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Sweet Success with Jelly Belly

Posted by Dawn MortensenSeptember 5, 2013eCommerce, Merchandising, Navigation, SEO, Site Search, Site Search Tips, Success Stories1 comment

Buttered Popcorn… Cream Soda… Toasted Marshmallow… most of us have favorite likes or dislikes when it comes to Jelly Bellies. And it’s nice to be able to order those favorites from Jelly Belly Candy Company’s online store at www.jellybelly.com. Jelly Belly’s eCommerce site is an important global sales channel for the company, which sells 100 other types of confections in addition to its 75 flavors of Jelly Bellies.

As highlighted in a newly published case study, Jelly Belly uses SLI Systems to improve its user experience and profitability. By optimizing site search and SEO, SLI helped Jelly Belly see a 33% increase in site conversions and a 10% increase in average order value. By using SLI’s customized product results pages and adding those links to email campaigns, Jelly Belly realized an 85% better open rate for emails.

Jelly Belly’s director of e-business Brandon Finch works closely with his Customer Success Manager at SLI to stay on top of search trends and best practices. Recently, Jelly Belly’s search data showed that their BeanBoozled product line of odd-flavored jelly beans was one of the most-searched for products on their site.

By the way, if you haven’t yet been BeanBoozled, watch out – a 1.6 ounce box contains both commonly liked flavors such as Peach or Licorice and identical-looking beans with flavors like Barf and Skunk Spray. It’s a higher-stakes trick than the one I did to my sister as a kid, swapping Watermelon Jelly Bellies for Jalepeno-flavored ones.

After learning how popular its BeanBoozled line was, Jelly Belly worked with SLI to add similar products to the search results page, so that shoppers buying BeanBoozled will also learn about Jelly Belly’s line of Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, which also have strange flavors. (In a handful of Bertie Bott’s, you may taste dirt, earwax, booger, cherry and tutti-frutti.)

SLI also worked with Jelly Belly to create faceted navigation for Jelly Belly’s site, with search refinement options in the left column of the page. For those really into unusual Jelly Belly flavors, their BeanBoozled results page offers refinement by Taste, with the choices of Icky, Assorted or Chocolate.

SLI’s work with Jelly Belly is just one fun example of how SLI continually works to improve each customer’s site for the best possible search results and conversions. You can read additional examples from Boden, American Bridal, PartySuppliesDelivered, Snow + Rock and others on our case studies page, or listen to customers speak in our podcasts and recorded webinars.

Best Practices for DIY and Home Goods eCommerce

Posted by geoffbAugust 19, 2013eCommerce, Navigation Tips, Site Search Tips1 comment

Is there anything people won’t buy online these days? Sofas and even major appliances now have their place in the e-commerce universe, which raises the bar for online businesses that need to serve the special requirements of these shoppers. Unlike browsing for shoes or books, shopping for DIY or home repair products like lighting or power saws needs precise navigating and searching capabilities.

The DIY/home goods space is now big business online: Online hardware and tool sales are a $6 billion market, which has grown an average of 7.8 percent a year since 2007, according to IBISWorld Market Research. To keep the growth at a steady pace, online businesses that sell home and DIY goods need to understand that these products are shopped for in different ways. For example, the expertise level of shoppers varies widely – from skilled craftspeople to someone doing their first home-painting project. Also, some products, like appliances and home décor items, are shopped for based on criteria like appearance, features, and price – whereas products like hardware and tools need to match specific shopper requirements for part number, size or dimension.

The first step in attracting (and keeping) DIY shoppers is to return relevant results for searches. Shoppers, especially the ones smack in the middle of a project, will expect to see results that match their keywords within the first page – otherwise, they’ll leave the site quickly (no doubt to visit the competition). Consider adding useful tools like Auto Complete, which offers search suggestions after the visitor types in the first few letters of a keyword. Thumbnail images within search results are also very helpful, since they provide a visual cue for shoppers trying to decide if they’ve found the products they want.

