Mobile Conversion Optimization: Creating a Smooth Mobile Checkout Experience

Over the past several years, mobile commerce has truly exploded. Some stats for thought: in 2013, U.S. mobile retail sales totaled $41.71 billion. By the end of 2016, it’s estimated to be $130.92 billion. By the end of 2019, it will be nearly $250 billion.

In order to capture some of this business for yourself, your mobile checkout experience must be seamless. How do your users go from browsing and adding items to their mobile shopping cart to actually making the purchase? What can you do to make it easier for them?

Here are three important features of the mobile checkout experience you need to take a look at:

1. Include An Option For Guests

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Don’t slow down the checkout process by requiring account registration.

Requiring users to register an account appears beneficial for both parties. On your end, you’ll have their information and the ability to market to them more effectively. On their end, they’ll be able to log in and access their order information, and make future purchases much quicker.

However, requiring account registration is costing your company money. Simply removing this requirement can lead to a dramatic decrease in checkout abandonments. The fact is that many people are in a hurry, especially on mobile devices. Even if your account registration process is quick and painless, they won’t know that beforehand. It’s enough to scare many people off, which is the last thing you want to do.

2. Minimize Pages and Fields

And include a progress indicator.

Your best bet is to require the absolute least amount of information possible: name, email address, mailing and billing address, and payment information, plus any information specific to their order. This information can be entered on a single page to ensure the process is quick and painless for the customer. Utilizing PayPal as a preferred payment method is especially useful on mobile, as users can simply log into their PayPal account and not need to manually enter billing or address information.

It’s also a good idea to let people know how far they are along in the process, no matter how many pages you have. It would be a shame to lose a customer because they’re tired of entering information when they’re on the final page and aren’t aware of it. Label each page clearly: 1 of 1, 1 of 2, etc. Combining this with a minimalistic design will nip most cart abandons right in the bud.

3. Simplifying Checkout Pages

Keep the focus on securing the conversion.

The simpler your mobile checkout page is, the less it intimidates your users. When you checkout with vendors like Amazon, you’ll notice that their checkout page is different than the rest of their pages. Everything that can drive users to another page is removed, like the search bar or links to other departments.

Your mobile checkout page can be as simple as your logo at the top along with a ‘return to cart’ button alongside it. The rest of the page should include the required fields and some customer service contact information in case there’s a problem. Providing any additional content simply distracts users, taking attention away from their purchase.

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Mobile Conversion Optimization: Creating a Smooth Mobile Checkout Experience