Adobe's Magento and partners launch program to boost mobile conversions

Brief:

Adobe-owned cloud-commerce platform Magento and some of its partners debuted a program to help retailers boost sales on mobile devices, according to an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer. The mobile optimization initiative includes PayPal, HiConversion and 15 system integrators that help retailers improve sales conversions on smartphones.
Redstage, Razoyo, Imagination Media, IWD Agency and Lima Consulting Group are among the system integrators participating in Magento's m-commerce optimization service. These businesses are offering retailers a complimentary mobile checkout funnel assessment to help evaluate friction points that impede shoppers.
Participating merchants include Ahava, Papyrus and AMI Clubwear. In aggregate, retailers have seen their average revenue per visit increase by 7.5%, with a better mobile buying experience also supporting desktop shopping. More than 60 merchants currently participate in Magento's mobile optimization initiative.

Insight:

As retailers prepare for a busy holiday shopping season, Magento and its partners are trying to help merchants improve their mobile sales, especially since the ratio of mobile views to conversions lags behind desktop metrics. While a quarter of all back-to-school shopping time was spent browsing on a smartphone, desktop platforms had a 3.37% conversion rate with an average basket size of $142, according to Adobe Analytics. By comparison, smartphones only had a 1.24% conversion rate and an average basket size of $111.

The research coming out of this project, which is being conducted by HiConversion and SI Partners on Magento sites, supports other studies that show shoppers are more likely to browse products on a smartphone and complete the transaction on a computer. The average order value on desktops was $155 while mobile's was $120 last year, per Forrester Research. Smartphone order values are gradually rising at 4% a year, slightly faster than desktop's growth of 3%, which is encouraging for mobile merchants as consumers grow more comfortable completing purchases on mobile screens.

Mobile marketers need to be prepared for an onslaught of holiday shoppers this year. The percentage of online consumers who will use their smartphones to shop is set to grow to 16% this year from 12% in 2017, according to PwC. Even more encouraging for mobile marketers, consumers will boost their holiday spending 5% this year to $1,250 on gifts, travel and entertainment, the survey found.

PayPal's participation in the mobile optimization effort is its latest move amid greater competition from Apple's Apple Pay Cash, Zelle and other platforms to become the leader in the mobile payment space. The payments platform in August redesigned its mobile app to simplify the steps of sending and requesting money and last week teamed with the Phoenix Suns on a promotional effort to boost brand awareness among basketball fans.