Since measurements can play an important part of DIY shopping, you should offer the option to search for products using either metric or imperial measurements – especially on a U.S. website, since both systems can be in use. Manufacturers may also use different systems of measurements (e.g. “counter depth” or “standard depth” for refrigerators), so this option can help shoppers avoid an unnecessary “no results” page or confusing results.

The same goes for searches by SKU or part number. If you’ve ever shopped online for a new knob for an oven, or hardware for a set of window blinds, you know how helpful a SKU search can be – you’ll know you have the correct item if it pops up in search results. Make sure your site search can match full or partial SKUs.

If you have store locations whose inventory mirrors what you sell online, you can turn on geolocation services that allow shoppers to see if a product is available locally.

Educating shoppers about best practices for DIY projects is another good way to encourage them to click on the “buy” button. If they’re confident about a project, they’ll want to purchase the products they need to get the job done. For instance, you can add how-to guides, technical specifications, videos, and blog posts to your site, and make this information available via search. It’s especially helpful to separate out these search results by type so that visitors will find it easy to navigate to the content type they want.

Product ratings and reviews can also help boost shopper confidence in an upcoming DIY project. These ratings and reviews should show up in search results, placing them at shopper’s fingertips while they’re looking at product options.

Whether it’s driven by homeowners trying to save money post-recession, or the plethora of home-improvement programs on cable TV channels, DIY has many enthusiastic followers. Make it fast and efficient for these consumers to complete their projects by shopping on your website.

For more research and commentary on eCommerce trends in the DIY category, download this paper: Hardware, Appliances & Tools Industry Brief.

Note: This blog was originally published by JXT Group on July 19, 2013.

Usability Features for the 65+ Online Shopper

Posted by Erika StasiAugust 12, 2013eCommerce, Site Search, Site Search Tips1 comment

Many of us know someone over 65 who is hesitant to shop online, or even use a computer or smartphone. This leads to the common perception that users 65 and over are resistant to adapt to changing technology. However, some studies show that more than half of the senior market has integrated itself in the eCommerce experience and is continually embracing this “new” way to shop.

As of 2012, 19 million American seniors are avid Internet users, and this number has been growing 16 percent per year for the last decade. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, that’s more than half of the senior population, approximately 55 percent!

As shopping online becomes as routine and easy as checking one’s email, it’s no wonder why the majority of the senior market has really embraced this shift toward online browsing and purchasing. And for some seniors with limited mobility or fixed incomes – or those just looking for a convenient way to quickly browse a number of stores – the benefits of online shopping are becoming even more apparent. The conveniences of shopping at home, combined with the opportunity to compare prices online, are driving this market to push the boundaries of their normal shopping habits.

Online retailers have recognized this shift toward online shopping for the over 65 demographic, and are making a stronger effort to cater to this market that was initially slower to adopt. Sites such as Hoveround.com, Jaystrongwater.com and AARP demonstrate the implementation of certain necessary and important design features for seniors.

Jakob Nielsen, in his article “Seniors as Web Users” observed that companies who redesign their website to give seniors a similar user experience quality as younger users can obtain 35% more business from them. Site usability is the most important aspect of any retailer’s site, as recognized by Nielsen in his research. According to the study, there are five main components that lead to successful site usability:

Learnability: How easy it is for users to complete basic tasks on a first-time site visit.
Efficiency: How quickly users can perform tasks on the site such as searching, ordering and checkout.
Memorability: How quickly users can re-establish proficiency with search and navigation after a period of not using the site.
Errors: How many errors users make, how severe those errors are and if the user can recover from these errors (such as content errors, spelling mistakes and the like).
Satisfaction: What users get out of the site design aesthetically, which is imperative for effective site usability.
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For the senior market, the most important usability features are the ease of accomplishing basic tasks on a first time encounter, how much they remember about the site’s design after not accessing the site for a long period of time and whether they can recover after making search errors. Users aged 65 and older are 43% slower at using websites than users aged 21–55. And when they had site search problems, seniors blamed themselves 90% of the time, compared to 58% of younger users. This is where a carefully planned user interface and site design is paramount in successfully capturing the senior market to shop on their sites and increase loyalty and retention among eCustomers.

