Mobile commerce – sometimes referred to as m-commerce or mcommerce – is the next evolution in ecommerce. As people get used to doing more and more on their smartphones, they have become more comfortable with the idea of making purchases on their mobile devices and not on their computers. It’s expected that this year, over half of all online sales will happen on mobile.
If you sell any products or services online, it’s important to ensure that your business offers a great mobile shopping experience. Here’s how:
1. Make Sure You’re Responsive To Screen Size
In 2021, every website should be responsive to screen size regardless of what industry you’re in. It’s an absolute must and very easy to do. If you’re working on WordPress, Wix or pretty much any of the plug-and-play content management systems out there, it’s a simple process to ensure you’re responsive. Web designers and developers should also all be able to make sure your website changes properly according to screen size.
2. Think About User Experience On All Screen Sizes
Having a responsive design is just the first step. It’s important to think about the experience that your user will have depending on what size device they are using. The ideal situation is to have the user experience be as similar as possible across all devices, while still understanding that the way a user works on a smartphone is different to the way they will work on a laptop.
For one thing, the screen size is significantly different and it’s harder to absorb lots of information on a smaller screen. Most tablets and smartphones are also touchscreen, while people tend to use the keyboard and trackpad or a mouse when operating a computer. All of this means that you can and should have quite different ways of interacting with your website depending on the device the person is using.
3. Consider Creating An App
A mobile app will take your m-commerce mission to the next level. People will be able to download it onto their devices and will quite often turn to your business before a competitor’s because you are already there in their phones – no opening up a web browser and searching for the website first. You are also giving the user an experience that is 100% designed for use on a small, mobile device with a touchscreen.
4. Show Off Your Security Measures
One of the biggest areas of concern when it comes to shopping online is trust. Users want to know that their credit card details are safe. On a mobile phone, this concern is ramped up even more because the idea of shopping on a smart device is still fairly new. This is why it’s so important to highlight the safety features on your website or app, especially concerning payment gateways.
Try to offer your customers as many ways as possible to make payment – credit card, PayPal, EFT, payment via the best crypto site, etc. The more options you can safely provide, the more likely customers are to find an option that they are most comfortable with and will feel happy to make payments.