Forget simply checking email or playing FarmVille on Facebook while on the go, smartphones are providing consumers with a more convenient and mobile way to shop. According to Gartner, a research and advisory company, smartphone sales increased 49% in the first three months of 2010; this means there is a whole lot of new opportunity for established e-commerce merchants through mobile commerce. In the digital landscape of online business, mobile commerce is still in its infancy, but major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Bluefly, and eBay have been quick to establish mobile sites. According to an Internet Retailer article released just last month there are about 112 retailers, 58 of them are among the Internet Retailer Top 500, with 153 m-commerce sites and/or apps. If you’re an online retailer in the stages of building your own m-commerce site, the following are a few things to consider before launching the site.
1.) Keep design simple. Focus on three or four key features such as your products, special offers, ratings and reviews, and an easy to find shopping cart. You want customers to interact and shop effortlessly without having to wait for your site to download heavy text and complicated graphics.
2.) Offer multiple methods of transaction. Customers like using payment methods they are already familiar with such as PayPal or Amazon Payments. Familiarity breeds security, and it instills trust in your mobile site.
3.) Optimize your mobile site. Make sure that your mobile site or app will function on major
smartphone operating systems
4.) Integrate price comparison tools or social media tools such as Facebook’s “like” button into the
mobile site. It’s an effective way of reaching consumers across different channels.
5.) Use a universal shopping cart. Your customers can begin transactions on your mobile site and end them at home on their desktops. The universal shopping cart is an attractive feature because the whole appeal of mobile commerce is its portability.
Written by Ana A.