Some design features necessary in developing senior-friendly websites include a large, distinct search bar, clear and bold navigation buttons, easily-readable text and prominence of the most important information above the fold. Other very helpful features are a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page and multiple areas for contact information.

Research by MarketingSherpa suggests that visitors spend about 8 seconds before deciding whether to remain on a site or to search elsewhere. Having a clearly marked search box that returns highly-relevant results is a key component in lowering abandonment rates and increasing conversions to any age demographic – but even more so with this particular market. Online retailers who want to keep seniors coming back to their sites should consider working with search and navigation experts that can help them implement these key design features and ensure than search results are always relevant.

Looking toward the future, we can expect that the 65 and over market will be savvier when it comes to online shopping. Eventually, shopping online will be the norm and the senior market will have completely immersed itself into the experience.

Contact SLI Systems for a free site critique to learn how you can optimize your eCommerce site for 65+ buyers and other key market segments.

SaaS vs. On-Premise Solutions

Posted by Shaun RyanAugust 6, 2013Navigation, Newsletter, Site Search

One of the most frequently asked questions when evaluating site search solutions is why a SaaS-based solution is better than on-premise. The reasoning may follow that with on-premise, you pay for software once, instead of monthly service fees. But while having a one-time payment for a software package may seem like the most logical and cost-effective solution, it can actually end up costing more in the long run.

On-premise software solutions require an extraordinary investment not only for the up-front financial costs, but also in ramp-up time, education, support and maintenance. Typically the software will be full of features that cater to all the different uses, but many of these won’t be used by one individual customer. Additionally, on-premise software is generally slower to upgrade, with typically six or twelve month release cycles. SaaS solutions provide an answer to many of these issues, giving users more time and flexibility to support other business priorities.

Harness Deep Knowledge and Experience

When you sign on with a SaaS solution, you’re not getting a piece of software and a general 1-800 customer service number – you’re getting a consultative group of industry specialists, dedicated to helping you achieve your goal. SaaS companies earn their money by having you as a long term customer – so they are financially incented to make sure you are happy and continue to use their software. SaaS companies can see how their software is being used, which helps build their knowledge of best practices. Since service is a key component of the model, you’ll find that SaaS companies have deep technical knowledge and provide value through excellent support, recommendations on industry best practices or specific features that will make your unique site shine.

Faster Ramp-Up Time

Going with a SaaS-based solution means you’ll also take advantage of faster deployment and ramp-up times. Your IT staff won’t have to invest the time and money to become experts at installing and maintaining their software. Technology, as well as customer preferences, is constantly changing. You’ll find SaaS teams to be agile in implementing new or complex features so you can quickly adjust to shifting demands. By adopting a SaaS solution, you can keep your in-house team focused on your most important daily priorities, and let a dedicated team of specialized engineers support your SaaS operations and maintenance.

You’ll also avoid long ramp-up times spent in internal training and resources. Once implemented, you’ll receive tutorials and ongoing customer support for all of your teams. The bottom line is this: your new capabilities will be up and running more quickly, and you’ll save yourself a lot of time (not to mention headaches).

Continuous Innovation & Customization

Another great benefit of going with SaaS is that all customers receive regular, automatic access to the most up-to-date features and products. As new features, products or improvements are created, the technology is shared across all users. The best solutions’ features can also be tailored to meet your site’s specific needs, for a streamlined experience that isn’t one-size-fits-all. Often, these ongoing upgrades are available at no added cost. You avoid the hassle of later purchases and updates of traditional software licenses, as you trade one-time convenience with ongoing support, recommendations and continuously-improved technology.

Redundancy & Scalability

It’s also important to keep the stability of your software in mind. When your core business depends on whether your site is up and functional, it’s imperative that your site doesn’t fail. Make sure your SaaS provider has a network of multiple data centers and redundant server architecture to ensure that your site will continue to run smoothly even during high web traffic spikes or natural disasters. There is a high chance that your SaaS provider will have more sophisticated, redundant systems than you could ever afford.

