Benchmark of how 125 m-commerce sites compare, results from a survey of 1000 US adults on phone information collection practices and best practices on mobile design.
Speakers: Janet Jaiswal of TRUSTe, Bernadine Wu of FitforCommerce, and Dave Sikora of Digby
More than Just Lines on a Map: Best Practices for U.S Bike Routes
Benchmarking M-commerce Best Practices for Sites and Apps
1. Benchmarking 125 Mcommerce
Sites and Apps across
13 Retail Categories
A LIVE Mobile Commerce Daily webinar
presented May 24, 2011 by
and sponsored by
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2. TODAY‟S PANELISTS
Bernardine Wu
CEO, FitForCommerce
bwu@fitforcommerce.com
Dave Sikora
CEO, Digby
dsikora@digby.com
Janet Jaiswal
Mobile Product Mgr. and Sr. Dir., Product Marketing, TRUSTe
jjaiswal@truste.com
Moderated by Mickey Alam Khan
Editor in Chief, Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily
mickey@mobilemarketer.com
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4. About FitForCommerce
“ Life Coach and eHarmony of eCommerce ”
• FitForCommerce is a consultancy founded to help online businesses „figure out what
they need and how/where to find it‟
– Team of former multichannel retailers, marketers, technologists and service providers, with
hands-on expertise in eCommerce and mCommerce
• eCommerce Diligence™ is a philosophy and methodology based on diligent
preparation and decision-making to ensure success
– Strategic Diligence – eMerchandising, eMarketing, Multichannel, Operations, Technology,
Organization, Financial Planning
– Selection Diligence – Requirements, RFP, Selection of eCommerce technologies and
providers including: platforms, mCommerce, back-end, all point solutions, 3PL/CS
– mCommerce Strategy
– eCommerce Marketing
– Implementation Coaching
• eCommerceKnowHow.com is the first eCommerce knowledge base:
– 1000s of best practices, feature evaluations, expert advice and community content on 100s
of features, functions and topics
– 100s of provider and solution comparative info
• FFC mCommerce Benchmark & Buyers Guide is a structure benchmark to assess
the market, compare where you stack up, help prioritize improvements
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5. FFC M-Commerce Benchmark
About the FFC M-Commerce Index
• 125 mobile commerce sites
• 100+ best practices and criteria
• 13 categories:
– Apparel/Accessories - Luxury Apparel
– Discount/Auction Sites - General/Department
– Gifting - Healthy/Beauty
– Mass Merchant - Specialty
– Home - Books/Media
– Office Supplies - Electronics
– Food
• Also surveyed include:
– Travel, Financial, Consumables
How does this help? Get answers to:
• How do you get started?
• Where do you stack up?
• What capabilities should you focus on next?
• How do you build the business case for further investment?
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6. What We‟re Seeing
Best Practices have quickly evolved
Those who are Mobile:
• 53% have an outside vendor manage the mobile efforts
• 42% retailers have ecommerce driving mobile efforts
• Almost 50% haven‟t measured any ROI on their Mobile efforts
• More than half will continue to enhance their mobile site and app this
year
Those who are not Mobile:
• 26% of people who aren‟t mobile have plans to go mobile in the next
7-12 months
• 50% of retailers surveyed have no mobile site, app or marketing
program
• Half said it was b/c they thought the investment was too much.
• 18% said it was due to an incompatibility with their current
ecommerce system
Source: FitForCommerce M-Commerce Survey April 2011
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7. #1 Transactional Sites
• Across total M-Commerce Benchmark only
16%* of mobile sites are not transactional
• *Only takes into account the sites or apps
that are optimized for mobile devices. If the
html site comes up on mobile browsers, we
removed them from the number.
• Not always a bad thing, sites can still add
value.
• i.e. CVS has fantastic value adds, you
can refill a prescription, make a clinic
appt, check the sales, find a store, but
you can not „checkout‟ in a typical way
on their mobile site and app
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8. #2 Build to the “Mobile Moments”
• “Limited Time Only” Discount Auction sites
have one of the highest mobile site
penetration at 89% of the Benchmark (eBay
not included).
