It’s probably happened to you.
You forgot a special occasion or something you needed to buy.
The realization fills you with horror.
Time is running out, so you buy it online at the last minute, even if it means tapping away at your tiny phone screen.
Crisis averted.
That’s the power of mobile commerce search.
The reality is that mobile commerce will continue to grow in usage.
The bad news?
The current state of mobile commerce user experience (UX) is terrible.
But wait – there’s more.
52% of all eCommerce sites in the US and Europe are benchmarked as“mediocre” (or worse), while 48% are “acceptable.”
Let’s face it:
Brands and retailers need to invest in improving the UX of their mobile experiences.
Given the current state of affairs, there are many opportunities to improve mobile commerce search.
But first, let’s explore what mobile commerce is.
Mobile Commerce—What Is It?
Mobile commerce, also called mCommerce, refers to any commercial transaction completed with a mobile device.
Experts indicate mobile commerce as the next level of eCommerce.
Why?
It allows customers to buy goods and services online—without having to use fixed devices.
So what’s the main reason for mobile commerce?
You guessed it.
Better customer experience
When eCommerce became popular, it made shopping more convenient and fun for customers.
Consumers had more shopping options with competitive pricing and could complete their purchases without leaving their desktops and computers.
Shoppers got used to purchasing products and services online.
And even better?
With mobile commerce, buyers retain the benefits of eCommerce with the added advantage of using mobile devices.
Mobile commerce allows brands to interact with their target audience easily as they’re using apps and services their customers already know and like to use.
A positive customer experience transforms into better conversion rates and higher revenue.
Despite the positive impact of mobile commerce, there are still challenges in mobile commerce search.
Let’s explore more.
Mobile Commerce Search—3 Key Challenges
1. Constraints of Mobile Devices
Most mobile devices have limited display options.
Small screen size, low resolution, and restricted input options negatively impact mobile commerce search.
The need to create small, lightweight devices limits the development of user-friendly graphical applications and interfaces.
Moreover, mobile devices have limited computational power, processing ability, memory, disc capacity, and memory.
All these elements don’t support complex apps and transactions and may result in the restricted use of mobile commerce.
2. Poor Loading Speed
Guess what?
If shoppers can’t access your eCommerce site using their mobile devices, you could be leaving money on the table.
Slow loading times put off visitors, and they may not return to your eCommerce store.
Overloading your eCommerce store with un-optimized media such as images and videos leads to prolonged loading times.
It’s essential to be aware of technology advancements and changes in optimization best practices to ensure that your site is suitable for mobile commerce.
3. Poor or No Customer Service
So how is this related to mobile commerce search?
If there is an issue with a product or a customer has a question that’s missing in your FAQ section, your customer service needs to be able to address these queries—fast.
Customers need to find the information they need. Quickly.
Usually, customers reach out to customer service with time-sensitive issues regarding orders, shipping, returns, and refunds.
Moreover, getting back to customers as quickly as possible will keep them coming back.
So how can you overcome these limitations of mobile commerce search?
Optimize mobile commerce for better search and product discovery.
Mobile Commerce Search—3 Elements to Improve Product Discovery
#1: Product Search:
Smaller screens, even smaller virtual keyboards, and connectivity issues make mobile search design different from the desktop.
Most mobile shoppers prefer to use site search over category browsing or organic search because it’s easier to use and faster to purchase.
The downside?
This preference for site search means that the search experience is particularly susceptible to drop-offs.
Mobile shoppers are 74% more likely than desktop shoppers to bounce because of a poor search experience.
Even worse?
79% of people who don’t like what they find on one site will search for another site.
So, what’s the solution?
A robust search and filtering engine that uses semantic data.
You need semantic data to improve product discovery. Semantic data also supports predictive search.
According to Forrester, 43% of visitors go immediately to a search box, and searchers are 2-3 times more likely to convert.
Machine learning applied semantic data provides an automated method to clarify increasingly verbose queries into actionable searches.
What’s more?
As mobile commerce grows, more search queries result from voice commands rather than text entries.
Using semantic search, which draws relationships between words and even incorporates multilingual queries, mobile commerce brands can now determine intent on historically tricky queries.
With the evolution of mobile commerce search, more customers increasingly prefer to use voice search. It’s therefore essential to prioritize the conversational aspect of search, especially on mobile.
#2: Chatbot Interactions
Search outputs have evolved to include chatbots to stay relevant to the consumer,
Online chatbots and messenger apps have now become one of the well-liked mobile commerce trends.
These apps make it easier for online businesses to communicate with their customers using their shoppers’ tools.
Based on historical purchase data and machine learning capabilities, chatbots can also help predict customers’ needs or what they want to buy.
The result?
Higher product discovery.
#3: Customer Service Queries
How you handle customer service queries determines your success.
Over 67% of U.S. consumers prefer automated self-service, such as through a website or mobile app, for simple customer service tasks.
In-store support in the form of a live chat is beneficial to resolve customer queries.
Sales personnel can answer customer questions with speed and accuracy.
Optimize Your Mobile Commerce Search
Mobile commerce isn’t just another fad—it’s here to stay.
With consumers using more and more mobile devices, users need to find what they want—fast.
For eCommerce to brands, optimizing mobile commerce search must be a priority.
Partner with Zoovu today.
Find the tools you need to optimize mobile commerce search.