Round-the-Clock Customer Support

If your SaaS supplier is a global company then they will have support people based around the world. One of the biggest benefits we see is the ability to provide outstanding customer service and guidance. Knowing that you have personalized attention from your customer support representative and a full team of engineers supporting your eCommerce needs around the clock gives you peace of mind and allows you to focus on other important projects.

The benefits of SaaS vs. software-based site search are clear, which is why I strongly believe in SLI Systems’ approach to providing the best site search, navigation and SEO solution for your eCommerce business. For the third year in a row, SLI was named the #1 SaaS Site Search provider to the top 500 online businesses as ranked by Internet Retailer, and a leading site search provider to the top 1,000 online retailers.

Mobile Shoppers Rarely Give Second Chances

Posted by Dawn MortensenJuly 8, 2013eCommerce, Mobile/Tablets, Site Search Tips2 comments

Many eCommerce sites are flirting with mobile buyers; some eTailers have fully committed. But a recent Harris Interactive survey makes this clear: if you fail to perform during a shopper’s first visit on your site, don’t count on getting a second chance.

More than 70 percent of U.S. consumers use their smartphones to shop, and among those shoppers, 88 percent have had a negative experience. Most of us can relate to the frustration of having tried to make a purchase via smartphone only to abandon our cart mid-way through the experience. However, according to this study, an alarming 30 percent said that they would never return to that particular retailer’s mobile website again.

How can eCommerce businesses prepare for the shift to mobile?

Whether or not you have a mobile site now, it’s time to treat it seriously. Perhaps you quickly created a basic site a couple years ago to respond to the trend of mobile shopping, or you’re just thinking about moving to the mobile space. Whichever stage you are at, there are some common Mistakes to Avoid when optimizing your mobile site.

Forrester Research, in its 2013 paper Mobile Trends for Marketers, announced that “mobile on the cheap is over,” and suggested that businesses treat it as a strategic priority rather than an afterthought.

The top complaints of mobile shoppers are:

Retailers’ websites are harder to navigate and use on a mobile device than on a desktop (51%)
Product images are too small to make a buying decision (46%)
Concerns over security on a smartphone (41%)
Checkout process is a pain (26%)

If these problems sound familiar for your own mobile site, take these proactive steps to improve the experience for your customers. You can start identifying what your mobile site needs by reviewing best practices, as outlined in the Whitepaper “Site Search and the Mobile Experience.” Then set up a site critique for specific, personalized recommendations on how to increase your conversions and boost your average order value, both on your web site and mobile sites.

Mobile shoppers are not the most patient or forgiving crowd. Considering that there are now more than a billion consumers with smartphones and more than 150 million tablets sold, it’s crucial to recognize that consumers around the world are driving a shift in how purchasing is done. By launching a new mobile site or optimizing your existing one, you’ll attract, engage and keep customers coming back.

In eCommerce, Be Really, Really Redundant

Posted by Dawn MortensenJune 24, 2013eCommerce, Navigation, Site Search1 comment

In many situations in life, redundancy is undesirable. Our language and writing teachers told us to avoid use of redundant phrases – totally destroyed, armed gunman, exact same, merge together… you get the idea. In business, a company merger creates redundancies in job positions, which can mean layoffs. In many situations where efficiency is prized, redundancy almost seems to be its antonym – unless you work in high tech, especially cloud computing, where redundancy of servers and data centers is preventing the major inefficiency of downtime.

In the world of SaaS, redundancy is a competitive advantage. Software as a Service companies with redundant data centers are hosting client sites and customer data on multiple servers in multiple locations – each mirroring the other so that any of them can keep the customer site going if there’s a problem with the others. This redundancy allows the SaaS company to keep its customers’ sites running during spikes in traffic or unexpected outages.

Downtime is especially detrimental in eCommerce; online buyers can be ruthless when they encounter it. Surveys by Akamai and Gomez.com show that among shoppers who have trouble with a web site’s performance, 79% will never return to buy from that site again. Plus, 44% say they would tell a friend about their poor experience. Even a few minutes of downtime can result in dozens of lost customers on an ordinary day. Imagine the effect of downtime during a peak shopping day like Cyber Monday!