• The Flash Sale sites are “first-come, first
served” and lead in this space, because
they have to be accessible anywhere, any
time.
• The ability to easily and quickly shop by
phone is critical as inventory is slim.
• Sites are even enhancing web experience –
Gilt Group even notifies your phone when
items in your cart are about to expire. On
Web, there is a timer, but no sound or
vibration notification.
• Expedia does a great job of using large
icons for the traveler using one hand while
navigating their site
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9. #3 Scanning Functionality
• Predominantly prevalent in retailers who sell multiple brands - pricing
comparison is most common (Sears, Amazon, Target, etc.)
• 14% Benchmark and 70% Mass have a scanning capability
• Walgreens you can refill a prescription by scanning the bottle code
• J&R has an app to read QR codes for more product information, ratings,
reviews and technical details that don‟t fit on the sign
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10. #4 Rich Media Scarce
• Apps showcase rich media images, swatching and added functionality more
than the mobile sites - can slow down load times
• Rich Media has a low 5% Benchmark penetration
• Victoria‟s Secret shows only 1 color in PD detail image and 20+ swatches.
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11. #5 Site Search Varies
Navigated to Paint Brushes Search: Paint Brush Search: Paintbrush
On 40% of Mobile Benchmark sites!!
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12. #6 Search Best Practice
• Hunter vs. Gatherer
mentality on Mobile web
• Typing is not easy!
• Steve Madden and New Egg
are in the forward thinking
minority by using an Auto
Complete functionality
• Help guide the customer to
what they are looking for
faster.
• About 33% of all sites
• Advanced Search - 40%
sites have it, but the irony is
that it‟s almost impossible to
find.
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13. #7 Ratings & Reviews Growing
• Majority of all verticals are now
showcasing Ratings and Reviews.
• Our Fall 2010 benchmark showed
less than 50% of mobile sites had
this feature
• Of those Books & Media Retailers
that are mobile, 100% show ratings
and reviews
• 66% of Office Supply companies
• 50% of Electronics vertical have
ratings and reviews
• Mass Retail has about 45%
penetration
• 20% Specialty retailers (see right)
• Consumables don‟t have much of
this, but makes sense based on their
products.
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14. #8 Store Locator a Must Have
• 33% in total Benchmark
• 90% of those who have physical stores
• Most store locators have similar functionality and branded uniquely
– i.e. Orvis – lifestyle
– i.e. CVS functional with pertinent fields for filtering reasons
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15. #9 Catalog Quick Search
• 20% Total Benchmark
• Barnes and Noble‟s App gave surprising
results – can‟t search by isbn, but you can
take a photo of the isbn, for bn.com to
search for the item.
• Highest penetration in
Department Stores
category at 50%
• Examples from Brooks
Brothers and Zappos
both leave what you
searched for on screen
• Good feature to add to
speed up checkout time
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16. #10 Store Product Locator
• Lowes lets you put in zip code on
results pages to see what is in stock
near you.
• Lowes has a Key on PD pages
• Would be ideal to show this key on
results pages too
• Target not only tells you which local
store has your item in stock, but it
tells you the aisle location and
section of the store. Possible bad
experience if store managers move
things.
• < 5% Benchmark that has Brick and
Mortar
• Still going to be a Roadmap item,
needs high level of integration
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17. #11 Pick Up In-Store Functionality Grows
• Opportunity exists for
multichannel retailers to
better market to customers,
based on location.
• Walgreens, Macy‟s, Sears and
JC Penny are some of the only
retailers who market their store-
specific promotions based on
the shopper‟s location.
• 12% of all Benchmark retailers.
