eCommerce Marketing: As Screens Shrink, Mobile Strategy Expands

Pew Research has reported that 72% of Americans have smartphones – as do 67% of Canadians. And we know that the average smartphone user touches their phone over 2,600 times a day. What does this tell us?

Those of us who have smartphones use them continually throughout the day. 51% of Americans have used their smartphone to buy something, and on Black Friday of 2016, 40% of purchases were made from a mobile device.  

eCommerce marketing strategies have shifted – and continue to shift – toward the customers who use their smartphones to shop. Adobe has published some research that you may be interested in if you own, manage, or do marketing for an online business:

So far, shoppers are spending more when they use their computers than when they use their smartphones.

The conversion rates for smartphone shoppers sits at 16%, while those who are shopping on their computers are converted at a rate of 26%. And it is not all about the relative sizes of screens.

How Can Online Retailers Improve Conversion Rates?

1. Review your eCommerce website to make sure it is mobile friendly. Here are some characteristics of a mobile-friendly site.

• The most important information is at the top.
• The buttons are visible on your home page
• Scrolling is used sparingly.
• Images are used strategically, and not in great numbers.
• Videos are used liberally.
• Navigation is simple.

1. Consider building a mobile app: 55% of online shoppers will choose to use an app to buy a product or while shopping for a product.  
2. Try this: Search for a product using your smartphone. You will notice that paid ads take up valuable screen space on your smartphone, so why not make this work for you? Invest in some Google ads.
3. Are there members of your team that truly understand mobile retail? If not, consider hiring someone who gets where mobile retailing is and where it is going.
4. Make your email marketing campaigns friendly to the mobile phone – as if they were best friends.  

At eShipper, we can work with you as you target shoppers that use their smartphones to shop: We provide easy-to-use tools that result in your customers receiving their purchase in a timely way and at a cost that will encourage them to visit you again. (And again.) Contact us for more information or download our free eBook on customer retention.