The latest statistics find that mobile traffic has increased by 222% over the past seven years. Over 50% of the global web traffic originates from a mobile device. These trends get more interesting for the mobile eCommerce (or mCommerce) domain. The eCommerce conversion rates have improved by 64% on smartphones compared to shopping on desktops.
But as mobile shopping becomes more prevalent, a few issues seem to be cropping up. Even as mobile phones are gaining popularity for eCommerce, online shoppers are having a frustrating experience with mobile eCommerce.
An EpiServer study found that nearly 50% of online shoppers are experiencing a poor shopping experience on their mobile phones. As it stands, a host of reasons contribute to the same. For the purpose of brevity, we outline the five most common reasons mobile eCommerce is failing to convert visitors into customers.
1. Poor UI/UX Design
Poor UI/UX design is a common reason why mobile users reject an eCommerce site. Most eCommerce experts agree that mobile commerce websites are often designed like a web version on a smaller screen. Alison Curry-Taylor of the Daily Internet mentions that “a common design mistake is to have too many visual elements.”
She adds that a “mobile is not a mini version of the web and requires extra investment and education.” As a design practice, mCommerce applications must avoid having too much information on their home or landing page.
Mobile shoppers needlessly have to navigate through irrelevant information before finding what they are looking to buy. An overcomplicated landing page can confuse most mobile users, as they take the wrong navigational path (or exit the eCommerce site completely).
2. Irrelevant Product Content
According to recent eCommerce statistics, 61% of online shoppers find the ease of finding products (or product search and navigation) an essential factor in their purchase decision. 38% of online shoppers rate product information (or content) as “important” when determining which eCommerce site to buy from.
In the same vein, 53% of them also rate “product ratings and reviews” as a crucial consideration. eCommerce companies invariably face the challenge of optimizing their product content for mobile phones.
They also must manage the growing volumes of product-related data (including SKUs and product variants). As such, more eCommerce brands are investing in a Product Information Management System (PIMS) to collect relevant product-related content from various sources.
3. Poor Data Quality
High-quality data now drives every aspect of eCommerce businesses. This includes functions like customer acquisitions, online sales, and customer service. Over 40% of online shoppers have admitted that they have returned products that were incorrectly described on the website.
According to Gartner, poor data quality costs companies an average of $12.9 million yearly. It impacts every customer touchpoint and brand perception. Here are some examples of the impact of poor data quality:
- Online SKUs appearing with missing content
- Product images are not displayed.
- Cross-channel inconsistencies caused due to data collection by channel-specific business processes
Using PIMS, eCommerce brands can centralize data management that can consistently update data. For high-quality data, eCommerce companies must collect data from multiple sources, including data feeds, APIs, and data extraction.
4. Slow Websites
Oberlo reveals that there were over 2 billion online shoppers in 2020. This represented over 25% of the global population. As the number of mobile shoppers is rising, eCommerce websites struggle to manage the rapid increase in web traffic. Slow website loading (or a delay of even a few seconds) can frustrate most online shoppers and compel them to exit the site.
For instance, 53% of mobile users exit if the website takes more than 3 seconds to load on their mobile phones. Similarly, a 2-second delay in loading can increase abandonment by 87%. Some common reasons behind slow website loading are lack of code optimization (for mobile devices), lack of in-memory caching, and basic coding errors. In that light, Michael Allen of Compuware recommends “monitoring mobile websites and apps with analytics to quickly identify and triage the source of any glitches.”
5. Inefficient Checkout Process
High shopping cart abandonment continues to be a roadblock to customer conversion. 50% of online shoppers abandon their shopping cart during checkout due to hidden costs like shipping and penalties. An inefficient checkout process keeps the average abandonment rate at over 87%.
Multiple factors contribute to inefficient checkouts, including:
- The total order cost is not displayed upfront.
- There are insufficient payment methods.
- Customers have to enter long and unnecessary details about themselves.
- Inefficient product return policy
To reduce shopping abandonment, the mCommerce checkout process must be made fast and efficient through various measures, including:
- Allowing users to save their personal and payment details.
- Offering checkouts even for non-registered users.
- Providing order summary on every checkout page.
Conclusion
As mobile shopping emerges as the new trend, eCommerce brands must address the challenges that work against converting interested visitors into loyal customers. Online retailers must have an independent strategy targeting mobile or smartphone users.
As a data solutions company, EnFuse Solutions specializes in providing digital solutions that can solve business challenges. With our data management service, we enable our eCommerce clients to make the most of their data.
We offer a range of data-related services in product data, vendor data, customer data, and sales-related data. So, if you’re looking for a reliable solution partner to transform your mobile eCommerce offering, get in touch with us today.
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