Mobile eCommerce is exploding! 

Currently, the number of mobile users is at 5.22 billion and growing, which means mobile eCommerce is looking at an upward trend for a long time.   

5 Mobile Shopping Trends for 2023

🚀 60% business owners connect with and sell to customers over mobile - this will only grow. 

🚀 Customers will turn towards the buy-now-pay-later model more than ever before. 

🚀 Smartphone users will be heavily biased towards buying from sites and apps that show relevant recommendations.

🚀 Mobile customers will engage more with brands that use the voice search function actively. 

🚀 Gathering zero-party data, that is data collected with full consent from customers, will become priority. 

Even though the statistics and trends look great, most eCommerce brands we work with have a common complaint. 

They struggle to get conversions that replicate their desktop success. 

In fact, the average mobile eCommerce conversion rates are stuck at a mere 1.82%.

If you face similar problems, it’s time to make mobile-first website design a priority. 

After working with 500+ eCommerce brands, we have listed down 24 proven ideas on how to get those sales ringing! 

24 Tactics to Double Mobile Conversions in 2023

1) Make the most of the header

The header is really what sets the tone and flow of the mobile website of an eCommerce store.

When the header is minimal, there are high chances potential customers will not get distracted.   

Some tips to design the perfect header:

• While size doesn’t really matter, a customer’s attention needs to be on the main content. So, decide the pixel size and height accordingly. 

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• Decide between sticky and fixed headers based on the website page goal. Sticky headers ensure customers can take the next set of actions, while fixed headers are less intrusive and offer more control.

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• Add only what’s relevant to the header, keeping the customer journey in mind. Keep the categories and subcategories in the hamburger menu and other important pages such as deals and offers in the tab option.

2) Bring in touch-friendly UX

Most best practices on mobile website design talk about site navigation. 

But are you simplifying navigation for all your users or in general?

Here are some statistics to keep in mind for the above:

• 75% of users touch the screen with one thumb
• Less than 50% use only one hand
• 10% hold their device with one hand and interact with the other
• 36% cradle their phones using the second hand for better stability

From the above image, you can see what navigation areas are easier to access. 

• Place your most prominent features, such as the CTA at the bottom 
• Give the hamburger menu a new home near the bottom and make it sticky so that visitors can easily explore categories  
• Position secondary items including the search bar and logo in the top 

Did you know intelligent UX can reduce eCommerce returns?

3) Use psychological triggers in subtle ways

Usually, mobile users have a shorter attention span and also have limited screen space. 

This compels eCommerce stores to prompt their customers towards the desired action almost right away. 

But how?

That’s where psychological triggers come in. 

After in-depth analysis, ConvertCart teams have noticed urgency and scarcity as the two main psychological triggers that seem to get online shoppers to act right away.

Fear of missing out on something good is what will get them to take action right away. 

Some ways you can get a customer’s attention: 

- Add ‘trending now’ or ‘fast-selling’ tags to popular products 

- Display live sales notifications or how many people are currently viewing the product 

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

‍Make sure these triggers are subtle and don’t block a mobile visitor’s browsing experience. 

4) Try Out PWA (we vouch for it!)

Google uses speed as a ranking factor not only for desktop but for mobile searches too. 

And one of the most common reasons for low mobile conversion rates is the poor performance of mobile websites. 

In your research for designing mobile websites, you might have heard of progressive web apps or PWA.

 So, what exactly does PWA mean?

PWA is a web app that allows you to develop a website that can be run on both - desktop and mobile browsers. 

Why is it so popular? 

PWAs have been proven to improve mobile conversion rates by as much as 36%. 

• It makes the mobile website behave like a native app. 

This way, PWA drastically improves performance - enabling websites to run way faster for a far superior user experience. 

• PWAs use HTTPS to manage and maintain the safety of data stored within them, eliminate risks of security breaches, snooping, content tampering, and other illegal activity.

Alibaba built a PWA that improved its mobile conversions by 76% and their team observed a steep increase in the re-engagement rate as well as their iOS and Android monthly active users. 

Pinterest rebuilt its mobile website as PWA, increasing site engagement to 60%, user-generated ad revenue to 44%, and the time users spent on the site reached 40%.

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Dive into your analytics to decide if you need a PWA after all. 

Do you have fewer conversions on mobile than desktop?

Are you visitors dropping off and not returning?