How can eCommerce businesses manage this risk and stay up and running in a way that’s affordable? In the blog Built-In Redundancy to Prepare for Natural Disasters, SLI Systems CEO Shaun Ryan explains how, as a SaaS-based provider of advanced site search and navigation, SLI processes billions of queries and serves up search results for its customers via multiple servers in each of eight data centers in locations around the world. SLI servers are filled to just a fraction of their capacity to allow for spikes in customers’ site traffic. Simply by contracting with SLI to get better results and more conversions from site searches, an eTailer has the added protection of redundancy.

During Hurricane Sandy, for example, not one of our customers saw a break in service. Though headquartered in California, SLI was founded in Christchurch, New Zealand, which was hit by two major earthquakes in the past three years. By personal experience, we’ve learned how important it is to be prepared for natural disasters. And we want our customers to be prepared, as well. That’s why we offer redundancy at no added cost to our clients.

This year, a stronger-than-normal Atlantic hurricane season is predicted through the end of November. Especially with back-to-school and even holiday shopping spikes on the horizon, now is the time to move to a full-service site search provider that can help you handle the load.

We don’t get uptime perfect – no one does. We had an unusual three-minute outage one night about a month ago. Our redundant architecture quickly kicked-in, resulting in no downtime for our customers. We found that the outage was due to human error, from a break in our process, and we made the necessary changes to ensure it wouldn’t happen again. Although none of our customers were affected, we still sent out email notifications outlining what had happened. One of our customers, Ian MacDonald of PartySuppliesDelivered.com, wrote a nice email to express his appreciation for our honest communication about the event.

Thanks, Ian. We’re honest and transparent because we know it builds customer trust (plus it’s just who we are). We appreciate you, too.

The Growing Global Need for Great Site Search

Posted by Shaun RyanJune 19, 2013Mobile, Navigation, Newsletter, Site Search

Every day we see how introducing great site search is one of the easiest and quickest ways to turn more visitors into buyers. Earlier this month our customers were telling their stories at IRCE 2013 in Chicago. These are businesses like Samuels Jewelers, which doubled the per-visit value of their site search users after implementing changes that make search results more relevant. And Party Supplies Delivered, which increased their conversions by 203% after switching from their platform’s default search to advanced search.

Al Gore’s keynote address was about the international opportunities that abound for eCommerce – an industry that is growing 15 percent each year, even during a period of global economic stress. “You need to think global,” he said, pointing out that the number of Apple iOS and Android devices activated in the U.S. was surpassed in January by those activated in China. The economic balance is shifting and we need to accept, and anticipate, change.

We spoke with many online retailers who haven’t yet optimized their site’s search and navigation, and his keynote hit home. As eCommerce grows internationally, SLI plays a pivotal role in providing the tools that enable the best shopping experiences for customers around the world. Whether for large online retailers with multiple international sites or family-owned businesses, we work to provide the best products, resources and customer service, so that all of our customers can focus on what matters most to them – their business.

Seizing the Opportunity with IPO, Expansion

As a company that has an established customer base spanning five continents, we understand the global opportunity. Brazil is one of our most recent, and fastest-growing markets, adding to our strong presence in the United States, the UK and Australia. We are working with some of the top Brazilian online retailers to improve their search and navigation, both on web and mobile sites. We are also starting to work with our first Japanese partners and customers.

The vast opportunity for further international expansion is one of the reasons SLI Systems decided to raise capital through its IPO on the New Zealand Exchange on May 31, 2013. It has been an exciting time for SLI’s founders and investors as we’ve watched shares rise since the original offer of NZ$1.50. You can hear more about our story in this June 4 interview.

We’ll use the investment to fuel sales, marketing and customer support as well as innovation, as we grow our engineering and product development teams. This will build on our tradition of bringing our customers the ongoing feature and product developments they need to make their eCommerce sites the most successful in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We believe that innovation and measured growth are the secrets of global success.

