Wheels, pencils, compasses, computers, smartphones. What do these objects have in common?

They’re all the most important tools of their time.

Mobile devices have become an integral part of our daily lives. Their ability to keep us connected—to our favorite people, our favorite brands, and our favorite products—has transformed how businesses of all sizes engage with their customers. 

That’s especially true for ecommerce retailers. With $2.2 trillion of ecommerce revenue generated from mobile sales in 2023, and an additional $3 billion being added in 2024, there’s never been a better time for merchants to invest in their mobile strategy. Fortunately, all you need to get started is the right knowledge and know-how. 

Let’s take a quick look at the current state of m-commerce—and the steps you can take today to leverage this critical channel.

The current state of mobile commerce

91% of shoppers use their smartphones to make online purchases.

Let that number sink in for a moment. 9 out of 10 shoppers—from the extremely online to the relatively tech-averse—regularly make purchases from the palm of their hand.

And that’s not the only eye-raising statistic related to the rise of m-commerce:

• Nearly half of all shopping journeys now include mobile as a primary touchpoint
• 60% of customers prefer mobile apps over websites for shopping
• Android users spent over 50 billion hours in shopping apps in 2023
• 61% of all US adults expect brands to offer a mobile shopping experience 

However, the figure that really stands out is the fact that mobile is responsible for 60% of traffic to ecommerce websites—but only 16% of conversions occur on mobile devices. With the average ecommerce conversion rate hovering around 3.65%, that means that only about 0.5% of your visitors are becoming customers through mobile alone.

Of course, like all stats and figures, these numbers are constantly changing. What’s more—you have the power to change them yourself in real time. All it takes is the right strategy.

How to take control of your m-commerce strategy

It’s clear that mobile commerce represents a massive opportunity for today’s retailers. But the disconnect between the continued rise of m-commerce and the low conversion rates on mobile devices means that most of that potential is going unrealized—unless you’re taking things into your own hands, that is.

Here are three proven ways to turn more mobile visitors into loyal customers:

1. Optimize your site search across desktop and mobile.

Creating a seamless search experience for shoppers across both desktop and mobile is key to getting the right products in front of them before they look elsewhere. That starts with:

• Designing your site search with mobile in mind: Features such as autocomplete (fully mobile responsive out-of-the-box) and auto-suggest are must-haves since they allow shoppers to find relevant results after entering just a few characters of a search term, minimizing the need for cumbersome typing on a small screen.
• Making your site easy to navigate on mobile devices: Use universally recognized icons (magnifying glass for search, bag or cart for shopping cart, etc.) to replace lengthy text. Keep facets and filters spaced out and thumb-friendly—shoppers shouldn’t have to zoom in just to make a selection. While sliders work better than a standard list view for selecting price on mobile devices, they can be more challenging to use. Instead, opt for multi-select filters via a grid or list display to make it as easy as possible for shoppers.
• Testing, then testing again: Go through the shopping experience on a mobile device yourself and see what pain points you encounter as a shopper. This is also an important part of any site audit.  Make sure you’re using high-resolution images; people zoom in all the time on mobile. Additionally, try to keep file sizes as small as possible to avoid long load times. Remember, many mobile shoppers are on the move, and may be relying on unstable (or no) WiFi.  

2. Adopt a mobile-first mindset.

As we dive into 2024, the focus for brands is clear: enhancing the mobile customer experience can drive serious retention. One powerful lever to achieve this is the integration of a mobile app into your marketing mix.

A mobile app offers a seamless shopping experience, making it the optimal way to engage with customers on their preferred devices. Beyond just convenience, it adds a layer of legitimacy to your brand presence. Features like unlimited push notifications, instant page loading, one-click checkout, intuitive navigation, and prime real estate on your consumer’s phone contribute to increased engagement, revenue, and diversified acquisition strategies.

Statistics show that app users are not just casual shoppers; they are brand advocates. They exhibit higher conversion rates, revenue per session, and lifetime value compared to users on mobile web and desktop platforms. Capitalizing on this trend, savvy brands designate their mobile apps as exclusive hubs for VIP customers, offering unique content and app-only deals. This strategy instills a sense of exclusivity, fostering customer loyalty and ensuring they stay engaged with your brand.

3. Leverage the power of customer reviews.

Optimizing the mobile experience is a crucial element in achieving increased conversions and cultivating long-lasting customer loyalty. An instrumental approach to successfully reaching these goals is by tapping into the influential realm of customer reviews.

Customer reviews play a substantial role in shaping consumer perceptions and decisions. They offer valuable testimonials and validate product quality, thus influencing potential buyers. Elevating the impact of reviews can be achieved through the implementation of Review Nuggets or similarly performing widgets. These bite-sized snippets encapsulate the most useful and informative feedback, providing immediate insight into customer sentiments. 

The strategic placement of customer reviews adds a layer of efficiency and effectiveness to the mobile shopping journey. These sentiments capture attention but also instill trust, influencing positive actions. In this way, testimonials prove to be an indispensable tool, not only for optimizing conversions but also for establishing the groundwork for lasting customer loyalty.

Discover everything you need to level up your m-commerce strategy in our latest ebook!

Our smartphones contain all of the world’s knowledge in one place. Unfortunately, we’re not able to accomplish the same feat in a quick blog post. 

That’s why we’ve put together everything you need to know about mastering m-commerce in our full-length ebook!

Attracting and converting more mobile shoppers is the key to success in an increasingly crowded retail landscape. That’s why we teamed up with ecommerce experts from Tapcart, LoyaltyLion, Justuno, and REVIEWS.io, to create Mastering Mobile Commerce in 2024—a comprehensive ebook filled with all the insights you need to secure success in an increasingly mobile-ready world. In it, we cover how to:

• Optimize search for both desktop and mobile
• Adopt a mobile-first mindset and strategy
• Unleash the power of customer sentiments
• Encourage loyalty in the mobile commerce era
• And more! 

Download your ebook now and discover how to increase loyalty, drive retention, and boost sales in 2024 with the ultimate mobile shopper experience!