mobile

Optimize Mobile Experiences, Advises Compete

mobile shopping

With the proliferation of smartphones, brands and the retailers that sell them should begin considering how to optimize mobile experiences to ensure that the consumer stays with them through the entire purchase process.

According to research company Compete's Q3 Smartphone Intelligence Survey, 37% of smartphone users have purchased something unrelated to mobile technology (i.e., not ringtones or applications) from their handset within the past six months. Of them, 19% purchased music, 14% bought books, DVDs or video games and 12% purchased movie tickets.

"We are seeing more of an uptick of buying from the phones," Danielle Nohe, director of consumer technologies for Compete, tells Marketing Daily. "But even more than that, we're seeing a trend of people using their phones in the retail locations to do more research."

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Still, the most popular shopping-related activity is research, with 41% of iPhone users and 43% of Android users likely to check sale prices at competing retailers while out shopping. The second-most likely activity is accessing consumer reviews.

Starting with the iPhone and now with the increase in Android handsets, smartphones have moved into the general consumer demographic. And with that, more consumers are using them to ensure they get the best deals, Nohe says. "Anyone who's selling offline needs to make sure they're staying competitive and knowledgeable," she says. "It's a much more informed consumer that gets up to the cash register."

However, consumers are also saying they will give up on purchasing from their handsets if the sites they are accessing are not optimized for the experience. According to Compete, 8% of smartphone users were unable to complete a purchase for a desired product from their phone. Of these, 45% said they did so because the site would not load correctly, while another 38% said they left the site because it was not developed specifically for mobile use.

"As these devices proliferate -- and people grow more comfortable transacting -- site owners must redesign around mobile shopping ease-of-use," Nohe says.

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