The Problem With Mobile Shoppers

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THE PROBLEM WITH MOBILE SHOPPERS
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Online stores are leaving money on the table.
With a few changes to their mobile presence,
retailers could be improving conversions. There
are currently 2.6 billion smartphone users around
the world and this number is expected to more
than double by 2020. Mobile is no longer an
emerging trend, it is a reality thats here to
stay. And mobile shopping is growing
exponentially. According to the Demandware
Shopping Index, phones represented more than 90
of shopping site growth in the first quarter of
2016. More and more people are shopping primarily
on mobile. What is really interesting is that
time spent per visit has actually declined by 9
over the past year. In this dual scenario of
short attention spans and exploding mobile
traffic, mobile shopping applications must
optimize the user experience in order to monetize
visits and convert visitors into loyal customers.
This is the reality that retailers, both online
and offline, must meet. At Instart Logic,
we recently conducted a survey of online
shoppers to uncover the barriers consumers face
while shopping online. The survey intended to
uncover why, with mobile traffic trending up so
sharply, there isn't a corresponding increase in
mobile purchases. We found nearly 50 of survey
respondents would research a product on a phone,
but then make the purchase using a desktop or
laptop computer. When a customer feels it
necessary to switch devices as an additional step
in the purchasing process, it reduces the
likelihood theyll finish making their purchase.
Fewer sales means less revenue. Our study found
two key barriers customers face browsing retail
mobile applications suboptimal user experience,
and security concerns. Customers faced with slow
load times and difficult navigation over mobile
prefer to complete their purchases on their
desktop computer or laptop, with the wider
screen, easier navigation and faster network
speeds. Furthermore, given the huge variety of
store options available online, if relevant
content is not available fast enough, shoppers
abandon slow sites and go elsewhere. We all know
that site performance impacts revenue. In other
words, improved loading time is a key factor in
converting visitors to customers and retaining
them. The quality of the user experience is as
important as the quality of the merchandise
offered.
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• We also found users perceived shopping on mobile
  to be less secure than shopping with a desktop or
  laptop. Customers are concerned about storing and
  accessing their credit card information on
  mobile. Not addressing these concerns is leaving
  money on the table, as 43 of those surveyed said
  they would shop more on mobile if they felt the
  experience was more secure.
• Online stores need to understand that
  applications with fast load times, evident,
  full-featured security, and straightforward
  navigation will lead to greater revenue. What
  retailers need to grasp is that a mobile-first
  digital strategy is key.
• We are helping Demandware customers to optimize
  the performance and improve the user experience
  of mobile applications based on end user
  client-side characteristics. The
  solution counters the challenge of consumers
  multi-device purchasing habits browse on
  mobile, purchase on laptop improving successful
  mobile conversion rates. The solution provides
  retailers the following benefits
• It automatically optimizes application delivery
  at runtime, ensuring visitors get
  individually-tailored user experiences.
• It is easy, requiring no changes to site or
  application code. Retailers can focus on
  merchandise quality and building rich user
  experiences.
• It is very scalable and adaptable to all types of
  sites and applications. Retailers can add
  complexity or modify code without worrying about
  the impact to the applications performance.
• It is highly secure and PCI-compliant application
  delivery, ensuring applications are not under
  threat or vulnerable to malware.
• With speed, security and a clean, organized app
  being the biggest concerns inhibiting customers
  from purchasing on their mobile devices,
  retailers must improve these factors in order to
  elevate the user experience and not miss out on
  potential revenue.

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Instart Logic is the worlds first endpoint-aware
application delivery solution that makes websites
and applications fast, secure, and easy to
operate.
Interested in learning more? Preview our image
optimization capabilities in the Playground
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