Shoppers Reject Poor Mobile Sites - And Small Screens

Consumers are shunning poor mobile sites despite massive growth in sales to mobile devices, according to a study in the US.

Software firm Kentico said 44 per cent of online shoppers say they wouldn't return to a site that was unwieldy and not mobile friendly.

The reseach suggested that three quarters of smart phone and tablet users said the look and feel of a site feeds in to their purchasing decision. Meanwhile, 85 per cent of mobile users said they use their devices to compare information about companies, products and pricing before making a purchase and 45 per cent of those do so from a store's actual location.

The research follows a report from internet retailing body the IMRG that one fifth of web sales are now conducted through mobile phones.

However, the study also said that, given the choice, 63 per cent would still rather shop in a store’s physical location than via the Internet. Furthermore, online shoppers seem to prefer larger screens over smaller ones, with mobile device preference shrinking along with screen size. This may also be attributed to the many businesses that have not yet invested in sites that are optimized for mobile, the study suggested. 

When asked which devices typically provide the best shopping experiences, 48 per cent said computers, 40 per cent laptops, 9 per cent tablets, and 3 per cent mobile phones. 'Our survey suggests that while shoppers like the convenience of shopping online via mobile devices, they still want as much of an in-store experience as possible,' said Kentico CEO and founder, Petr Palas. 

'While it may be impossible for businesses to provide mobile shoppers with a 100 per cent in-store experience, they need to make mobile shoppers ‘feel’ as if they’re truly in their stores, touching their products, talking to sales reps, and being catered to. Otherwise, they will lose business to those sites that do,' he said