6 irrefutable keys to getting m-commerce

Quietly and gradually, mobile is becoming the world’s leading shopping platform, whether you sell through your own online store or through a marketplace i.e. Allegro, or Amazon.

Gone is the idea that the brand awareness stage is done on a smartphone and the conversion is done on a computer. Currently, m-Commerce includes the entire shopping journey of a shopper. This opens the door to a whole sea of business opportunities and strategies.

However, not all companies are able to find that spark to succeed in this sector. Many simply replicate the same methodology across all their digital sales channels, and that’s a mistake.

Do you want to maximize the potential mobile commerce? We’ve put together 6 key tips to help you optimize your online store in terms of the new environment.

1. Analyze your baseline

The golden rule in the digital industry is know the profitability of your project, that you intend to implement. This may sound a bit contradictory since we started this article by saying that m-Commerce is booming, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best option for your business. You may find that due to your stated goal, product or market niche, your online store will not be suitable for a mobile sales environment, and this is the first thing you should check.

In fact, embarking on an adventure without doing a decent analysis beforehand can mean a significant waste of money.

Fortunately, tools like Google Analytics indicate which devices your customers visit from and what percentage they participate in, so it won’t be hard for you to draw clear conclusions.

2. Design a special navigation flow for m-Commerce.

To get your online store users to checkout via mobile devices, you need to create an intuitive and accessible shopping experience.

To be honest, this is not a problem exclusive to m-Commerce – all online stores should optimize their navigation to eliminate harmful aspects.

It’s a new medium requires specific actions, however. Keep in mind that mobile usage is often combined with other activities, so the more distractions, the less likely you are to close the sale.

These tips will help you design an effective digital buyer’s journey:

• Create buttons, CTAs, descriptions and logos that will attract the reader from the first moment.
• Consider search bars, navigation menus, and special directories.
• Design the right information structure that makes it easy for the user to access each category in your store.
• Eliminate pop-ups and other elements that can be annoying.
• Prioritize images over text
• Reduce the size of images so they don’t slow down the page load time.
• Enable auto login

Another option is to design a native app that users can download and save on their phone. Although this route requires more initial investment, it yields more profits in the long run.

3. Prioritize paid advertising on social networks

This advice should be taken with a pinch of salt, as it depends on your customers’ browsing habits. In general, though, most users prefer to use their cell phones to visit social networks rather than for organic search. In this sense, it would be most logical to invest in advertising where your audience is.

If you have done the first step – analysis – correctly, you should know, which social network is the most important in your market and generates the most engagement. This is where you should focus your social media advertising strategy.

A very valuable feature of social networks is that they offer quite detailed information about customer tastes and interests. Use it to better target your campaigns and increase your ad conversion rate.

In addition, each social network has its own special characteristics. For example, due to high competition, advertising on Facebook Marketplace needs to be more direct and aggressive. Instagram, on the other hand, requires more originality.

Is your customer using m-Commerce but not social media? No problem, find out which digital platforms you spend the most time on and contact your customers through them.

4. Enable automatic payment at the checkout stage

Cart abandonment rates on smartphones are often quite high, which is one of the biggest challenges you will face.

To reverse this situation, in addition to simplifying the process, include convenient and the right payment options (e.g. BLIK, Apple Pay, payment on delivery), especially if you don’t have SSL security certificates.

It is also recommended that your customer’s billing information is filled out automatically. Otherwise, every time a user wants to make a purchase, they will have to enter their card number manually using their phone’s keypad. This is often the main cause of failure in m-Commerce, avoid it at all costs. An optimized checkout is always very helpful in increasing conversions, both in e-commerce and m-Commerce.

5. Make your customer service m-Commerce friendly

Any concerns that may arise while the customer is browsing the mobile environment should be answered through the same channel.

A very useful feature in this regard is responsive chat. It will allow the user to contact customer service without deviating from the sales funnel. It can also be configured to automatically provide answers to specific questions if the support workload is too heavy.

In addition, chatbots are a valuable source of information about shopper behavior. If you’ve decided to design a native app, you can use this tool to keep in touch with customers and find the differences between the app user and the online store user.

Another convenient feature is callback. It is a call-back service by which customer service contacts the user while he/she continues with the purchase and waits for the call. This way, not only will you eliminate any distractions, but you can also use the action to giving customers advice and recommendations.

With these 5 practices to reduce cart abandonment rates, you’ll reach the perfect checkout stage in your online store.

6. Adapt the after-sales cycle to the needs of m-Commerce

The way you treat a customer after a sale will determine whether they return to you in the future or choose your competitors.

With this in mind, and given that we are entering the m-Commerce space, it is essential that all post-sales activities with the customer are high quality and targeted to the devices from which they are purchasing.

For example, if you want to provide good after-sales service, avoid portals integrated with the carrier’s website; ideally, you should be able to program automated emails, so that the user can contact the transport company using their phone.

Remember, a buyer who converts from a cell phone will most likely also manage shipping and tracking from there. Therefore, it is not recommended to force them to migrate to another device.

One of the best and simplest tools to automate after-sales service is Outvio. It allows you to automate mailings, schedule emails, enable international returns and many others.

The way we shop changes from day to day. Adapting eCommerce to new trends will give you peace of mind for the future.