The increasing amount of online traffic coming from mobile devices has changed retailers’ approach to retail marketing. A successful retail strategy now needs to reach that most important customer – the omnichannel shopper. Over the last five years the percentage of online traffic coming from mobile devices has been creeping up. It was around 10 per cent back in 2010. In 2014 and 2015, this number increased from 30 to 40 per cent. Today, most of our clients are looking at roughly 5
0 to 60 per cent of their traffic coming from mobile devices.
This doesn’t exactly come as a shock, as technology, mobile networks and the overall mobile experience improve. But what is interesting is the way people are using mobile when it comes to e-commerce. Despite seeing a dramatic increase in traffic from mobile, for most brands the majority of the online revenue is still coming from desktop shoppers.
Two years ago, this was just the nature of mobile at the time. People were browsing on their phone on their way to work or when they had a spare moment, but completing the sale on their computer when they could look at everything properly and were comfortable whipping out their credit card and paying.
This argument is mostly no longer valid. In some cases it is, however it seems that despite the many improvements that have been made to technology and the mobile customer experience, many consumers still prefer to complete the transaction on a desktop where they have “full control” over the experience, or head to a store and complete the transaction offline.
The reality is, customers are no longer picking one channel and sticking to it from start to end to complete their purchase. They flow between desktop, mobile, instore, social and will complete the transaction wherever is most convenient for them. I might start my experience on my phone when I’m on my way to work, get distracted, pick up where I left off when I get to my computer, then decide I’ll actually walk down the road and buy the product from a store. The goal for any brand is that they are the constant in this picture and every engagement is with them, and not different brands each time.
Seeing mobile traffic increase to over 50 per cent of traffic is a sign that brands need to take a good, hard look at their omnichannel strategy. How is the experience flowing between desktop, mobile and instore? It’s critical to get the basics in place to offer your customers a good omnichannel experience. Some key elements to look at include:
An easy to use mobile site (if not to keep your customers happy, to keep Google happy).
Persistent checkout for logged in customers. I can add something to cart on my computer, and assuming I’m logged in on mobile, those items will be in my cart there too.
One account across all channels. If I purchase something instore, that information should be available in my online account, and vice versa.
Inventory visibility. Can I look up and see what stores have stock so I can drive there and complete my purchase?
Omnichannel is by no means easy. A cross-channel experience requires some rigid systems and processes in place, many of which are not even in the pipeline for some brands. The unfortunate flipside to that is that brands that do have the infrastructure in place are nailing omnichannel and are giving their customers an unparalleled experience.
Spend 30 minutes running through your channels and make some notes on what works and what doesn’t. Even ticking off a few of the points listed above will bring you one step closer to offering your customers a unified experience with your brand.
Lance O’Grady (lance@pocketsquare.co.nz) is managing director of fashion focused digital agency Pocket Square.