If you answer yes, it’s time to build a PWA and get those numbers up!  

Also explore tools like Magento PWA Studio, ScandiPWA, PlobalApps, Tapcart, and Shopgate to get started in just a few days.

5) Empower the search function

Mobile customers behave differently. 

They are impatient and often distracted by other apps and notifications. 

That’s why, when they actively search for something in your store, you don’t want to throw a disappointing comment like - “Couldn’t find what you were looking for”. 

To ensure mobile shoppers don’t have such a hard time searching for products, incorporate:

• Typo-tolerant search: Shoppers sometimes can make mistakes when they type in a search. Your engine needs to pick these up and still show accurate results

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• Auto-complete suggestions: reduces cognitive load on the users and ensures they don’t have to be absolutely thorough with spelling, grammar etc. 

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• Synonym search terms: jeans or denim, sweaters or pullovers, teapot or kettle – make sure you have the synonyms handy to show up relevant suggestions. 

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• Related products display on zero exact match searches: can’t identify a search term? Your site should still be able to display related options or a category and keep visitors hooked.

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• Personalize search suggestions based on previous interactions  - based on their preferred color or style, price points, brands etc. 

We think you'll love reading: eCommerce visual search: 9 smart optimization tips (+ 4 tools to use)

6) Responsive vs Adaptive - decide your design route

After Google’s update on responsive design to make websites mobile-friendly, eCommerce brands scrambled to review their mobile experiences and not lose out on traffic. 

While the update helped brands improve experiences, a debate arose as well on whether mobile websites should be responsive or adaptive. 

So, what are the key differences between them?

Responsive

In responsive mode, the website uses the same layout and adjusts the content, navigation, and other design elements according to the screen size. 

It’s essentially ‘fluid’ in its structure. 

For example, a website can have a four-column layout on a large desktop computer screen, a three-column layout on a smaller laptop screen, a two-column layout on a tablet screen, and a single-column layout on a mobile phone. 

However, whatever the device, you’ll find the same content and design.

While responsive websites take less time to develop and maintain, you can’t always predict how they’ll look on different screens, especially, when newer mobile devices with varying screen sizes are regularly released. 

Adaptive

In adaptive design, eCommerce brands will have to create a different website layout for each screen size.

While loading, the website recognizes the screen size and shows the layout that was made for that viewport.

Adaptive websites are usually created for six common screen sizes from very small to very large: 320px, 480px, 760px, 960px, 1200px and 1600px.

Since adaptive sites only need to deliver the code necessary for the given screen size, they tend to load much faster than responsive sites.

While adaptive websites can help to create unique user experiences based on which devices your visitors use most, it’s time-consuming to design and maintain a website for so many different screen sizes. 

ConvertCart Tip 💡

Adopt a design based on your evolving needs. 

If you have a big eCommerce store, with many subpages and regularly changing variables such as marketing campaigns and offers, then go with the ‘fluid’ responsive website design.

If you run a smaller online store or have a more curated product range, then look to adaptive website design to offer a better user experience.  

7) Sharpen the super obvious visual cues

When it comes to getting your mobile UX right, a lot depends on whether you focus on offering enough tactile cues. 

Tactile cues ensure the customer’s journey moves ahead progressively and they face the least amount of resistance and confusion. 

For example, if they add a product to cart and are not notified, they may miss out on the fact that they have done it at all. 

Now multiply this across products.

It could increase the length of that session by piling up the number of unacknowledged add-to-cart taps. 

Similarly, let’s say the user is on a form and they are not offered the directional cue that an input is invalid right away, they’ll not be able to submit the form when the time comes. 

What’s worse, they wouldn’t come to know what the real problem is. 

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Use identifiable cues for critical tasks. 

For example, most sites that do effective mobile conversions place their added-to-cart cue on the top right hand side of the page. 

Here’s how you’ll find the cart button on the Allbirds mobile site, just like that. 

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Similarly, the brand ensures there’s a slight visual overlay if a buyer is expected to scroll horizontally to discover recommendations. 

It’s also a best practice to ask the right questions before you design these cues: how centrally should the cue be placed? Will it have to coexist with other elements? etc. 

8) Validate the shoppers’ perceptions

Whether it’s on desktop or on mobile, most users are essentially trying to answer a really simple but important question.

(But mobile users, who are most likely in a tearing hurry, need this answered even quicker.)