Today’s online shoppers are starting to see gorgeous magazine-like sites tailored for mobile browsing, interactive tools that aid decision making, and the convergence of social and editorial to create highly-personalized shopping experiences. More and more of our customers are eager to work with us to integrate these features into their site search and navigation. As technology advances and global opportunities continue to expand, we anticipate and remain at the leading edge of the many innovations in eCommerce yet to come.

CSM of the Month: Mark Lawson on Analysys Mason

Posted by Mark LawsonJune 19, 2013Navigation, Newsletter, Site Search

This article is part of our monthly “CSM of the Month” feature, in which an SLI Systems Customer Success Manager discusses a current client example.

One of the more interesting projects I’ve been involved in recently is with Analysys Mason, a research and consulting firm who provide detailed articles to their global client base on all issues that relate to the telecoms, media and technology (TMT) sectors. While a large percentage of SLI’s customers are online retailers, we also work with publishing sites like Analysys Mason, the New England Journal of Medicine and Dilbert.com.

Analysys Mason is a great example of how SLI’s site search and navigation technology helps publishing sites improve the user experience and increase the number of page views per visitor. In fact, since implementing SLI they have seen a 21% increase in page views and a 24% increase in unique page views. The average time on site has also increased.

One of the reasons for these improvements is that SLI’s page load times are much faster than Analysys Mason’s previous search. This allows users to more quickly find the articles they’re looking for and leads to an overall better user experience.

Analysys Mason has a vast Knowledge Centre of research articles it has prepared. When I first started working with Analysys Mason, one of their unique needs was to show each user a different set of results based on their specific subscription IDs. This allowed them to have different tiers of subscribers – those with a free account who have more limited access to research, and those paid subscribers who have full access. Now that SLI brings back the correct results for each user based on their login credentials, Analysys Mason is able to make the tiered subscription model work for them.

In the below screen shot, you can see how the Knowledge Centre appears to those who are not logged in. In the left-hand column, the radio buttons under the Access section allow you to refine results based on free or paid content. In the results section, articles that are limited to logged in users display the note Subscription Required.

Analysys Mason also uses SLI’s synonyms tool for search, as it has helped them to expand their vocabulary without having to edit the content database. As an example, a search for ‘MEA’ will pull up results for Middle East and Africa, even if the acronym MEA does not show up in the article title or summary.

By tracking the search terms used on its site through SLI, Analysys Mason is also able to pinpoint specific trends in searches. These analytics allow them to improve upon results for poor search phrases, as well as to know what research papers people are looking for.

Analysys Mason is also very pleased with the search suggestions that automatically appear under each product. This feature is powered by SLI’s Learning Search technology, which directs a user to a related set of results if they can’t find the article they are looking for straight away.

Anyone who has searched for articles on a publishing site knows the frustration of finding nonrelevant results, as well as the satisfaction of finding exactly what you were looking for. I’m happy to work with Analysys Mason to ensure that their customers have a great search experience and spend more and more time on their site.

Are You Ready to Rock?! (With SLI!)

Posted by Kemberly GongJune 17, 2013About us

Shiny, happy SLI folks pre-race

Just this past weekend, eight of our SLI family of us (plus friends & family) ran, climbed, jumped and crawled our way through the grueling 6K Gladiator Rock ‘N Run Challenge. Team members from our sales, customer success and marketing departments came out in force to rock the 17-obstacle course in the hills above San Jose.

Looking back on the challenging uphill trail, crawls through rocky mud pits and a horrible, horrible rope climb (in my humble opinion), it’s clear to me that we are lucky to have a great company culture that takes work as seriously as we play. When the going got tough, we urged each other on, helped pull each other up and rooted each other on when pushed to the limit – which isn’t far off from how we work at SLI.

We consider our business as the leading provider of SaaS site search to be a team effort, where all members share in the challenges and successes of our work, and ultimately provide the very best products and service. Our tight team dynamic is one of the reasons SLI is known for its excellent products and customer service, and hopefully from these pictures, you’ll see that we’ll go the extra mile to make sure our customers are happy.

