How are the top online retailers providing mobile check out options?

in-store Mobile commerce shopping line

Mobile checking out system

Consumers are beginning to expect to be able to make purchases with their smartphones.

The penetration of smartphones among cell phone users is new making its way past the 50 percent mark in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom, and the tremendous number of those active device users are making it a necessity for retailers to mobile optimize their websites and provide other device-friendly features and services.

Though most large brands have already established some sort of solid m-commerce presence, there are many flaws to their mobile check out designs that customers are finding off-putting and are steering them away from making purchases.

The process over smartphones for completing a transaction can make or break a purchase.

For this reason, mobile sites should pay close attention to their use (and lack thereof) in order to make sure that they can improve on any design weaknesses.

The following are some of the top retailers and what they have done for their mobile check out experience:

• Amazon – from the start, it has been at the front of the smartphone game, offering several sites and apps to best cater to mobile consumers. Though it does require registration before purchase, so many people already have an account with the company that it doesn’t seem to bother many. With saved details, repeat purchasing becomes extremely easy and convenient, allowing the company to rake in billions in mobile sales.

• Apple – though this company does have an iPhone app, it doesn’t have a mobile optimized website.

• Moosejaw – this outdoor apparel and gear shop isn’t just limiting itself to a website, but it has allowed consumers that have entered the store to make a purchase and go through the transaction process no matter where they are. Representatives are stationed around the store, armed with Apple iPod Touch, Fourth Generation devices which have been set up to allow that rep to check inventories within the store, as well as use a magnetic stripe reader and barcode scanner to assist consumers in purchasing their products, even if they’re nowhere near the cashier’s desk.

• Sephora – has used a mobile check out concept that is very similar, in that their employees have Apple iPod Touch devices and can each act as a point of sale no matter where they are in the shop.

 

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