In today’s e-commerce climate, mobile-friendliness has transformed from a favourable option to a must. If you want to retain the picky customers of today, you need to gain an in-depth understanding of customer demands and the expectations they place on the mobile customer experience. I’ll explain why.
We’ve hardly been laying low on the importance of mobile first. We’re entering 2018 with a mammoth increase in finalised purchases via a cellphone. In the Nordics alone, the number skyrocketed from 16% to 26% in a mere year’s time. Furthermore, the smartphone managed to overthrow the stronghold of the desktop in the amount of globally generated traffic during this year’s Black Friday.
Customers Demand Mobility and Flexibility
The smartphone hasn’t only impacted our way of life, but also the way in which we consume. As a result of our increased mobility, we expect that all parts of life will adapt.
This, in turn, goes hand in hand with
Postnord’s yearly report, E-commerce in the Nordics, that states that 33,5% of Scandinavians shop online because one can choose to whenever there’s a slot over in our hectic lives and 10,5% shop online because of its geographical convenience. This means that customers demand an easy-breezy online shopping experience regardless of whether the purchase is carried out at a desk or during a lengthy and dull commute.
The Proactive Information Seekers
Even though the smartphone’s impact and popularity increases with rocket speed, the sheer finalisation of the purchase is just a piece of the profit-making pie. The channel’s quality as a portable source of continuous and widespread information transforms it into a powerful mechanic to boost the customer during his or her first steps in the customer journey.
Today's customers hardly shy away from scavenging the web for information in order to make well-grounded purchase decisions. The smartphone might be a stellar purchase channel to some, but it’s also a handy encyclopedia over pricing information, offers and product reviews. As a result, you need to ensure that your webshop contains heaps of relevant information and you should encourage your customers to write product reviews.
Omnichannel Satisfies the Channel-Hopping Customer
According to
Postnord’s report, 40% of Nordic customers search for information through their cellphones while in a physical store, 32% research real-time stock balance and 36% claim that they have photographed a product with the purpose to finalise the purchase later.
Although smartphones are excellent mediums in the pursuit of information, the channel isn’t always optimised for lengthy shopping sprees that require a ton of research. A common phenomenon is that a customer receives an offer through email or SMS, yet switches to a laptop to finalise the purchase.
Consequently, you need to take your first steps towards an
omnichannel reality with customer profiles that actively guide your customers between your channels and touchpoints. This increases that probability that you’ll strike mobile commerce gold.
Entice the Update Addict with Promotional Text Messages
You’ve probably heard your elders go on and on about the youngsters being brainwashed and glued to their cellphones. Even though this might cause one or two eye-rolls, the rant isn’t totally unfounded.
As a matter of fact, the average adult checks his or her phone 30 times per day. And the Millennials? More than 150 (!) times per day. This falls perfectly in line with the fact that the majority of mobile shoppers are between the ages of 18 to 49.
With these stats in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that SMS-marketing is starting to skyrocket once again. Consequently,
50,5% of Nordic consumers claim to have received a promotional text message from a company in which they are members in a loyalty club. To add fuel to the fire, the consumers’ constant desire to be up-to-date has lead to that promotional text messages have opening rate of a staggering 82%...
From Buzz to Standard
Even though mobile commerce often is described as a trend, I’d call it a necessity for a grand customer experience. If you overlook the continuous and never-ending development of the smartphone experience, you’ll discredit your customers’ needs and demands. And this surely will have severe ramifications on your revenues...
If you fail to deliver a top-notch mobile experience,
40% of your visitors will turn their heads towards your competition. So, unless you want to fall behind, you should kick start your journey towards a mobile-optimised customer experience that aligns with the customer’s lifestyle and consumption patterns