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Why are conversion rates on mobile devices so poor?

By Kathy Heslop

July 11, 2014 | 4 min read

After many false dawns, mobile browsing has finally overtaken desktop. But despite this growth, mobile conversion rates still lag far behind those of their more stationary counterparts.

Sure, some of this reluctance can be attributed to plain old buyer behaviour, but one of the real barriers to better mobile conversion rates is the poor checkout usability offered by most payment gateway providers.

If a visitor goes through the process of selecting a product on your site, proceeds to checkout, and then hits the brick wall of a third party payment form that is too arduous for their device, you’re effectively asking them to abandon and purchase from one of your competitors.

One of the providers getting it right is PayPal. Here are 3 components of an optimised payment gateway that will be your catalyst for better mobile conversions.

1) Signing in

A login page for returning customers is a standard feature. But for those slightly less organised visitors, who don’t recall their username, password or their biology teacher’s favourite flavour of ice cream, a guest checkout is an absolute must.

A responsive page should have a ‘remember me’ function for your loyal customers as a prerequisite. In tandem, your guest checkout should be as comfortable as possible for the user. Restrict fields to the absolute necessary. While the marketing benefits are clear, don’t let data collection get in the way of your primary objective – making a sale.

2) Fat fingers

“The card details you’ve entered are incorrect.” There’s only so many times a user will tolerate that message before the purchasing intent begins to wane.

Desktops have large screens and the deadly precision of a mouse, whereas mobiles rely on our rather imprecise fingers on a much smaller screen. So keeping the numbers well-spaced and easy to click with fingers and thumbs is key.

The example below displays a great keyboard layout guaranteed to boost user experience and minimalise the chances of making a mistake.

3) Speed is the name of the game

We’ve all heard of ‘1 click buying’, and although a little scary to the uninitiated - a slip of the fingers and you’re buying a complete set of encyclopedias - it’s a tad more secure than you may think.

Express checkout containing pre-populated fields for the address, billing information and card details, with simple, but secure verification offers great customer service.

People are busier than ever before, but by keeping your checkout as lean as possible, the chances of customers running out of time, or being distracted mid-way through the process are dramatically decreased.

With each passing year purporting to be ‘the year of the mobile’, having a fully-fledged mobile strategy for your eCommerce site isn’t an additional extra that you’d like to have, it’s a necessity. Whether you plump for a standalone site or favour responsive design - something we’ve hotly debated at Ve Interactive - the right option depends entirely on your specific goals and needs.

What isn’t open to debate however, is the massive opportunity that exists for merchants who are committed to improving mobile experience.

If you are interested in reading more Ve Interactive blog please click here

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