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It’s no secret that the mobile platform is having one of the biggest impacts on eCommerce in recent history.
Not only is optimizing your online shop for mobile essential to keep up with the pace of your existing customers; it’s also becoming one of the most effective ways to attract new customers. The ability for people to shop across platforms, from desktop to mobile browsing, is going to be crucial for any business that intends to grow in 2014. Here are a few tips for the New Year as mobile usage among online shoppers continues to grow.
Here you go
The Power of Mobile
Due to the rise in mobile device usage among online shoppers, you need to be prepared with a mobile friendly site. Your store should have a solid template that’s easy for customers to interface with. Smaller details, such as customer check-out and the ease, with which they can make their purchase, are just as important. Having a clunky check-out system that doesn’t work seamlessly with a mobile device will dissuade online shoppers from giving your store their business. Not only is it frustrating, it makes users feel that their personal information isn’t secure. Incorporating the best mobile shopping cart you can find is essential to retaining loyal customers.
Taking Your Business Global
Right from the beginning, one of the most obvious benefits of eCommerce has been that your customer base isn’t limited by geographical boundaries. While you may not have exploited the full possibilities, it’s time to do so now. It’s predicted that the global online marketplace will explode in 2014, with businesses vying for more international customers. At the end of 2013, there was $5.7 billion worth of sales on China’s equivalent of “Cyber Monday” in the United States. Statistics like this are causing savvy eCommerce business owners to re-evaluate how they’re building their customer base. Another factor you may want to consider is being multilingual. There are lots of mobile platforms for online stores offering multilingual options, and the best mobile shopping carts can also function in different currencies. Just make sure you’re choosing elements for the mobile version of your online store that work for you. You may not want to try and branch out to the entire world all at once, so pick a region or country you think might have a viable customer base to start with.
Strategies for Engaging Your Customers
Traditional modes of customer engagement for eCommerce businesses favor e-mail communication, while offering things like coupons or product updates. This is a way to recruit new customers as well as offer reasons for older ones to stay. However, in 2014, eCommerce businesses are putting the bulk of their confidence in mobile engagement as a way to engage and retain existing customers, according to Forbes.com. Mobile is the name of the game this year, which isn’t surprising considering it’s been a steadily growing industry for the last few years. With the increase of smartphone and mobile device usage among shoppers, attuning your business function seamlessly in a mobile setting is essential. If Black Friday 2013 is anything to go by, 40 percent of online transactions completed by shoppers scouring the Internet for sales were done on a mobile device.
You need to accommodate this trend in consumer behavior and ready your business’s mobile presence with the right tools. It should utilize a template that best suits your needs, depending on your business, and should also incorporate the best mobile shopping cart you can find. Online shoppers are looking for convenience and speed. Give them a mobile site that’s easy to browse and a way to complete their transactions that’s simple, secure, and straightforward, and they’ll stick around.
UI/UX Consultant, Photoshop, XD, SketchApp, Product Designer, Website Designer, Mobile App Designer, Expert WordPress Developer. For web/mobile design and wordpress development related projects please contact me at dibakar@themepurpose.com
