Published on August 15, 2012 5 important reasons why you need a mobile storefront
Even if your store is successfully processing orders without any mobile storefront at all, there’s a strong chance that you could be reaching even more customers by adding this option for your customers. Mobile penetration in Australia is growing at a rapid rate and with mobile providers rolling out better broadband coverage to even more of Australia, this is only set to continue into the future.
Here are just some of the important reasons why you need mobile commerce for your online shop.
More Australians than ever have smartphones
According to Nielsen research, it is estimated that up to 48% of Australians already have a Smartphone, and 18% of all Australian households have at least one tablet computer in their homes (e.g. an Android, iPad, Windows tablet PC, etc.). In fact, of all the countries in the world, only Singapore has a greater usage of smartphones by population density than Australia. We are right up there with the heaviest smartphone users in the world.
This makes mobiles an important way to reach customers and encourage them to buy online, regardless of the industry. Mobiles aren’t just a fun gadget for teens – they cut across all demographic groups and ages in Australia.
Don’t let your business miss out. No matter how well designed your main website is, an online shop that makes it as easy as possible for mobile users to access has an even higher chance of converting this waiting audience.
Australians are shopping at night, wherever they are
Australians are shopping even more at night from wherever they are. Nielsen research reports that up to 20% of Australians are shopping between 6-10 p.m. at night after physical stores close. This is both a reason to have an online shop, and to have a mobile store front that work together.
Customers won’t return if your store doesn’t impress
Whilst statistics show that currently only 5% of mobile users might end up making a purchase on a mobile device, those who try a store on mobile device and have a bad experience are unlikely to return to that store later in either a mobile or browser version.
Making your mobile store easy to use will encourage the “early adopters” who are already making purchases online to do so quickly and easily, and those who wish to browse to come back again and buy from you later.
With such a low current purchase rate on mobiles its tempting to say that they are not important enough to worry about but just because customers do not buy at the time does not mean they will or that they won’t come back to you later on a desktop browser if your website is compelling and easy-to-find. Surveys have indicated that up to 61% of customers who have a poor mobile experience with a store won’t visit the store again (in either the mobile or desktop browser formats). With more Australians shopping online after the physical stores close, and shopping wherever they are (not just at home or at work), it’s a dangerous assumption to make that low direct conversion means low value.
Customers are even comparison shopping on mobiles in stores
Research is showing that more than ever Australians are comparison shopping for products while in the physical stores that sell them. Up to 24% of Australians are taking mobile smartphones with them while shopping and there is a churn away from online stores of up to 22% after comparison shopping on a mobile.
This means if you have a great offer on a product sold in a store, you still have the opportunity to close the sale even if that product is right in front of them. If you’re a physical store owner then there are important implications for you too: it’s important to keep your online product range up to date and have a mobile store front so when those customers in store go comparison shopping they find your site again.
You have the opportunity to convince them via your online store front that it’s a good idea to buy the product in front of them. You can remind them of the most important reasons to buy that product from you, and if you can include reviews or videos – as this will give customers reassurance that the product is the right one. Customers won’t necessarily take the word of the in-store salesperson any more.
Your competitors are going mobile
Don’t give your competitors a jump on you. Competition in the online space is heating up, as traditional retailers start to realise the importance of competing online. A recent report by Forrester research has observed that Australian online retailers are placing getting mobile as their number one priority for the next 12 months. The same report observed a rise from 39% to 55% of retailers currently using a mobile store front.
Note to current Ozcart customers:
All Ozcart versions (greater than version 2.03 – customers purchasing after April 2009) support mobile commerce. For customers that do not have this feature, it is available as a free addon for your store – just submit a support ticket if you wish to have it installed. Now in 2018, Ozcart is fully mobile and tablet responsive, including both the admin area and your layout / theme.
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