Mobile ecommerce (mcommerce) is expected to soon overtake ecommerce activities. Online shopping has been enjoying its heyday during the pandemic and reports show that mcommerce will make up more than 54% of all online sales in 2021. Instead of having your customer shop browser-based, the future is in mobile apps.
Mobile apps are no longer just limited to gaming and social applications, they are one of the dominant ecommerce platforms, where you can target a whole new set of customers and open up new revenue streams. The mobile application market is constantly expanding and ecommerce business owners would be smart to take advantage of this new trend. Offering your online store through a mobile app can increase your conversions by up to three times.
If your customer engagement strategies are not working despite the investment in a mobile app for your ecommerce store, it is mainly because of poor app plan and design. Many mcommerce apps are designed too quickly to be optimized for performance. This results in many apps that are clunky, slow, have incomplete catalogs, and poor quality images.
Here we have the ultimate list of the seven most common mobile app mistakes that businesses tend to overlook.
1. An Exhausting Onboarding Process
Some app designers sometimes forget the value of time. Never antagonize your users by making your registration process complex and time-consuming. Users do not want to be encumbered by lengthy registrations that ask for data over and over again. The registration process should be simple so that you do not put hurdles in the way of a customer who is in the mood to shop.
Use the following techniques to make your registration process smooth and simple:
a. Provide social login features that allow users to connect from their Google or Facebook accounts.
b. Simply ask for an email ID or password for initial sign up
c. Automate your users’ location so it reduces the fields they need to fill in the registration form
d. Make sure the user remains logged in until the app is uninstalled by storing the user’s credentials
2. A Lengthy Payment Process
Just like the registration process, most users find a lengthy checkout procedure to be laborious. For example, items could have been added to the cart and your customer is right at the end of the conversion funnel. They are just about to pay but they abandon their cart because your payment process is far too complex.
Asking for too many unnecessary details and providing long forms can be a major turn-off for many users and is too often the cause for cart abandonment. Keep your checkout process uncomplicated and only ask for details that are essential. The greatest advantage of online shopping is the reduction in waiting time.
Your payment process should be seamless and be formatted to optimize time management, in a simple flow. Just like login information, ensure to store payment information and addresses so users do not have to enter them repeatedly. If you want customers to return to your mobile app, your product or service needs to be of value, as so does the user experience of the app. So, make the payment process stress-free and watch your customer retention grow.
3. A Lack of Personalization
When you cater to your customers as an individual and not just as a means to increase your sales, you provide them with an incentive to remain loyal. Personalize the customer experience and you’ll find that customers respond positively with return visits. Marketers have seen a 20% increase in sales when they offer personalized experiences. Personalization strategies have been proven to increase customer retention and the overall customer experience.
Ideally, your app should adapt to customer needs in real-time. Even postpurchase, the app should save the user’s purchase history and make recommendations based on these. Remember the user’s search queries and send curated emails and personalized notifications. Create a tailored shopping experience to increase the likelihood of your customers coming back.
Ecommerce and mcommerce have an advantage over traditional retail, in that it gives you data to provide a specific experience to every single user. Take advantage of all this data and build a long-lasting relationship with your customers that encourages trust and loyalty.
4. Low-quality Images
Pixelated images can negatively influence your brand image. Your images are the only proof you have to show your customers what your product exactly looks like. Take good quality photos of your products as these serve as a promise of quality. Invest in a professional photo shoot for your products, because you won’t convince customers to buy your products with poor-quality images.
Make sure the photographs of your products are against a white background and their sizes are optimized to show your products in high definition without compromising on picture load times. Ensure they are shot from multiple angles and have the option of zooming in. To add the human touch, add a picture of your product being used by a person. Strengthen perception of your products by creating visually appealing images that attract customers and compel them to purchase them.
5. Poor Customer and Backend Support
Customer service is key to any successful business. For your mcommerce brand, you need to have exceptional customer service, if you want your customer experience to be ahead of the game. Don’t leave customers waiting for too long if they reach out to you by email or phone. Call centers for small business are now more accessible than ever before.
Along with customer service, your technical backend support needs to be strong. Your app must be able to handle high volumes of traffic. If your app often crashes, you will lose the trust of customers. Make sure your technical backend team offers robust support – 24/7. For smaller issues, you could always call a stand up meeting with the backend team.
6. Substandard Optimization of UI and UX for Mobile
When the app development process moves ahead too quickly, app developers have less time to focus on UI and UX. If your app isn’t optimized for keeping the user interface and user experience in mind, it can seriously harm your business. Your app needs to have a user-friendly interface, ease of access, and seamless navigation. If any of these are missing, you will, among many other problems, experience people leaving your app without making a purchase.
Here are a few pointers to fully optimize your UI and UX:
- Check your app across multiple mobile devices and screen resolutions
- Don’t clutter your app with unnecessary elements
- Use a minimalist approach, with more negative space with simply phrased content
- Have only one CTA that is highlighted
- Make sure the size of each icon or menu button is easily clickable
- Ensure fluid and simple transitions
The user interface will influence the customer’s decision-making process. The app should be configured to lead customers towards the sales funnel while the visual elements and ease of navigation need to also support this goal. A complex UI or UX will hamper user retention and you could see the number of installations of your app drop dramatically.
7. Ignoring an Omnichannel Strategy
Modern communications platforms are many and varied. You need to connect your app to the rest of your sales channels such as your webpage and/or social media channels. Traffic can move bi-directionally within all your sales channels, including brick-and-mortar stores.
Enhance your brand experience by asking online customers to visit your store, and encouraging physical customers to download your app. When customers are connected through an omnichannel network there are more chances to engage with them. An efficient cross-channel strategy can help improve customer retention and increase user engagement.
In Conclusion
By avoiding these seven most commonly made mistakes, you can provide customers with an enjoyable user experience, while boosting sales.
Make sure you pay attention to customer feedback and market research and improve the app where needed. Regular quality assurance testing can also help keep your app in good condition. App development needs to be dynamic and to keep up with the changing needs of your customers.
To create an app that offers an unforgettable shopping experience, keep your app customer-centric and forge a marketing strategy to match.
