Ten million UK customers made online transactions through their mobile phones last year. However despite these numbers, many companies are still reluctant to develop for mobile.
Now in order to enhance customer transactions, and keep up with rapid market trends, businesses should seriously consider developing for the mobile platform. Especially if they wish to remain relevant in today’s e-commerce immersed society. In fact, most consumers now have high expectations for e-commerce in general, with many people seeing very little difference between the experiences they receive on different devices.
So what platform do you go for? Well it depends entirely on who your target audience are, and whilst it’s true that the iPhone dominates in terms of time spent browsingonline, it’s important to remember that there are other smart phones out there (Blackberry, Android etc..) and by developing solely for a single system, you risk limiting yourself and alienating potential consumers.
However, deciding that you’re going to develop for mobile is the easy part. It’s the implementation that’s tricky, with many companies spending vast sums of money and still getting it wrong. Especially when the basic principles of developing a good mobile app/site are quite simple: all you need to do is make sure that you’re mobile app/site is…
- Simple to use
- Reliable
- Fast and efficient
Getting these elements right is crucial, as 83% of consumers experience problems when trying to complete a purchase online, and end up abandoning their transaction. Despite the fact that many of them said, a mobile transaction should be a better shopping experience than making the same purchase in store (51%) or at a computer (52%).
You may also be wondering what do you go for? A mobile application or a mobile optimised site? Well a mobile application is a native application written for that specific device. This means that it’s tailored to that devices features (screen size, key controls etc.) A mobile optimised site is quicker to market, supported across most devices and cheaper, but it lacks any real customisation However what you chose to develop for depends entirely on what your requirements are. Because an app may sound fun, but unless the customer already has your app on their phone, then they may not have easy access to your services… Whereas a mobile optimised site will provide them with easier access but may not be as quick to load as an app.
So is it really worth developing for mobile? At five one two we think the answer is pretty simple – yes. However we do specialise in developing innovative mobile solutions, coupled with scalable enterprise grade sales order processing and e-commerce systems. So we’ve helped lots of our clients (in various different industries) enhance their services by implementing mobile solutions. Finally, another example of mobile development done right is ASOS. Their mobile site design is sleek, simple to use, and since launch mobile sales have increased by a staggering 800% in 12 months. Plus Argos (who don’t sell online) does have a mobile “Check and reserve” app which is responsible for bringing in £2.6 million per week. Now ask yourself, is this a market that you can afford to ignore..? We don’t think so either.
For further information about how we can help you, please call Cat Goulbourne on 02380 987 512 or email info@fiveonetwo.com.
Statistics source: Econsultancy