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August 12, 2010

M-Checkout: Make It Easy

M-Checkout: Make It Easy

You've found your shopper; she's using your mobile app or site; she's put items in the basket. And then she "hangs up" because it is just too hard to complete the purchase. With so many businesses competing for the same shoppers and so many places for shoppers to spend their money, that is the last thing you need.


58% of mobile users with smartphones haven't made a purchase because completing the process takes too much time or is too confusing and complicated (source: PriceGrabber, MarketLive). And how likely is it that that frustrated shopper will come back to your mobile site?


Here are some tips to making mobile checkout easier.

  • Test and re-test your flow on multiple devices to make sure that it works.
  • Present relevant information in screen-sized, easily-viewed and understood snippets.
  • Pre-populate data fields as much as possible to reduce needed 'typing'.
  • Drop fields that aren't absolutely necessary to the transaction. This is not the time for collecting "nice to have" demographic information.
  • Ensure account settings are saved from the webstore site. If payment details are saved, as they are in Amazon accounts, the barrier to checkout just got lowered.
  • Think about offering PayPal or other alternative payment options on your website.
  • Provide a customer service 800 number in the global navigation and allow shoppers who encounter problems to complete their transactions on the phone.
  • Give the shopper the ability to have the customer service rep to "take control" and complete the transaction.


Bottom Line: Do everything you can to simplify your mobile checkout - even more than your webstore checkout. Don't lose your customer at the finish line.

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