50% of all online traffic happens through a mobile device to the current modern day

So It would come at no surprise that most money spent on online shopping is through society's most popular coping device, el mobile. If your eCommerce store is yet to be acquainted, it’s time to suit up, befriend and triumph over the mobile world that is of eCommerce.

Numbers don’t lie

Like they say, it’s a numbers game. Being connected, or “plugged in” through all the devices available to us, has tremendous sway on the way we buy.

• In 2016 market shares of mobile commerce sales were based at around 52.4% which inflated by 28.2% to a modern 67.2%.
• Such mCommerce growth is anticipated to pursue and outstretch 72.9% by 2021

Google Analytics can expeditiously certify which customers are mCustomers. if you're not using it, there are no words...

Only joking. But, perhaps, a good time to internally reflect on your consumers behaviour? Why do people prefer mobile shopping? Convenience, or is your store lacking hospitality?

The five elements

Like nature, there are five pivotal elements of the ‘customers journey’ on mobile:

• Website grazing
• Order clicking
• Signing up
• Pay & ship
• Run-Down

Before anything else, you must consider your mobile site’s performance. Mobile users are extremely impatient. If your loading speed isn’t at a close rate to the speed of light, then you need to reevaluate.

Secondly, (a controversial subject) it is recommended that these elements are positioned on top of the screen. Several variations on placement, but here are a few visual aids:

Like they say, ‘there’s no one size that fits all’.

Some research on your search. Whether you have dainty or ‘stocky’ fingers (no judgement), we all fall victim to typos on mobile screens. Don’t leave customers high and dry, always have an alternative search recommendation.

That being said, you don’t want search results to resemble that of an overcrowded menu. It hurts the eyes and clouds the mind. When it comes to layout and general air of your site, aim for chique, refined and understated.

Slice up the results, that way, you can have the option to “load more results”. Indicatively, voice searching and QR code scanning are becoming more recognised, especially in Fashion stores. Something to muse over perhaps?

When choosing a product, enable the option to add products (add to basket/favourite) without having to leave the products browser tab. Repeating oneself here, but again, less is more. Keep the content/details to the bare minimum. For the consumer, browsing your site should feel ‘breezy’ and straightforward.

Time to pay the piper

One must always feel ‘the love’ before committing. The product and customer need to feel that ‘spark’, this marks how mobile friendly your product tab is.

The Rudimentals:

• High quality product photos with a zooming in function. Duh.
• Ability to choose favoured product variants (size, colour, version)
• Product availability/reviews
• Option to ask queries from the product tab

Notifications of products being added to cart ‘oh successfully’ is a must. Additionally, showing a digit to the amount of products present in the cart is always reassuring and removing products should be just as breezy. Once everything is tallied up - it should be clear as to what each item costs + delivery fees.

Personal digital assistant

As mentioned earlier, some industries (fashion and construction) tend to offer various counters and calculators, aiding customers to make a schooled decision on what they are buying.

I.e - in Fashion, they help their customers pick the perfect shoe size based on the foot length.

Ah, finally a benefit of having a social media account

Time to echo back the ‘impatience’ of our modern day world, it’s recommended to allow the option for customers to place an order without having to create a new account. Standby login methods such as  “Log in with Facebook” or “Log in with Google” option. It’s a great segway to quickly share customer details between entities. No need for double entries.

Mindfulness alert, should a customer want to create a new account, it’s finally the time to be overzealous. Passwords must be as strong as an ox and there should be no need for confirming set password twice. Instead, allow them to verify whether the password is correct by displaying it. Let’s not let finger size be a matter of contention..

Now the matter of payment

Show available delivery options with associated costs. Most importantly, put emphasis on the delivery option that is free. Same rule applies to payments. Through the options you should be providing to your customers, make sure at least one of them can be done reservedly through mobile such as: GPay or Apple Pay.

Limit yourself to the popular ones and show the rest after clicking the “show more payment options” button. If you really wanted to push the boundaries, you could offer: predicted delivery time or express delivery.

Sum and substance

As we are nearing the end of the mCommerce ‘journey’, one must summarise like so:

Absolutely no adverts, it’s not the 1950’s.  Instead, use a chat icon or a hotline number so that your customers can quickly call/write in case they’ve had a change of heart and want to change their order.

Tap into your intuition

Your store needs to be readable and fool-proof, especially for those that are technologically challenged. Here are the basics to chew over..

• Vernacular: This is no Wilber Smith novel, dial down the expressiveness and keep it short and sweet
• Magnify it: Some of us, to put it simply, are as blind as bats, so be sure to keep your text/font simple and digestible
• Ways of contact: Using chat, hotline, messenger etc to enable various direct contact with your store
• Return of the policy: Forthright and viewable on mobile

Follow ze guidelines, and you’ll have yourself a fully operative mobile version of your website. Proven to be the most manageable strategy to grow sales and snag consumers. So why have it any other way..?