Online shopping via mobile devices (mobile shopping with smart phones) is now the holy grail of e-commerce. The device usage statistics clearly show that we must focus on mobile, however, the purchase statistic point to a big gap between browsing and buying.

This is the second post in a 2 part series. (Part 1 can be found here)

Comscore recently released the whitepaper “The M-Commerce Gap: Why Dollars Continue to Lag Shopping Behavior on Mobile” (Download available here). This report takes a look at the huge gap between mobile-based shopping or browsing and actual purchasing. The report states that in Q1 2015 while 59% of digital shopping time was done on smartphones and tablets only 15% of e-commerce transactions results from mobile devices. Comscore calls this the “M-Commerce Gap”.

Fortunately the steps to bring mobile users a step closer to becoming customers are within reach for SMEs. The nutshell version is reduce the friction points to m-commerce. Here are a few things to evaluate your website:

1. Page load speed:

This should already be a top concern for your website as Google identified it as a ranking factor. However, it’s uber important now with the potential for slow mobile connectivity. Trim the fat and check your ISPhosting regularly.

2. Replace unplayable content:

Embedded or proprietary video players may not work on mobile devices. Use  HTML5 standards for videos and animations

3. Eliminate non-native image boxes:

You may have  loved the effects or options that slideshow plug-in gave your website however it time to simplify.

4. Beware of Flash:

Flash has quickly become a pain point for mobile. Avoid it.

5. Don’t ask for too much input:

Unless you are only selling to teenagers, keep difficult typing in mind. Offer guest checkout and simplified form options.

6. Easy payment choices:

Ensure that payment friction is removed by offering user-friendly & trusted payment options.

Here’s Google’s guide to Mobile Friendly Websites. There’re lots of tips and it’s largely done in a not too technical way.

Sources:

Comscore: http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/How-the-Buy-Button-Can-Help-Fill-the-M-Commerce-Gap

Google: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2014/11/helping-users-find-mobile-friendly-pages.html