How Are Online Retailers Engaging With Their Mobile Consumers?

By October 28, 2014January 21st, 2020Mobile Commerce

It Starts With Engaging Their Target Audience

If the last few years have shown online retailers anything, it’s that mobile is a growing trend with no end in sight. According to IBM Corp., 17% of all online sales for Cyber Monday – 2013 – were from mobile devices, a staggering upswing from the previous year. Smartphones and tablets have become a significant part of the customer conversion equation. Adding mobile to your customer-engagement strategy is not only a benefit. It’s a necessity. But what exactly does it mean to engage your mobile consumers, and how exactly should you approach this strategy?

Know Where Mobile Fits Into Your Marketing Strategy

It’s easy to look at every marketing channel as a path designed specifically for conversions. And despite IBM Corp.’s data regarding Cyber Monday, the truth is in order to optimize mobile for your marketing strategy, you should consider looking at mobile beyond conversions. When it comes to reaching your mobile consumers, remember this:

It’s not always about conversions. Sometimes it’s about engagement.

At this past year’s IRCE, eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe told retailers on hand that the road to success should not be based on a specific shopping platform, but making sure your consumers have access to the information they want when they want it. That’s how mobile fits in.

Give Your Mobile Consumers What They Want With Mobile Engagement

Retailers across the nation are optimizing their consumers’ mobile experience by creating either mobile apps or mobile-friendly sites (both tablet and phone-specific). One consistency that these retailers are noting is that while engagement has increased as a result of their actions, direct mobile conversions have not necessarily followed suit. That has led retailers to reconsider mobile’s role – at least currently – in the conversion process.

Mobile is an efficient way for online retailers to kick off the buying cycle. Early on in the buying cycle, consumers are interested in gathering information and narrowing their browsing down to informative research. Retailers have always known this. But now, with new technology literally at our fingertips, the way we browse has evolved. Browsing isn’t always a premeditative action these days. Often times, consumers browse items and engage in research while killing time in line at the store, or while watching TV on the couch. Nowadays, computers are often reserved for more structured time, such as work-related activities. And while consumers still actively shop on their computers, more and more of their browsing activities are done in recreational settings, which usually means the use of mobile devices.

Designing mobile-friendly landing pages and sites that make it easy for consumers to gather information will greatly increase your overall goal of conversions. While you may see an increase in mobile sales as well, keep in mind that the biggest number you should be concerned with is total conversions.

But how exactly do you design mobile-friendly sites and landing pages? Do you create a responsive site? A mobile-specific site? How do you present your information in a way that makes it easy for your consumers to get the information they need to move forward in the buying cycle? OperationROI can help. Contact us today at 1-888-277-5429 or fill out our contact form to learn how we can help you engage with your mobile consumers.

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