What’s in it for me? 

When users are looking for a specific product and then choosing it over others, it certainly means they are looking to define themselves through the use of it. 

And that’s why they may look at you or up to you to reinforce that belief around self-perception they hold. 

Consider these examples:

I believe only in natural ingredients hence I want that aloe vera soap. 

I’m a vegan so I’m going to get that cruelty-free skirt. 

(They’re a glimpse of how users think in their heads while assessing a brand and the products it has on offer.)

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Make product and brand related benefits visible.

Here’s a look at how Warby Parker achieves this within the first fold on their homepage. 

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9) Make your primary Call-to-Action intuitive 

Again, mobile devices give you limited screen space.

Your CTA needs to be placed in such a manner that it is easily visible and usable. 

For example, your “Buy Now” button should be present and easily accessible on the category page, under items that feature on the homepage, on product pages, as well as other high-traffic pages. 

But how do you make this call to action button call-out to the mobile shopper and make them want to click on it? 

Here are a few tips:

• Distinguish buttons from text with an outline
• Add color to progressive actions
• Vary the font-weight of text labels
• Put an icon on the high priority button
• Make your primary call to action button sticky
• Place the call to action where it can be easily interacted with

ConvertCart Pro Tip

‍Be fat-finger friendly. 

No two thumb sizes are equal so you need to pay attention to those with big hands as well.

10) Focus on readability 

While this is a no-brainer, most eCommerce brands might have faced this issue on their mobile websites at one point. 

Under the Enhancements tab in the Google Search Console, check if you have the ‘Text is too small to read’ error. 

If yes, then the readability of your mobile website is at fault. 

16 pixels. 

If nothing else, then just keep in mind that the ideal font size for mobile screens is 16 pixels. 

A smaller font will interrupt readability and visitors will have to pinch and zoom to read.

Also, understand what different systems consider the ideal font size. For instance: 

- Material Design’s default font size is 16px Roboto and secondary font size is 14px

- iOS’s default font size is 17px SF Pro and secondary font size is 15px

Additionally, try to limit the use of multiple font families and sizes.

Too many fonts and just leads to a messy website layout and a confusing reading experience.   

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

‍Put yourself in your buyer’s shoes. 

Read your mobile website content on an actual device to understand text legibility.   

11) Optimize discovery with relevant product filters

On mobile, aim for simple product discovery. 

Since you have limited digital real estate, you cannot afford to fill up your screen with too many filters that end up confusing impatient mobile shoppers.   

Simplify browsing on the category page:

• reduce the number of filters to only the super relevant ones 

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• retain the most commonly applied filters like the price range slider, size, type, brand checkboxes, and color

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• apply additional filters based on your customer’s shopping behavior through analytics data 

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• look through your product description to build relevant product filters that are intuitive 

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

‍Display “Applied Filters” in an overview to help shoppers see which filters are active. 

It offers context and a way to understand which filters to keep or remove.  

12) Improve mobile site performance with optimized images

Reducing page load time will drastically improve your mobile site’s performance. 

The very first thing that factors into your load time is product images. 

Yes, everyone hates slow websites, but you can’t compromise on the quality of the images as well. 

However, you can optimize images for a better mobile experience by:

a. Running mobile website speed tests to identify heavy pages  

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b. Streamlining the number of images displayed on mobile

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c. Enabling lazy load to ensure your images don’t break

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d. Considering to resize your images to suit mobile dimensions

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e. Making your product images and other media files responsive

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f. Compressing your images to less than 2MB in size

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g. Adding ALT text to all your images so that in case they don’t load, the shopper can read what they were about

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h. Considering converting static/ permanent feature images to WebP format

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ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Resize and optimize site images easily with apps like TinyIMG, TinyJPG, and iLoveIMG. 

Some of these apps also offer bulk upload so that you can take care of multiple images in one go.

To understand image optimization even better, read: Common Image Optimization Misconceptions in eCommerce (+ Solutions)

13) Create a compelling visual narrative

Show, don’t tell. 

That great, old saying is always a good reminder when it comes to image optimization for mobile conversions. 

The typical mobile user isn’t interested in reading a lot, you’ll know what’s the next best thing to do.

Employ the help of powerful visuals to drive home the point of your brand and why it exists. 

The idea is to create as real-time an experience in the absence of an actual storefront. 

