Webinar preview: optimizing mobile for the holidays and beyond

As we noted at the beginning of this year, mobile should be a top priority for merchants of every stripe. After all, the rise of mobile technology has revolutionized shopping; thanks to the ubiquity of mobile devices, shoppers now expect a seamless experience from site to store and in between, with mobile bridging touchpoints as well as functioning as its own stand-alone shopping destination. Mobile users will make $10 billion of purchases on their phones this year, according to industry researcher Forrester — 3% of all online spending — and that revenue figure is set to more than triple by 2016. And beyond those who actually make purchases on mobile devices, there are still more consumers whose shopping journey begins on a mobile device and ends with a purchase elsewhere. According to research from Google, , while 37% have gone on to make purchases via their computer Web browser and 32% finalize the sale in physical stores .

The numbers suggest catering to mobile shoppers is a must — but it’s also a steep challenge. Consumers prefer a rich shopping experience, even on their mobile devices; when asked by Forrester how they preferred to interact with brands on the go, – not a pared-down mobile version. Especially for small and medium-sized merchants, the prospect of meeting this expectation for a full-fledged shopping experience for mobile devices alongside the full eCommerce site is especially daunting.

But now is the time for merchants to rise to the challenge — especially with the holiday season looming on the horizon, when shoppers will research intensively and cross channels freely to complete purchases. The good news is that merchants already have a roadmap for mobile optimization: they can apply proven best practice from their years of eCommerce success to the mobile environment to focus and prioritize their efforts.

This approach doesn’t mean that merchants can simply port over their eCommerce site to a smaller-screen format — but it does mean that tried and true principles of usability, credibility and cross-channel service still apply in the mobile world. By adapting these concepts to the mobile medium, merchants can create effective, relevant mobile offerings that connect with customers and win sales.Four guideposts to start with:

• Know your audience to choose the right platforms and build the unique mobile features that will resonate best with your potential customers
• Offer multiple pathways to purchase so shoppers can discover relevant products and content
• Earn customer trust by addressing privacy and security concerns
• Bridge touchpoints with features that link shoppers across the brand

Tune in to tomorrow’s webinar to explore each of these topics in-depth — and meantime, let us know: what best practices have you successfully implemented for mobile?