Most retailers now ‘get’ mobile, but turning theory into practice is being hampered by ‘desktop first’ thinking. So believes Stuart McMillan, Deputy Head of E-commerce at Schuh , talking exclusively to Internet Retailing ahead of his presentation at Internet Retailing Expo on 25 March.
According to McMillan: “Too many people are still thinking “How do I make my site smaller for mobile”, whereas for us, the question has become “how do I make my site bigger for desktop and tablet”. Yes, there are technical challenges, but realistically, mobiles are so much more capable than the early computers/connections of the internet age. Broadband, big screens and beefy processers have allowed a degree of complacency to creep in. We need to get geeky again, and think about the technicalities of providing a great mobile experience. Learn to optimise within the constraints, don’t just ignore the constraints!”
McMillian is well placed to comment. Currently 45% of traffic to Schuh’s website now comes from mobile and there is a continuing move from desktop to mobile. “Interestingly,” he adds, “tablet traffic has stalled – just like tablet purchases – and all growth is going to come from mobile.”
McMillian will be speaking at IRX15 on how Schuh has actually gone about mobilising its offering for these increasingly mobile-centric consumers. His case study will drill down into responsive design.
“I’m going to be talking about our new responsive site, which we launched in September 2014. I’ll cover three main points: (1) why did we choose responsive? (2) how did we go about it? and (3) what results have we seen?” he says.
This valuable insight from a truly mobile-thinking company that has put theory into practice should be a must see for all attendees at IRX, as 2015 is going to truly be the year of m-retailing.
“Mobile conversion rate and AOV will continue to rise slowly, as consumers become increasingly comfortable with shopping on their mobile,” McMillan explains. “I expect 2015 to have some clear mobile winners, companies who have gone the extra mile and actually provided an acceptable shopping experience on mobile. There will then be a normalisation of the market as a growing number of retailers provide better experiences, although I don’t expect that to happen in 2015.”
INTERNET RETAILING EXPO 2015 takes place at the Birmingham NEC on 25 and 26 March 2015. You can check out the schedule HERE and register to attend FREE HERE