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Ensure the narrative doesn’t take too many scrolls to be established. 

And that’s why bringing in the crux of what the brand stands for above-the-fold is a great practice. 

In the following example, notice how well the new parenting brand Frida does it visually (with the help of limited text.)

14) Leverage UGC through video

By now, it’s amply clear that video is here to stay and rule.

In 2019, 500 hours of video content was uploaded every minute.

Simultaneously, 96% consumers also admit that the pandemic has caused a steep increase in their online video consumption. 

For mobile users, video serves as a quick, timely and efficient replacement to textual information.

And because videos require just a one-tap action from users, they are preferred for their anytime-anywhere ease. 

In the same breath, users and shoppers have become more discretionary about purchases - unless they are certain a product is what they want, they will consider and compare before buying.

Combine video and the necessity for knowing how other people are experiencing a product, and it’s not tough to guess the next step - featuring user generated videos.

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Make the video length snackable. 

This is the only way you’ll get the attention of your mobile audiences. 

Also, run UGC focused campaigns to gain more control over what users create and what you choose to feature. 

15) Make expert testimonials stand out

Let’s consider a hypothetical situation:

A celebrity who is also known to be a do-gooder comes on a global ad and requests audiences to donate to a certain relief fund.

The fund reaches its financial target in less than a day. 

In our elaborated example, most likely many people would go ahead and donate without even cross checking the facts.

This is how powerfully the voice of authority can work to get a goal met. 

And you can use it to improve your mobile conversions drastically. 

Apart from your homepage, ensure your landing pages carry specific expert testimonials that can be used to drive credibility and existing benefit.

Placed appropriately, expert testimonials can also be beneficial on product pages. 

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Have the testimonials section appear within a few scrolls.

Remember, the mobile user is usually short-on-time and is looking quickly to be convinced. 

Also make the testimonial section be in service of the primary CTA. 

16) Recommend products, but strategically

On-page product recommendations can go a long way in improving the average order value of your online store, especially on mobile sites where buying journeys are comparatively complicated. 

In fact, as per Forbes, 92% of shoppers are influenced by product recommendations while making a purchase online.

But on mobile where there’s limited space, the last thing you want to do is share too many product recommendations. 

Here’s where you need to put shopping behavior data to work: 

• Identify the pages that tend to see the most number of drop-offs.

Based on the content of these pages, add product recommendation widgets to encourage the visitor to explore more instead of leaving the site. 

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• Display trending products or best-selling items on these pages. 

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• Ensure the product recommendations don’t interfere with the natural flow of an online shopper.

If they’re trying to read the product description, don’t add recommendation pop-ups and interrupt them. 

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ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

‍Incorporate recommendation widgets at the bottom of the page for mobile shoppers - they tend to convert higher than others.

Need more inspiration? Read: eCommerce Product Recommendations: Strategies, Examples, Do's/Don'ts

17) Experiment with different visual formats

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Usually, an online store uploads images from all perspectives to give the online shopper a look and feel of the product. 

While the strategy makes sense for desktop visitors, imagine having to scroll through an endless gallery of images on mobile. 

Instead, consider using rich media for your mobile shoppers. 

Experimenting with different formats such as product videos, 3D images, infographics, and GIFs. 

This conversion strategy comes from the type of content we tend to interact with on social media, which is mostly used on mobile devices.

ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

The goal is to make it easier for the online shopper to get all perspectives of the product. 

However, no matter which strategy you use, the rich media should load seamlessly for mobile shoppers.

18) Make your product descriptions drive awareness & decision-making

Product descriptions are important, especially in mobile experiences. 

Add value to mobile pages and convince your visitors to place an order by answering the following questions:

• What does the product do? 

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• What pain points does your product solve? 

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• Benefits of using the product, besides the obvious?

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• Who uses the product? 

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• Why should I buy this product? 

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• Why should I trust your brand? 

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ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

‍Try and relate your descriptions to your target audience’s interests, hobbies or preferences. 

If your product fits the segment then you can accordingly write copy. 

Let’s say you are selling a projector and a large portion of your customer base uses the projector to watch movies. 

Consequently, you can write copy that relates to movie dialogues or scenarios. 

Explore more: How to Write Product Descriptions: 11 Proven Ideas (with Examples)

19) Optimize messaging for paid traffic 

U.S. consumers spent $8.92 billion on retail websites on Black Friday 2021. 