Hasn‟t changed much since
October Benchmark
• Great roadmap item – mobile
site needs to need to include
store locator, real time
inventory sync, sales reps,
location based technology
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18. #12 Share to Social
• Apparel mobile sites were the first to
seriously integrate with social networking
• Of the 34 Apparel sites in the benchmark,
41% including Luxury and Discount (e.g.,
GAP, Burberry, Gilt Group) are the only ones
who have real penetration into social sites,
including sharing product info on Facebook
and Twitter.
• Up from 35% in October 2010
• Across the rest of the benchmark, only about
3% have some sort of sharing capability.
• Sephora does a great job in their app.
• For gifting season, this could be a big win.
• Given the amount of connectivity and time
spent on social networks, chances are your
customer will share. Make it easy!
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19. #13 Preorder Capabilities
• Rare but this can be a great win for
the holidays and trendy items
(electronics, books, fashion)
• Preordering a „hot‟ new item from a
mobile site is a great way of getting
people to get used to mobile site
• If your brand or technology does not
allow for preordering, taking the email
address on the PD page and sending
a timely „in stock‟ notification is a way
to capture the ROI and take
advantage of the buzz.
• Radio Shack allows preordering on
the website but not on the mobile site.
• New Egg has no „ship‟ date shown
• Currently on:
– 60% of Books and Media sites
– 45% Electronics
– 100% Mass
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20. #14 Instant & Constant Confirmation
• Verification of items added to cart. Godiva lets • Ever-present Mini-Cart is a
the customer know with an immediate pop up consistent way of demonstrating
from the Product Detail page that this item has „add to cart‟ completion.
been added and gives you a shortcut to • User is 1 click away from the cart:
checkout or to keep shopping. • 83% in apparel, 66% in gifting and
• 45% of benchmark have some form of mini cart. 90% home
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21. #15 Stored Wallets
• 50 out of 125 sites let you store credit cards as
payment info (40%)
• Most of these port the wallet over from the
ecommerce sites (90%)
• Not all require log in and will allow you to alter
shipping address – security issue if you lose
your phone?
• Southwest lets you decide whether to „save‟
your profile on your device or not
• One view of customer is great, especially in
certain verticals
– Auction Sites where checkout is time
related, one-2 click based on limited
inventory i.e. Haute Look
– Travel Vertical
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22. #16 Accurate Freight Estimation
• Entering in Zip Code for accurate freight
costs or delivery time frames
• Not every industry is utilizing this feature,
but fit is or large and bulky items, it‟s a
great educational tool
• Some need more intelligence built in:
– On Office Max‟s mobile site, I got site
wide free shipping (over $50 in cart),
but I still had to enter in my zip code
before proceeding to PD page
• 66% of Office Supply companies require a
zip code before proceeding to PD page
for costs.
• 50% Home Stores have a zip code look
up feature for shipping rates and in store
pick up
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23. #17 Apps
• 50% (65 of 125) have apps (either Android or
Apple)
• 60% of those apps are transactional
• Most include a special technology that can be
native to the phone‟s OS.
– i.e. vibration alerts, drag and drop,
accelerometer, shake , flip book capability,
configurator, switch orientations
• Many using HTML 5, rich media, video
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24. #18 – Feedback Mechanism
• Give your users an easy
and quick place to tell you
when something is wrong
with the mobile app or site
• 100% of Office Supply
vertical (Office Depot
pictured)
• 20% of Discount vertical
• Certain mobile platform
providers build this in.
Saw patterns
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25. #19 – Location, location
• Asking for location permissions is
common - 60% of benchmark
• Up from 20% in penetration since
October 2010
• Retailers want mobile to help
bring customers into stores using
smart location or GPS based
coupons, push notifications,
special offers, etc.