Does SLI sound fun to you? If you’re interested in joining the SLI Team, check out these openings here.

SLI Teammates conquering “The Beast”

Team SLI with Dan “Nitro” Clark of American Gladiators

5 Big Mistakes to Avoid in Mobile eCommerce

Posted by Sasha ButkovichJune 11, 2013eCommerce, Merchandising, Mobile/Tablets5 comments

Guest blog post by Sasha Butkovich from Ecommerce Outtakes

eCommerce is going mobile in a big way, and many studies show the trend in mobile shopping just keeps rising. In the past two years alone, the percentage of eCommerce sales on mobile devices rose from 2% to 8% in the U.S., according to research from comScore, Forrester and eMarketer (check out this infographic for more cool stats on this).

Many retailers are getting on the m-commerce bandwagon, and those who haven’t already are working on their mobile strategy. It’s so important to have that mobile site optimized for when shoppers arrive, ready to purchase! However, this isn’t always easy. As an eCommerce retailer, there are some big considerations to take into account before taking the mobile plunge. What follows are five common mistakes to avoid with your own mobile site.

Mistake #1: Not recognizing your users

When designing your mobile strategy, functionality is only half the battle. Sure, you want a site that works well and renders properly on a smartphone or a tablet. But the more important considerations include knowing who your customers are and how they’re going to be using this site. Determine the main profiles of your mobile customers – what they’re shopping for, where they’re accessing the mobile site from, which devices they’re using, and what they want from the site. Once you have an idea of this, you can design the best mobile eCommerce experience for your users that caters to their specific needs.

Mistake #2: Having the same design for smartphones & tablets

Whether a brand chooses to go with responsive design or a native app, one thing is very important to remember: smartphones and tablets are not the same. Using a smartphone to shop is different from using a tablet to shop, and as a retailer, you should tailor those experiences accordingly. Tablets offer the potential for more rich media experiences, so you can have a little more fun with the bells and whistles. Adding video to your tablet site is a great start, because tablets are perfect for viewing videos, and tablet users are more likely to watch them. Smartphones, on the other hand, are being used by shoppers on the go. This shopping experience should be simple and direct.

Mistake #3: Overcomplicating the shopping experience

Any eCommerce site should be simple to navigate and use, but this becomes even more important to the mobile shopping experience. The layout should be simple, the buttons should be large and fields should be easy to type into. Don’t clutter the pages with too many links or categories, like this example from the ASOS mobile shop. When people are shopping from a mobile device, they’re generally out and about, and don’t have time to waste sifting through the features of an overly complicated website. And make sure that checkout process is quick and easy, too. Don’t lose the shopper at the very last step in the process!

Mistake #4: Neglecting security

It might seem obvious, but security is hugely important in mobile eCommerce. I recently began the checkout process on a mobile site, only to realize the http in the url was broken. See the screen shot below for what happened in this example from the Sears site. When that little lock icon is broken, I’m definitely not entering any credit card information! I’m one customer this particular site lost. Don’t lose the sale because of a lack of security on your site. For a mobile shopper on the go, it’s pretty frustrating to have to abandon your cart because it’s not secure.

Mistake #5: Forgetting about the marketing emails

Hey, remember all those marketing emails you send out to get those customers to your eCommerce site? You’ll want to make sure those are optimized for mobile, too. If people can’t read your emails on their phones or tablets, they definitely won’t be visiting your site from their phones or tablets either. Don’t miss all those opportunities to generate traffic and conversions. And of course, direct them to the mobile site itself, not just the desktop version!

Know your users, know their devices, and keep things simple and secure. These are the keys to starting your mobile strategy on the right foot. Once you’ve got these things down, you’ll be on your way to success in the growing world of mobile commerce!

SLI Blog

Best Practices for DIY and Home Goods eCommerce

Usability Features for the 65+ Online Shopper

Mobile Shoppers Rarely Give Second Chances

In eCommerce, Be Really, Really Redundant

Are You Ready to Rock?! (With SLI!)

5 Big Mistakes to Avoid in Mobile eCommerce

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