This means, most eCommerce stores run advertising campaigns to drive traffic. 

The flow from the ad message to the mobile website should be consistent. 

When customers click an ad, scan a QR code, or swipe through a social media app, they come to the eCommerce store expecting to see relevant products and offers. 

However, if your customers immediately leave the mobile website, then you have a problem.

Make your messaging relevant by addressing the following: 

• Add banners with the marketing message and drive shoppers towards specific product categories

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• Create product filters that match the occasion. For example, include party-wear, festive, gift-set, etc 

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• Match messaging to product descriptions

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• Offer product bundling with discounts    

20) Don’t interrupt experience with unwanted pop-ups 

A few years ago, Google announced how “intrusive interstitials” or aka “popups” on mobile sites would hinder ranking. 

According to them, pop-ups on mobile sites interfere with their shopping experience.     

Pop-ups usually fill the entire area and block the users’ view and obstruct their experience. 

A few ways to ensure that your pop up strategy remains active yet does not hamper the overall shopping experience on mobile devices, include:

• Optimizing the size and resolution of your mobile pop-ups

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• Ensuring the pop-ups take minimum screen space

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• Making sure the load time is shorter keeping in mind mobile networks

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• Keeping your copy succinct and clear

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• Making it easy to dismiss the popup

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• Using a contrasting color scheme

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• Ensuring the call to action button is intuitively clickable

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• Paying attention to the timing of the popup

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ConvertCart Pro Tip ‍💡

Add a pop-up teaser with the offer title. 

When clicked upon, it can expand to show the entire offer and relevant CTA.   

21) Establish authenticity with social proof

Most high-converting mobile websites cite social proof as the best way to sell their products. 

But it’s difficult to view customer reviews on a mobile webpage since there may be a lot of them. 

However, without social proof, customers won’t trust your brand or purchase a product.   

To establish trust and authenticity: ‍

- Add searchable filters to keep the reviews super personalized. 

- Don’t hide negative reviews as they offer a more wholesome view 

- Add any hashtag campaigns from your social media 

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ConvertCart Pro Tip 💡

Bite-sized quotes that highlight a benefit experienced by a customer work well. 

Here’s an example from the mobile site of Dollar Shave Club. 

22) Make checkout flows simple (as simple as it gets)  

Since a majority of mobile drop-offs occur during the checkout stage, optimizing the checkout flow should be your topmost priority. 

Here are some of the strategies that have time and again proved to work:

• Reduce the number of steps in the checkout process

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• Decrease the number of form fields

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• Add a progress bar to checkout

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• Offer a single-click checkout

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• Reduce navigation and remove distractions from checkout

And last but not the least, everything must be doable at lightning speed! 

Want to learn more about optimizing your checkout flow? ‘Checkout’ these ideas, pun intended.

23) Help customers clear their doubts & give feedback

Americans tell an average of 15 people if they face poor customer service. 

On mobile, shoppers are used to quick solutions. 

If they don’t find additional information such as return policies, material specifications, and more right away, customers have to hunt up information that might lead them to a competitor’s website.

This means there’s a higher chance they won’t return to your online store.

 You really don’t want that to happen.   

Here are a few ways to improve customer service & feedback-taking:

• Add a general faqs page or a section to product pages relevant to the product

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• Add a non-intrusive and sticky chat widget that is color-coded in alignment with the rest of the page

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• Quick star rating or feedback forms after completing the checkout process

24) A/B Test on priority

Eliminate guesswork and increase mobile conversions with A/B testing. 

ConvertCart has worked with many eCommerce stores to A/B test their mobile websites and increase conversions.

Create an effective A/B plan for mobile websites by addressing the following: 

• Include different variables and try not to change the variables often.  

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• Set a duration of more than a month for in-depth analysis. Even if the results don’t look positive, don’t be hasty and change the plan immediately. 

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• Don’t discard negative results. They tell you what you are doing wrong and steer you in the right direction.

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• Set actionable goals. While more sales are your priority, decide on an achievable number.

Ready to be part of the mobile commerce surge?

A mobile-first approach to eCommerce is here to stay. 

While the strategies discussed in this post are a great place to start, however, be bold and experiment with these and other tactics to figure out what works best for your target audience. Because at the end of the day, every buyer is unique and you never know what will work!