My ‘Top 5 Tips’ in Developing an Effective Mobile Website: A Focus in the Retail Industry

There’s no doubt that ‘mobile’ has become deeply ingrained into our every-day lives. Mobile phones are taken everywhere in both internal and external environments, such as during shopping trips, and is one of the most popular methods of communication. This strong attachment between mobile and user has played an important role in the evolution of m-commerce, and contributes towards the value chain in the retail industry (Zhu & Kraemer, 2005).

Historically, activities through online commerce have been traditionally used on computers through the internet (Lai & Lai, 2014). More recently, customers have been using mobile devices rather than a desktop or laptop. This is due to the ease of comparing prices, products and services. As such, people are frequently using their mobile devices to make transactions on mobile websites. This recent technological advancement has contributed to the trend of online shopping. Effective mobile websites can be introduced to build a new bridge for communication between an online retailer and the customer (Ozdemir & Kilic, 2011).

With smartphone transactions increasing by 107% from 2014 – 2015, and 45% of e-commerce visits deriving from smartphones/tablets (Econsultancy, 2015), it has been proven that companies can benefit from adding a mobile website to their existing shopping channels. Combined with desktop websites and in-store presence, this creates a multi-channel shopping experience which is suitable for all types of customers.

Here are my ‘top 5 tips’ for retailers who have yet to develop an effective mobile website:
1. Long-term objectives
As technology is constantly evolving, it would be worthwhile to make a mobile website that meets the long-term advances in websites. For example, creating a mobile-website that is responsive to different devices (desktop, tablet, smartphone) will reduce the need to re-design the whole website in the long run.

Also, additional elements can be tailored to the specific digital marketing objectives of the business. For example, if your objective was to reduce the length of the sales/transaction process, this should be addressed when developing your mobile website. Or if your objective was to increase customer satisfaction, you may decide to incorporate a virtual customer sales adviser that is able to assist browsers visiting the mobile website 24/7 (Prialto, 2015)

2. Understand your target audience
In order to maximise customer engagement on a mobile website, it is necessary to understand the way users think and their online behaviours. Through tools such as Google Analytics, companies can monitor the percentage of web traffic that was generated from smartphone devices. Also through other methods of primary research or other tools, specific phone models can be identified (e.g. Apple, Android, Microsoft). This can contribute to building customer profiles and understanding how easy it is to access the internet.

Behaviours in mobile internet use, such as when the internet is being used (morning, afternoon, evening), where it is being used (at home, on-the-go) and how long for, is useful information to gain. Also, identifying the target audiences’ main purposes for visiting mobile websites and whether customers have a reliable internet connection will also prove to be vital data. For example, if users require to fill in forms when making purchases on their mobile devices, this should be made as easy as possible for the user to gain customer loyalty (TED, 2010).

3. Maintain consistency
It is a risky business by overloading a mobile website with irrelevant information that is different to the desktop version. Despite mobile websites are on the up-rise, some users use both desktop and mobile, or even switch between the two. To maintain brand awareness among the target audience, there should be similarity and consistency across the content, layout and design (e.g. the copy-writing and colour schemes).

In the example of Zara (below), there is a clear theme across both mobile and desktop websites that is easily recognisable by new and frequent customers, as the same imagery and branding is used across both platforms.

4. Full optimisation
From a recent algorithm update from Google in 2015, search rankings are now prioritised by mobile-optimised websites. This enhances to importance of retailers to fully optimise their mobile website, making it as simple as possible to function for the end user. This can be achieved by simplifying your website, such as only including the vital information that is most important for your particular business. For example, the most important information to include for a retailer selling premium chocolate may be the product range. In other cases, ‘store locator’ may be deemed just as important if there are nationwide stores, and are relying on customers to search whilst shopping.

5. Use analytics
As well as gaining in-depth understanding in customer behaviours, retail companies can easily identify any improvements by conducting frequent analysis on mobile website activity. Through Google Analytics, data on mobile keywords, on-site behaviour and mobile content can be monitored. This information can be incorporated in future adaptations to remain competitive. Other online tools include MixPanel and Segment.io.

Image Source: Bespoke Digital

As many retailers are continuously facing challenges of competitor activity, new entrants and loss of consumer interest on in-store purchases (Forbes, 2014), it has been advised by Walter Loeb that retailers should take up new technology, to connect with the younger consumers who shop online at night. By offering a 24/7 experience, the number of web visits and transactions are expected to increase. This makes it easier for consumers to shop at a convenient time for them, such as when lying in bed just before they go to sleep.

This actually happened to me the other week. I was having trouble getting to sleep, and had just remembered about some shorts that I had seen on Topshop but didn’t purchase it because I forgot. With the convenience of using my mobile (instead of waiting to load up my massive laptop), it was easy to purchase these shorts! Additionally, with online promotions such as ‘Free Next Day Delivery’ or ‘Click & Collect’, it is even more tempting for customers to buy through mobiles.

Oops… even more temptation to buy clothes!

BUT… One of the major concerns with developing a mobile website for the first time is that it can take a lot of time, expertise and money, which may cause difficulties for smaller retailers e.g. a small independent shop situated in Brighton Laines. My advice for these retailers would be to research the different options available (such as creating through a CMS or even on WordPress), which may be more appropriate for their business and are readily available to design through using themes.

Also the level of success will vary on how well the above points are utilised and whether mobile platform is ideal for your target audiences or product range. For example, a retailer specialising in furniture may not attract mobile visitors as the products are relatively expensive, and therefore requires more thought into the buying process (Puccinelli et al., 2009). In this case, the potential customer (e.g. first time movers) may prefer the physical presence of the store, to view the range of furniture in more detail.

My final words of wisdom is if you haven’t made a website mobile friendly, this should be one of the first areas to focus on in your digital marketing strategy! For retail companies particularly, mobile websites are essential to remain competitive in today’s industry.

If you enjoyed reading this introductory post on mobile-websites, my next post will focus specifically on the design of mobile websites – so keep a look out!

REFERENCES:
Bespoke Digital., (2016). Google Analytics: Insight into Your Website’s Traffic. [Online]. Available at: http://www.bespoke-digital.co.uk/seo-tools/google-analytics/ [Accessed 25 April 2016].

Econsultancy., (2015). 10 of the finest mobile ecommerce sites. [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 25 April 2016].

Lai, I. K. W., and Lai, D. C. F. (2014). User acceptance of mobile commerce: An empirical study in Macau. International Journal of System Science., 45(6), 1321-1331.

Ozdemir, K. and Kilic, S. (2011). Young consumers’ perspectives of website visualization: A gender perspective. Business andEconomics Research Journal, 2(2), 41-60.

Prialto., (2015). What Is A Virtual Assistant And What Can They Do For My Business? [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 25 April 2016].

Puccinelli, N. M., Goodstein, R. C., Grewal, D., Price, R., Raghubir, P., and Stewart, D., (2009). Customer Experience Management in Retailing: Understanding the Buying Process. Journal of Retailing, 85(1), 15-30.

TED. (2010). How to start a movement. [Online]. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement [Accessed 25 April 2016].

Zhu, K. and Kraemer, K. L., (2005). Post-Adoption Variations in Usage and Value of E-Business by Organizations: Cross-Country Evidence from the Retail Industry. Information Systems Research, 16(1), 61-84.