• Ask for mobile opt ins at emails
and all checkout locations (store,
online, catalog, mobile)
• Treat mobile marketing like any
other marketing, segment and
don‟t over use your list
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26. #20 – Testing/Measuring
• Define your internal Mobile success criteria early on
• Measure mCommerce as you would any other new
channel:
– Analytics installed and reviewed
– QA
– Testing
– Cross Promotion
– Marketing opt ins
• Some KPIs may not yet be fully „trackable‟‟ or
identified
• Use redirects if you have to, but not too many slow
load times
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27. Parting Thoughts…
• Always understand what your audience’s “mobile moments” are
• Use your top 10 eCommerce features or values to guide what to prioritize
on your mobile site/app
• Mobile should be part of your existing analytics to understand visitor
behavior
• Treat mCommerce as another channel, not just another feature set
• Decide who will own this channel internally, from strategy to build and once
live, then improvements
• Benchmark your mobile site/app so that you know where you stand where
to prioritize focus…and get budget
• Invest in it as if it were a new cross-channel business line
• You don’t really have much of a choice. Your competitors AND your
customers are already “mobile”
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29. About TRUSTe
Founded in 1997
4,000+ clients
Offers online privacy solutions for all major
customer channels.
We offer privacy certifications, seals and solutions for:
Mobile Apps Websites Platforms & Apps Advertising
& Mobile Web
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30. Why are some retailers not mobile? What are the road blocks ahead and what issues do
they face?
Retailers want to collect as much info as possible from consumers to engage and
personalize their experience. However, road blocks remain.
Nearly nine in ten (85%) restrict
at least some types of
information sharing on mobile
apps
• Users are more comfortable
with sharing a user name and
password
• Users are less comfortable
with location, age or gender
Source: Harris Interactive and TRUSTe Survey, Feb 2011
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31. Why are some retailers not mobile? What are the road blocks ahead and what issues do
they face?
Advertising using behavioral tracking techniques is especially popular for reaching
shoppers on the mobile devices. However, it must be utilized in a responsible manner.
Advertising tracking worries
consumers
• 85% of consumers want the option
to opt-out of targeted mobile ads.
• 74% of users are not comfortable
with the idea of advertisers
tracking their data for targeting
purposes.
• 68% of consumers say they are
being tracked for mobile ad
targeting (an awareness far higher
than the actual practice).
Source: Harris Interactive and TRUSTe Survey, Feb 2011
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32. What are some of the security issues that need to be overcome?
Users that feel you are taking their security and privacy seriously are less likely to turn to your competitors.
Payment –Find a secure m-commerce platform provider that offers:
• SSL-encrypted transaction support
• Alternative payments such as PayPal and Amazon‟s payment system.
Secure Information Collection – Only ask for information that you absolutely need and
don‟t collect extra information until after you‟ve established a trusted relationship.
When collecting Personally Identifying Information (credit card #, geo-location etc.) be sure
it‟s encrypted.
• During transmission
• When it‟s stored
• When it‟s turned over to vendors.
Geo-location – A user‟s location info is considered a gold mine especially when tied with
profile information
• Ask for permission before you collect this information
• Explain why you are collecting it
Behavioral-based Advertising – Generally, okay to do as long as it‟s used to enhance the
service you provide to them.
• Do not share with a party unless they need it to support the primary service you provide
the user.
• Obtain users‟ permission before you collect info, if the data you collect is for other 3rd
party purposes
Images courtesy of ITPAtraining.com, topnews.net.nz and bgnentrepreneur.net
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33. How can retailers resolve users‟ privacy concerns?
1. Think Strategically About Privacy
Proactively stay ahead of these trends to maximize brand affinity and obtain loyalty
• 74% of consumers believe it‟s “very important” or “extremely important” to
understand what personal information a mobile app collects
2. Always Ask Before Collecting Location Data
Only 36% of consumers felt that they had a choice regarding the collection and use
of their location data
3. Offer Opt-Outs For Mobile Ad Targeting
85% of consumers want to be able to opt-in or
out of targeted mobile ads
4. Give Shoppers Transparency & Choice
98% of consumers believe it‟s important for
mobile apps to provide easy access to
controls for collecting and sharing personal
information
5. Get Your App Privacy Certified
Only 1 in 3 consumers feel in control of their
personal information when using their mobile
devices
Source: Harris Interactive and TRUSTe Survey, Feb 2011
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34. Best practice tips for getting started in mobile commerce
To lessen user privacy concerns and increase your mobile commerce success,
develop an overall strategy on how to reduce privacy concerns at all customer
touch points….mobile, website, platform, call center etc.
