3 Simple Steps to mCommerce Optimization

Liesha Petrovich — March 30, 2017 Follow @lieshapetrovich

In 2016, consumers spent $ 3.45 billion on Cyber Monday.

But don’t assume that people were sitting at their desktop computer shopping like the old days (that’s so 2012!). According to Guidance, traffic via mobile devices is now more than 50% of visits to many eCommerce sites.

That’s a huge change for both consumers and online retailers. Instead of making sure your website is optimized for any sized device, now you have to ensure that you’re making it as easy as possible for consumers to buy your products anywhere, on any device. That means your checkouts must be streamlined and are very simple processes.

Here’re three simple steps to optimizing your mCommerce platform:

Make Search Boxes Easy to Use

Unless you only have a few products, your customers will have to use a search box to find exactly what they are looking for. Not everyone has dainty fingers that were made for small touch screens. Make sure your search box is prominent on your mobile site and easy to read.

Unless you only have a few products, your customers will have to use a search box to find exactly what they are looking for. Not everyone has dainty fingers that were made for small touch screens. Make sure your search box is prominent on your mobile site and easy to read.

Here’s an example from Selz, an eCommerce solution, with a search box at the top of the screen:

Include Mobile-Friendly Payment Options

An astounding 18% of all eCommerce transactions are processed with PayPal. That translates into over $ 56 million every single day!

Obviously, there are many people who use alternative payment methods other than PayPal. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook explains that “Apple Pay is bringing in one million new users per week and that transaction volumes are ‘five times higher’ than at this point one year ago”.

Talk to your eCommerce solution about what payment options your customers currently have. Do some experimenting and see what your specific customers prefer and make sure that you give them that option.

Use The Right Sized Graphics

This one’s pretty easy, but may be overlooked. The pictures of your products must be exactly what you want on any device. Every popular eCommerce solution provides guidance on how to use images.

For example, Wix explains:

“Pixel Size: Uploaded images should be at least 3,000 x 3,000 pixels. Most cameras do generate larger images than this. Uploaded images should be no larger than 10,000 x 10,000 pixels.”

Wix also says that you shouldn’t resize images because their software “resizes the images for you to ensure the best quality possible for all computers and devices.” Not all eCommerce providers are the same and have the same process. Just check with yours to see what the best practices are.

It’s Not Too Early To Plan For The Next Cyber Monday

In Start Planning Now! Top Marketing Automation Tools for Cyber Monday, I explained how fast the holidays can sneak up on your business:

“It seems like one day you’re celebrating Independence Day with fireworks on a beach, and the next you’re picking out your Thanksgiving turkey. Yet, waiting to set up a killer Cyber Monday plan can’t wait until November.”

The shift towards mCommerce isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, it’s predicted to grow. With new innovations, your eCommerce solution should be able to give you all the tools to create an eStore that has an easy checkout process on any device. But don’t leave this to chance.

Because you want your customers to be able to buy your products with one or two clicks on their phones. Not be so frustrated that they want to throw their phone across the room.

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