Think Mobile this Black Friday!

Black Friday in 2016 broke a number of mobile statistics. In the US alone, 1.2 billion dollars were spent via mobile devices, accounting for 36% of the total sales. And for the first time ever, mobile visitors surpassed desktop visitors, contributing to 55% of all online traffic. (Source)Australian shoppers contributed to these numbers too. A study revealed that Australia ranked number 3 by number of orders placed for US retailers – a 35% year-over-year growth over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.While some Australian retailers joined the Black Friday event last year, there are still many missing out and there are great opportunities for local retailers to take advantage of it and win additional business.

E-commerce or not, you need to go mobile

Reports have revealed that more than 50% of in-person commerce is actually influenced by digital touchpoints.(Source) In fact, recent research by Google suggested that people today have 2x more interactions with brands on mobile than anywhere else – tv and in-store included! That means brands cannot afford to miss out on the mobile experience regardless of whether they are an e-commerce store or not, or else they risk missing out on the chance to have any interaction with customers at all.

3 seconds load time

A slow/poor mobile experience is lethal for the overall mobile experience. Google reported that 53% of mobile site visitors abandon a page that takes longer than 3 seconds to load.  And these 3 seconds are very likely to cost you that customer with respondents stating that they are 60% less likely to purchase from that brand in the future if they have a negative brand experience on mobile.

Streamlining for conversion

While mobile traffic has continued to grow, globally only 25% of orders were placed on phones in 2016. So what is missing between browsing and purchase?A quick and easy mobile checkout is essential if you would like to get that order processed via your website. Giving mobile shoppers the option to checkout as a guest, providing large and clearly marked buttons to create a simple path to purchase and avoiding lengthy forms are a few ways to streamline your mobile checkout.With every touch point between you and the customers, you should be able to make use of that data to provide a personalised experience. Recommendations based on their recent purchases, or a reminder to stock up on their previous purchase could be a great personalised moment that boosts brand loyalty. Using mobile web apps for promotions like the Black Friday sales could be an ideal solution too. It can be built with a single focus to promote certain products, and be streamlined to deliver a friction-free mobile experience that makes it easy for your customer to browse on their mobile. Take a look at Esendex’s Mobile Journeys for some examples.

3 ways to include SMS for promotions

According to the AIMIA Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index, 51% of Australians are happy to receive offers on their mobile from their preferred brands. So don’t be afraid to send your Black Friday offer via SMS.

1. Consider including a url link to the dedicated mobile optimised landing page for the convenience of the customers.
2. Or send an SMS notifying your customers you have delivered a special offer to their email inbox to combine both channels for maximised results.
3. You can also obtain a virtual mobile number and invite customers to text you to receive exclusive offers for the Black Friday promotion. Promote the virtual mobile number on your website or in store for better exposure.

Keeping customers informed about their order

If you are an e-commerce website, consider integrating your system with an SMS API service for automated SMS notifications to keep your customers engaged and up to date.SMS can be sent automatically when purchases are made, when the order is dispatched and can even be used for Surveys following purchase to review customer satisfaction. Have you started planning for your Black Friday offer? If you would like to know how to incorporate mobile solutions to maximise it, please contact our team at [email protected].