23 May What Do You Mean My Cart Is Empty?!
Have you looked at your mobile traffic lately?
It’s probably growing at a faster clip than you thought. Most of your sales are probably still coming from desktop users, but that universe is steadily shrinking.
According to a 2016 report published by Criteo, the tipping point between mobile and desktop usage has been reached. The top 25% of online retailers now capture 52 percent of all e-commerce transactions on mobile devices.
The top 25% of online retailers now capture 52 percent of all e-commerce transactions on mobile devices.
And, for the first time ever, smartphones deliver the majority of mobile transactions in every major global market.
Not only is mobile commerce increasing at an alarming rate, 40% of all online transactions now involve the use of multiple devices. Some shoppers will add items to their shopping cart on a desktop computer and then decide to complete the order later via phone. Some will do the reverse.
In either case, retailers need to provide a seamless stress-free shopping experience across all devices. They also need to recognize that mobile users are significantly different from desktop users.
Speed and convenience are what appeal to this fast-growing market and any obstacle in the path to completing a purchase is an immediate turn-off that will put your revenue and customer loyalty at risk.
Have you looked at your mobile conversion rate lately?
It’s probably only a third of the rate of desktop. That means in order to produce comparable revenue, you need 3 mobile purchases for every one desktop purchase.
And all the remarketing tools you employ to increase website conversion don’t always work for mobile users.
Even abandoned shopping cart reminder emails that consistently produce stellar engagement and conversion rates when directed to desktop users can lead to frustration for the cross-device shopper.
Here’s the problem:
Let’s say I add items from your online store to my shopping cart on a desktop computer and then decide to complete the order later via phone. You send me a helpful email reminder that all the merchandise in my cart is waiting for my return.
But when I attempt to complete my purchase by phone – my cart is empty. All the items I so thoughtfully placed there are gone. I have to start all over again. This experience leaves me frustrated and angry. Not only will I hesitate to return to your site, I may decide to shop with your competitor.
This situation is needlessly created by the absence of cart rebuilding technology. You would be amazed at the number of savvy online merchants who fail to employ it. We certainly were.
Surveying the use of cross-device cart savers was the main reason for visiting the websites of over 500 prominent ecommerce companies. We subscribed to their email programs and attempted to place an order. Then we waited to see what would arrive in our inboxes.
We’ll be sharing the results in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!