By James Smith, Criteo
As retailers gear up for the last quarter of the year, they’ve been carefully prepping for the 2015 holiday shopping season in an effort to maximize sales. They’ve strategically mapped out marketing plans, advertising creative and in-store displays to capture consumer attention. However, as the path to purchase quickly shifts to mobile, one crucial element continues to need improvement. Often overlooked, yet invaluable for boosting sales, the user mobile experience will be key for retailers looking to drive profit during the upcoming gift-giving season.
For the fashion sector, this is an especially significant opportunity. Within this category, consumers turn to multiple devices (including laptops, tablets and smartphones) more than any other retail sector when browsing for the best deals and purchasing their loved ones’ most coveted items. According to Criteo data, fashion sees the highest traction when it comes to mobile purchases—both via mobile web and in-apps. Globally, mobile fashion sales are growing fast and steady at more than 18% year-over-year. In the U.S. market specifically, that figure is inching closer to 40%.
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Fashion retailers that have invested in developing and maintaining their app’s functionality and consumer experience are now seeing significant benefits. And, in fact, the same applies to many other categories in retail, as well as other industries such as travel. Criteo’s Q3 Mobile Commerce Report finds that apps generate at least 50% of all mobile sales for app-savvy retailers. Furthermore, mobile apps double the amount of visit to sales conversions compared to desktop, and they drive higher order value per transaction than mobile browser and desktop.
It’s clear that mobile apps are preferred by fashion retail shoppers, and that they will continue to gain popularity as more consumers adopt mobile as their primary commerce channel. If you’re a fashion retailer that has yet to broach mobile, there is still time to capitalize on mobile sales before the end of the year—but you should move quickly.
With only a few weeks away before Christmas, make sure to double check your app and confirm it’s aligned with the following:
Polish up the user experience – The app design should already be visually appealing and intuitive, but is it personalized for your target users? Display products based on location, past purchases and even abandoned shopping cart items to increase engagement and sales. As consumers increasingly shop on mobile, apps play a crucial role in the consumer purchasing journey. If the experience doesn’t leave the user wanting to come back for more, it’s time to revisit the app.
Don’t overlook one click features – Users on the go do not have the time or desire to move through multiple screens to make a purchase. Reducing the number of clicks by implementing a one-click feature to complete a purchase speeds up the checkout process and increases the opportunity for impulse buys. Making it easy for consumers to add products to a wish list also helps to drive repeat visits and increase revenue.
Share the runway with Android – Not all consumers are loyal to Apple products. Make sure your app can be downloaded and properly function on Android devices in order to ensure you are reaching the entire audience and not just those using iOS. Alienating consumers based on their device and platform preference is a sure way to not only lose sales, but decrease the success of a brand’s cross-device strategy.
James Smith is EVP Americas at Criteo, where he is leading the charge on behalf of Criteo in the Americas. James comes to Criteo from Verve Mobile where he was the CRO for the past two years – but is a career CRO with eight years under his belt at companies like AOL, Huffington Post and Warner Brothers. James is a graduate of Columbia University.
