Mobile eCommerce is growing rapidly, and in a world where speed, convenience and simplicity are important to online shoppers, creating a flawless mobile experience for consumers is key to gaining brand loyalty. Unsurprisingly, mobile is quickly becoming one of the top sales channels in the UK, as December 2016 saw smartphone sales account for 54 per cent of all mobile sales in that month, an increase of 15 per cent from the year before. If you have a mobile site, or app, here are a few tips to help you on your way to increasing brand loyalty via mobile.

Ensure your mobile site or app is easy-to-use

While it used to be enough to just have a mobile site or app available, this is no longer the case. As competition has increased, consumers place more value on mobile devices, and inevitably expect more from them. The experience has to meet up with the expectations of busy consumers. So don’t just provide a service, provide an exceptional experience by making your site or app as easy-to-use as possible. The first step to finding out if their are any difficulties in your service is to use it yourself, and if any difficulties are found take the necessary steps to fix these problems. Below are some of the questions to ask yourself while browsing through your mobile site or app.

• Is there a lengthy profile registration, or can customers quickly login using their existing social media details?
• Do customers have to trawl through small images of your products or can they swipe through large images with product descriptions?
• Is your site/app quick to load or is it slow?
• Does your checkout process require numerous card and personal details to be entered? Could this be made simpler?
• Do you offer contact details for customers who have queries, or are they missing or difficult to find?

Personalise customer experience

According to a 2016 Nielsen social media report, people aged 35 to 49 spend almost seven hours per week on social media, with 35 per cent of frequent social media users reporting that an important feature of social media is having access to exclusive offers and discounts. With consumers spending a significant amount of hours on social media, and expecting an experience tailored to their needs, it is important for brands to distinguish what people enjoy and tailor solutions to them via mobile.

Use social media to market your rewards program for example, which will provide customers with an incentive to keep purchasing due to tailored specials and offers. If, for example, a particular customer predominantly purchases shoes from your eCommerce store, after a certain amount of buys a personalised notification can be sent to them, letting them know they have a discount for their next shoe purchase. If you offer a rewards program, allow customers access to their rewards status via their app and they can track their progress, and ultimately feel in control of their shopping experience.

Offer convenient alternative payment methods

If you offer mobile payments, it’s no longer enough to just offer the usual credit card payment method. In order to get the most out of these payments, alternatives must be offered to customers who now expect to see payment methods familiar to them, that are quick and convenient. If you are a cross-border eCommerce store, research the type of payment methods your customers in various regions prefer, and tailor your site or app to suit these customers. Alternative payment methods include mobile wallets, electronic funds transfers, debit card payments, credit card scanning and cash on delivery.

Customers no longer want to take out their bank cards and type in personal and banking related details on a small phone. Ensure the online payment solutions you offer are part of a seamless checkout process that requires as little effort on the part of the customer as possible. Luckily, investing in a secure payment gateway makes it simple and easy for customers to checkout via a mobile device without having to type in numerous details.

These tips are central to increasing brand loyalty, as providing a seamless experience to customers is central to each. As consumers gain more and more control over their mobile shopping experience, it is important to ensure that every step in the process offers them a pleasant experience. Ensuring your site or app is easy to navigate, offers personalised rewards and alternative payment methods, means that you should in time, increase brand loyalty.