mobile device, the importance of highly optimized mobile UX is often under-stressed. Usability is perhaps the most vital component leading to completed purchases, and eCommerce companies need all the help they can get in this regard.
The Baynard Institute puts the rate of digital cart abandonment at 69.8% for the average eCommerce site. This means that nearly 70% of sales and the associated revenues are lost almost at the point of conversion. Ecommerce businesses that can figure out how to decrease cart abandonment look to boost their own revenues and success.
Common reasons for cart abandonment include:
- Lack of trust in site security and legitimacy
- Surprise shipping costs
- Confusion and complexity
- Technical issues
- Browsing without shopping urgency
As diverse as these reasons are, they all have one thing in common. Optimized mobile UX can address these problems to better encourage completed check-outs.
Ways to optimize your UX for mobile commerce
Achieving better results from your mobile commerce platform, however, will require a thorough and data-driven approach. While you may think that analytics are more in line with SEO efforts than UX, these elements of effective web design overlap when it comes to the usefulness of data analytics.
Begin your optimization efforts by beginning to track metrics like bounce rate, conversion rates, user paths, and more. Even A/B testing can offer instrumental data for better UX. Prepare your data for streamlined insights, then consider the following strategies to optimize your mobile UX.
Design for a natively mobile shopping experience.
Many virtual storefronts are made via an all-in-one website building platform that automates a mobile UX design. However, this can lead to countless usability problems. Build your site from the ground up with mobile devices in mind, and be ready to test every aspect of mobile functionality.
Incorporate greater visibility and functionality.
Online shopping from a mobile device is already convenient, but by building in visibility and functionality features that are more in line with a physical shopping experience, you can boost convenience to new levels. These features include micro-interactions, image zoom, and cart saving to encourage shoppers to come back and complete their purchases.
Prioritize security.
Shoppers will not be eager to complete their checkouts if they do not feel that the mobile platform is secure. Integrate greater mobile payment security through encryption and tokenization practices that keep your customers’ data safe. Complete your approach by adding Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protection to your web pages, then ensure your data-hosting methods include encryption methods and firewalls that block malware.
Accommodate all kinds of digital payment types.
All kinds of digital payment methods have emerged as popular alternatives to cash. In the touchless shifts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, these alternative currencies and payment types are more commonplace than ever. Accepting them is vital for giving customers the options that work best for them. For example, digital wallets like those offered by Apple, Samsung, and Google all provide credit card safety with mobile convenience. Accommodate these payment types to reduce abandoned carts.
Conduct usability tests and gather user feedback.
No approach to UX optimization is complete without thorough and consistent user feedback. This can be generated through relatively simple usability tests that ask users to complete specific tasks. The resulting feedback will allow you to catch elements of frustration and limited functionality. For example, this usability test of H&M’s versus Forever 21’s eCommerce pages revealed flaws in navigation that could discourage shoppers.
These strategies are all great ways to optimize your mobile eCommerce for scalability and greater conversion rates. With the application of user-focused features all in a secure and natively built mobile site, online shoppers can feel safe and eager to pursue your products. As a result, you can develop a smoother SEO strategy that makes the most of analytical data and user input.
Maximizing your eCommerce approach
Mobile eCommerce is a highly competitive aspect of modern trade. To give your virtual store an edge, you need the best possible UX design that will keep users engaged up to the completion of their purchase. By designing for mobile functionality from the start, you can enhance the effectiveness of your virtual store while building in helpful features like cart saving. Then, build a sense of urgency with deals offered during the seamless checkout process.
Your UX can make a big difference in your sales revenue. Consider these strategies to give your mobile UX a competitive edge.
Luke Smith is a writer and researcher turned blogger. Since finishing college, he is trying his hand at being a freelance writer. He enjoys writing on a variety of topics but technology and digital marketing are his favorites. When he isn’t writing you can find him traveling, hiking, or gaming.