Provide users with transparency and remain accountable
Use clear messaging re: use of location data
Secure this data through encryption etc.
Ensure adequate consumer redress mechanisms for those who want to
remove their location data
Provide users with choice (i.e. ask users permission to use their location
information before you collect it)
Meaningful choice is when consumers understand the implications of
sharing their data.
Have a privacy trust mark– Users will reward companies who make strong
commitments to their privacy
Users recognize established trust marks (like TRUSTe) means a
company has undergone rigorous vetting by an independent 3rd party
Trust
# and purchase amount
# of downloads
Images courtesy of Justmeans.com,
gamesetwatch.com # of registrations
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36. QuickTime™ and a
Digby Introduction decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• Headquartered in Austin, TX
• Singularly focused on
building the Mobile Channel
and In-store Engagement for
Retailers
• Enabled 45+ top retail brands
with 90+ storefronts
• Enterprise grade
environment with PCI Level 1
Certification and 24/7
support
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37. QuickTime™ and a
Best Practices In A Successful Mobile Commerce Strategy
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
What Activities are Critical? 7) Metrics &
How Frequent? Measure
Today‟s Focus:
6) Go To
Best Practices in Platform and Design Market
5) Manage Where is the Leverage?
Expectations Who do you need to reach?
What is Realistic?
4) Design What is Optimistic?
Own
Or Usability Will Play a
License? 3) Platform Significant Role in Success
2) Make or What Mediums and
Buy/Partner Devices Do your Customers Use?
1) Goals
Use Cases
How Will You Engage
Your Customers?
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38. QuickTime™ and a
The Platform decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
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39. QuickTime™ and a
Mobile Web Visits By Device decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
45.15%
40.92%
7.72%
5.09%
0.32%
0.24%
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40. QuickTime™ and a
Mobile Design Considerationsdecompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• Mobile Users are in a hurry
• Not “EXCLUSIVELY” focused on the
device - Multi-tasking is a given
• Very Impatient - need “Snappy”
experience
• Impulse and Convenience
Time • “Snack” versus “Dine”
Sensitivity
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41. QuickTime™ and a
Mobile Design Considerations decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• Time Sensitivity and Clean Process Flows
• Compel Application “Open” as frequently
as possible
• Form Factor
• Use of Device Resources (location,
address book, calendar)
• Shelf-life and adaptability
• Closed Loop Tasks
• Weight, Download Size
• Network Latency
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42. QuickTime™ and a
Mobile Design Considerationsdecompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• Web Form Factor Mismatch
• The Web is not compatible with a 2”
screen
• Looks are important; Process flows are
key to “Elegant Solution”
• Forms and Data Entry problems
• “Sticky Notes” design process
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43. QuickTime™ and a
Mobile Design Considerations decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• “The Paradox of Choice” by Barry
Schwartz
• Too many choices drives
consumer dissatisfaction
• Mobile Corollary:
• Don‟t do too much
• Focused choices can drive higher
satisfaction
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44. QuickTime™ and a
Summary and Key Takeaways decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
• Mobile Commerce is here and now
• Look at Mobile Commerce Strategically
– Full Mobile Web and Rich Applications
– Devices, Platforms, Shapes and Sizes Changing Rapidly
• Recognize Elegance in Speed and Simplicity
– Snappy Experiences
– Fast Transitions and Clean Process Flows
• Start off with One or 2 things done extremely well
• Consider Multi-Channel Use Cases
• The opportunity to engage with your mobile customer is now under
your own branded mobile website and rich app
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45. Thank you for your time
The presentation will be mailed out to
all attendees
If you have questions, please contact
Janet at JJaiswal@truste.com
TRUSTe offer privacy certifications, seals and solutions for:
Mobile Web & Apps Websites Platforms & Apps Advertising
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