Having an e-commerce store for your business isn’t enough these days. People want the ability to buy NOW from wherever they are in the world, using whatever device they have in their hands. This means focusing on conversions and ensuring that your site looks great on all devices. From the smallest smartphone to the 90″ flat screen TVs – your site had better look (and work) awesome – or you’ll be giving away business to your competition.
More than 20% of the US has a tablet and that number climbs every quarter. Tablet sales are growing 10 times faster than smartphones. And if you aren’t thinking of the tablet as all that different from a desktop computer, you’re dead wrong. 52% of people prefer using their tablet to shop on tablets vs. 40% for desktop computers.
A few more numbers to get across to you:
- Only 22% of tablet users claim to have made no purchases in the past 6 months
- 12% of tablet users made more than 10 purchases in the past 6 months
- $123 – average tablet order vs $102 for desktop, $80 for smartphone
- 91% of retailers claim to have a mobile strategy
MISS – Make It Simple, Silly
Your e-commerce site doesn’t need to be a complicated operation. As a matter of fact – it shouldn’t be complicated at all. Look at Amazon. A very clean and organized layout. You can get into more complicated data if you want. But if you know what you want and where to find it – you can have your item flown to your house in a few simple clicks.
If you plan on converting your guests into customers on your e-commerce site, focus on some of these concepts:
- Fast loading. Optimize your code and your photos to load fast. Nothing screams “I need to buy this somewhere else” than a page that takes more than 7 seconds to load
- No complicated forms. If all you need is a name, address and payment info – then that’s all that should be in your form. Fewer fields = more conversions, believe me.
- Obvious search functionality. It’s not always obvious for a customer to navigate your site – even with a well-thought-out plan. Make a search field available in every nook and cranny. That way even the lesser tech-friendly users can find what they need. Remember how many grandmas are using tablets that their kids got them for Christmas! They might not want to spend all day using your clever navigation options
No Mobile Strategy? You’re Giving Away Business
46% of tablet users would turn to a competitor if they had a poor shopping experience on the website. I’ve seen numbers in other studies even higher than that. But knowing that, to put it simply, a bad site not only equals less money for you, but an opportunity for your competition to woo your customers away. And not only for this purchase, but for future purchases. They’re getting money that was yours and they’re also getting customer contact information to market to them down the road.
Take off your rose-colored glasses and look at your e-commerce site through your customer’s eyes. Is it obvious where I need to go to make a purchase? If I have a question or need to search for something, can I easily find my way? How complicated is the checkout process? These are all questions you need to ask yourself to make sure you are doing your best to keep your customers on your site and buying from you.