Optimize your Mobile Platform Increase the power of your eCommerce by integrating mobile solutions. The world has gone mobile. With a recent Custora survey projecting that mobile eCommerce sales will hit an astounding $50 billion by the end of this year (an increase of $48 billion since 2010) good mobile eCommerce has quickly become a must-have for any B2B or B2C company. Ensure that you are doing the most you can for your mobile customers by considering these practices. Responsive Design For best usability, web designers must take into account certain requirements when designing for the web. For instance, mobile sites are often easier to navigate with larger images and pull-down menus. As mobile technology has developed, responsive design has emerged as the most effective method of ensuring a user-friendly mobile eCommerce experience. Rather than subjecting mobile users to navigating a normal browser-based website on their smaller screen or creating a completely separate mobile site to redirect users towards, responsive design detects the needs of the device being used and automatically adjusts the displayed site to match those needs. For instance, instead of having a browser site with normal-sized images and a separate mobile site with larger images, a website that implements responsive design recognizes that the same browser site is being viewed on a mobile device and adjusts the image size accordingly. There is no need to update or copy the information over to a mobile site—he site itself does the work. This practice is optimal for both the business and the customer because it creates an easy-to-use platform while limiting the amount of work and money needed on the development end. Mobile Apps Another option for mobile eCommerce is to have B2B mobile apps for your business. Clarity can build a custom mobile app for your eCommerce platform that streamlines the transaction process for your users. Though businesses are sometimes scared off by the fact that different operating systems (for example, Android versus iPhone) need their own app, Clarity utilizes PhoneGap to create only one app for multiple operating systems, cutting down on time and costs for you. When built correctly, mobile apps can give you a unique environment for your mobile eCommerce that fits easily into your day-to-day business needs. Mobile Payment Payment is an inherently vital aspect of any eCommerce platform. As mobile eCommerce has increased in popularity, new innovations in secure payment have made mobile purchases easier than ever. In addition to payment applications that can accept standard credit card and gift card options, your mobile platform can now implement Google Wallet, the new Apple Pay, and other similar electronic money services that give users the ability to make payments straight from their phones. These services lead to seamless transactions for your customers, encouraging more business to come your way. Geo-location for eCommerce One of the most useful tools of mobile eCommerce is geo-location, or the ability to detect where a consumer is located while they are visiting your site. With geolocation, you can offer content and promotions targeted for a consumer’s region, guiding them toward purchases they are more likely to make. Additionally, depending on what your business sells, there are many creative ways in which you can make geo-location fit with your customers’ needs. For instance, if you operate a brick-and-mortar business in addition to your eCommerce site, you can direct customers to the nearest store location. Or, if you have a product that is particularly popular in a particular region, you can have that product displayed prominently for consumers of that region. However you use it, geo-location can give your mobile site the extra edge. Clarity Can Help Our developers have years of experience building websites that work optimally across all devices. To build a mobile eCommerce platform that is right for you, or if you need assistance with implementing mobile tools, contact us for a free quote today!