4 Ways Online Retailers Can Get Ahead of Competitors by Mastering Mobile

The shift to mobile is in full-effect, and 6 months into Google’s Mobile-First Index overhaul, it’s never been more important to ensure your online presence is optimized for mobile. The retail industry is insanely competitive and the battlefield is ever more ruthless with store closures, the rise of eCommerce giants and consumer savviness.

Studies show 38% of Americans are constantly using their phone, so that means out of 318 million Americans, 111 million are on their phones right now. And if your online store is not yet optimized for mobile, your business is missing out.

Before diving into a tech nightmare, you need to prioritise. We’ve put together a few key steps that you need to optimize your online retail business, get ahead of your competitors and stay there.

1 – Know Your Customer

To truly understand your customer you have to put yourself in their shoes, in other words, carry out some intensive research. Hoard data on their ‘active’ hours and capitalize on those highly responsive windows of time. That said, it also pays to be mindful of what advice you follow, if everyone walked to the same drum then content distribution and advertising would be watered down, drowned out by an overflow of information. Tailoring content to your customers needs at the right time will drive engagement and keep them happy.

2 – Community Cloning: Social Media Magic

Take a good look at how companies similar to yours are using mobile, and with a subjective approach, decide what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong. Make your strategy unique by being clued up on what others in your industry are doing, so you can do better. Thanks to Facebook’s unprecedented access to billions of people’s data, it’s now possible to target your competitor’s fans with offers and deals as well as highly targeted copy.

3 – Optimize Your Mobile Sales Funnel

The less clicks it takes to make an action, the better. From email sign ups, to purchases or shares, it has to be easy. How many actions must a user make from first-touch to purchase? A mobile site that is clean, clear and engaging will yield the best results. The Zara app is a prime example of omnichannel gold. Right next to the search bar there is a barcode icon, giving shoppers the ability to scan an item they like in-store and order it to arrive at their house the next day, providing a seamless shopping experience. 55% of shoppers visit a store before making an online purchase so this new level of omnichannel sales should not be ignored.

4 – Metrics Metrics Metrics

Tracking is vital, and you need to make sure you’re gleaning the most valuable metrics from your analytics as possible. If there is a particular point in your mobile cycle where your customers drop off, let that be your target. If there are entire pages of you mobile environment that are seldom reached, maybe a reshuffle is a starting point. Landing pages are a great way to bring people into your marketing fold; all your vital information from deals to new releases, and plenty of calls to action. Let your metrics guide the way, your CTO isn’t yelling “data driven!” for nothing.

When you’ve mastered the realm of online sales, why not go back to basics and open a brick-and mortar store. Connect with customers face-to-face rather than tech-to-face and create a lasting impression that will pay.