If you’re not yet convinced on the importance of a solid mobile strategy on your ecommerce site, here are some stats: in 2023, 20.8% of retail purchases are expected to take place online. Of these purchases, mobile ecommerce (or “mcommerce”) is expected to account for 43.4%. Doesn’t sound like much? Well, the global ecommerce market is expected to total $6.3 trillion in 2023, so even a small share is actually quite big.

In our previous blog post, we explored the challenges of mobile product discovery in ecommerce. In this article, we will take it a step further and introduce how personalization and improved search can supercharge your mobile ecommerce strategy, setting you apart from your competitors.

You already know that personalization is the secret ingredient to reforming the mobile – as well as desktop – user experience. By tailoring content, recommendations, and offers to individual users, you can create an engaging and relevant customer journey. You probably have recommendation strategies in place, but are they serving you as well as they could? 

Personalization goes beyond just recommending trending products. It’s about understanding your customers on a deeper level and presenting them with relevant options throughout their journey. For example, with Frosmo’s AI-driven personalization strategies, you can suggest items based on affinity, such as category, brand, and other preferences. You can also make use of similarities between visitors to predict which items they are interested in. This level of personalization ensures that every interaction is tailored to the individual, making their experience seamless and enjoyable.

But what exactly is affinity? You can think of it as the trace of page views, clicks, and other interactions every visitor leaves on the sites they visit. By combining this behavioral data with contextual data, such as information about the visitor’s device, traffic sources, and location, we are able to draw conclusions about their preferencences. AI algorithms help us use this knowledge to accurately predict which categories, brands, and products the visitor is most interested in. Placing recommendations for relevant products on decision-making touchpoints (think home page, category pages, and shopping cart) you can effectively drive visitors towards conversion and higher average order values.

One of the challenges in mobile ecommerce is choice overload. With countless products available, customers can feel overwhelmed and find it difficult to make decisions. This is where personalized recommendations in the product discovery phase and personalized product collections come into play.

By implementing algorithms that analyze user behavior and preferences, you can offer highly personalized product recommendations. These recommendations take into account a user’s browsing history, purchase behavior, and demographics. By presenting customers with products that align with their preferences, you simplify their decision-making process. This leads to more confident purchasing decisions and ultimately higher conversion rates.

Consider implementing personalized product collections, which are essentially search suggestions for a selection of products based on the customer’s affinity, making it easier for them to navigate and discover what they’re looking for. By presenting customers with a limited collection of products that align with their preferences instead of individual products, you streamline the product discovery process and customer journey, especially on mobile.

Another challenge in mobile ecommerce is limited screen space, which can result in clunky customer journeys. Users may find it difficult to browse through numerous products effectively on a small screen. For example, the shopping cart abandonment rate on mobile devices is 84%, while on desktop, it’s 74 %. However, with personalized recommendations that are relevant to every stage of the customer journey, you can simplify product navigation and decision-making.

Throughout the customer journey, present users with relevant recommendations that align with their preferences. This could be in the form of personalized product collections or dynamically changing recommendations based on their browsing behavior. By offering relevant recommendations at each stage, you guide users through their journey, making it seamless and intuitive.

Imagine a customer browsing for a new pair of hiking boots on a fashion or outdoor gear site. With personalized recommendations in the shopping cart, you can present them with related items, such as matching accessories or care products, extending the product discovery experience even to the very last stages of the journey.

While product recommendations play a significant role in product discovery, we can’t overlook the importance of search. In fact, more than 43% of all visitors immediately use the search function on ecommerce websites and site search users convert 6 times more than other visitors.

A seamless and personalized mobile experience leads to higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction. By implementing AI-powered search algorithms, you can enhance the relevance of search results. These algorithms understand user intent, correct misspellings, and even consider synonyms to provide accurate and tailored search results.

In addition, you can implement features like autosuggest, boosting, and ranking to ensure that users find what they’re looking for quickly and efficiently, and that they see the products and brands that you want to promote. 

For example, with instant search, users can see search results and suggestions updated in real time as they type, saving them time and effort. By optimizing and personalizing the search experience, you create a frictionless user journey, increasing the likelihood of successful conversions.

Another challenge in mobile ecommerce is the limited input capability. Typing on a small screen can be challenging, leading to potential search errors or frustration. To overcome this challenge, providing visual-based filtering options for selecting product attributes can greatly enhance the user experience.

Introduce intuitive and user-friendly visual-based filters, allowing customers to easily narrow down their search results based on their preferences. For example, instead of typing in specific dimensions for a product, customers can use visual sliders to adjust size, color, or other attributes. By providing visual-based filtering options, you simplify the search process and enable customers to find what they’re looking for more effectively.

Consider incorporating the concept of personalized product collections into your filtering options. This allows customers to refine their search results based on their preferences and further enhances the personalized experience on your mobile site.

Depending on the number of SKUs and categories on your site, a simple search can yield thousands of results. Don’t forget to provide further filtering options on the search results page to make it easy for the visitor to customize and narrow down the results.

In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile optimization, it’s essential to stay ahead of the curve.. By leveraging personalization and improved search, you can future-proof your mobile ecommerce strategy and provide exceptional experiences for your customers. 

From fashion to electronics to homewares, AI-driven personalization and search strategies have proven effective in enabling businesses to thrive in the dynamic ecommerce landscape. Remember, the future of mobile ecommerce lies in harnessing the power of personalization and optimized search to create a seamless and tailored experience for your customers. Stay innovative, stay customer-centric, and stay ahead of your competitors.