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Reprint
Why mobile payment information and other personal data on small screens
can be a bigger turnoff to shoppers than having to do it
systems fail on a full-size keyboard. A few months ago, Facebook
announced it was testing one-click checkout for partners'
mobile apps. While Facebook said partners will still be
By Ralph Dangelmaier able to work with the payment processors of their choice,
the announcement demonstrates the priority key industry
BlueSnap players are placing on simplifying mobile checkout.
Editor's note: This article was first published Jan. 17, 2014, by Retail Merchandiser. Reprinted with 2. Flexible subscription management
permission. Copyright © 2014 by Ralph Dangelmaier. All rights reserved. From Netflix and newspapers to pet food, shoe and
verywhere you look, mobile commerce's star is children's product companies, e-merchants are embracing
rising. According to a recent Deloitte survey, online subscription models, yet m-commerce sites can
for example, 68 percent of smartphone owners process only the most basic subscriptions, if at all.
E planned to use their devices for holiday shop-
ping in 2013. According to an eMarketer forecast, mobile Mobile payment systems should be able to offer multiple
devices will drive more than $41 billion, or 16 percent of plan types (e.g. pay per use, trial with standard subscription,
retail e-commerce sales, this year – up from 7 percent two initial charge followed by subscription), any payment cycle
years ago. By 2017, eMarketer expects m-commerce sales (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly and other permutations) and
to reach $113 billion. custom options (e.g. upgrades, grace periods, maximum
charge limits). Systems should also support any payment
But those sunny prognostications ignore a giant fly in the method as a subscription option, including wire and bank
ointment: the abandonment of mobile shopping carts. A transfers, purchase orders and e-checks.
recent Harris Interactive survey found that two out of
three consumers who tried to make purchases on their 3. Promotional tools
smartphone or tablet stopped short because of snags
during the checkout process. Online offers are an essential part of an e-marketer's bag
of tricks, but most mobile sites are handicapped when it
Other reports found mobile shopping cart abandonment comes to dynamically generating deals to drive sales,
rates exceeding 90 percent – some 20 points higher than on increase order value and/or reduce customer churn. Mobile
larger devices. Explanations range from hard-to-navigate payment systems need to serve up coupons, up-sells, cross-
mobile carts and mobile sites that aren't optimized to sells, free trials, product bundles, subscription update
fit the smaller mobile form factor, to problems such as reminders and other marketing offers on the fly, based on
high shipping costs, long delivery times and "window whatever the shopper placed in his or her shopping cart.
shopping" behaviors that put a damper on mobile and Such incentives can help prevent shoppers from exiting
nonmobile commerce alike. mobile carts before hitting the checkout button.
4. Global shopping support
One factor many merchants and analysts miss, however, is
the role of the mobile payment system itself. Most mobile A shopper in France seeking to download an e-book doesn't
payment platforms require too many steps to checkout, want to see checkout pages in English or cart calculations
lack flexible payment models, have limited ability to offer in dollars. Mobile payment systems need to display
promotional features like couponing, and ignore the localized content, currencies and payment methods based
realities of selling in a global economy. on the shopper's location – from multicountry methods
like WebMoney, CashU and Skrill to Alipay in China,
With the shift toward smartphones and tablets as the Giropay in Germany and Boleto Bancario in Brazil.
computing devices of choice – illustrated by recent IDC
predictions that desktops and laptops will account for Ultimately, it's all about the buying experience. Mobile
only 13 percent of the worldwide smart connected device stores must adapt to mobile platforms, as well as offer fast,
market by 2017 – merchants are bound to lose billions in full-featured, marketing-savvy shopping carts. When that
mobile shopping dollars until these gaps are closed. Many happens, fewer carts will be left holding the (shopping)
of the missing pieces are routinely included in online bag – and the m-commerce juggernaut will gain even more
payment systems but are MIA in mobile editions. Among speed than the pundits are predicting today.
the deficiencies are:
1. One-click checkout
One-click purchasing may be standard for returning Ultimately, it's all about the
shoppers making purchases on their desktops or laptops, buying experience.
but it's still the exception in the m-commerce world
– despite the fact that repeatedly entering credit card
34
34
Why mobile payment information and other personal data on small screens
can be a bigger turnoff to shoppers than having to do it
systems fail on a full-size keyboard. A few months ago, Facebook
announced it was testing one-click checkout for partners'
mobile apps. While Facebook said partners will still be
By Ralph Dangelmaier able to work with the payment processors of their choice,
the announcement demonstrates the priority key industry
BlueSnap players are placing on simplifying mobile checkout.
Editor's note: This article was first published Jan. 17, 2014, by Retail Merchandiser. Reprinted with 2. Flexible subscription management
permission. Copyright © 2014 by Ralph Dangelmaier. All rights reserved. From Netflix and newspapers to pet food, shoe and
verywhere you look, mobile commerce's star is children's product companies, e-merchants are embracing
rising. According to a recent Deloitte survey, online subscription models, yet m-commerce sites can
for example, 68 percent of smartphone owners process only the most basic subscriptions, if at all.
E planned to use their devices for holiday shop-
ping in 2013. According to an eMarketer forecast, mobile Mobile payment systems should be able to offer multiple
devices will drive more than $41 billion, or 16 percent of plan types (e.g. pay per use, trial with standard subscription,
retail e-commerce sales, this year – up from 7 percent two initial charge followed by subscription), any payment cycle
years ago. By 2017, eMarketer expects m-commerce sales (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly and other permutations) and
to reach $113 billion. custom options (e.g. upgrades, grace periods, maximum
charge limits). Systems should also support any payment
But those sunny prognostications ignore a giant fly in the method as a subscription option, including wire and bank
ointment: the abandonment of mobile shopping carts. A transfers, purchase orders and e-checks.
recent Harris Interactive survey found that two out of
three consumers who tried to make purchases on their 3. Promotional tools
smartphone or tablet stopped short because of snags
during the checkout process. Online offers are an essential part of an e-marketer's bag
of tricks, but most mobile sites are handicapped when it
Other reports found mobile shopping cart abandonment comes to dynamically generating deals to drive sales,
rates exceeding 90 percent – some 20 points higher than on increase order value and/or reduce customer churn. Mobile
larger devices. Explanations range from hard-to-navigate payment systems need to serve up coupons, up-sells, cross-
mobile carts and mobile sites that aren't optimized to sells, free trials, product bundles, subscription update
fit the smaller mobile form factor, to problems such as reminders and other marketing offers on the fly, based on
high shipping costs, long delivery times and "window whatever the shopper placed in his or her shopping cart.
shopping" behaviors that put a damper on mobile and Such incentives can help prevent shoppers from exiting
nonmobile commerce alike. mobile carts before hitting the checkout button.
4. Global shopping support
One factor many merchants and analysts miss, however, is
the role of the mobile payment system itself. Most mobile A shopper in France seeking to download an e-book doesn't
payment platforms require too many steps to checkout, want to see checkout pages in English or cart calculations
lack flexible payment models, have limited ability to offer in dollars. Mobile payment systems need to display
promotional features like couponing, and ignore the localized content, currencies and payment methods based
realities of selling in a global economy. on the shopper's location – from multicountry methods
like WebMoney, CashU and Skrill to Alipay in China,
With the shift toward smartphones and tablets as the Giropay in Germany and Boleto Bancario in Brazil.
computing devices of choice – illustrated by recent IDC
predictions that desktops and laptops will account for Ultimately, it's all about the buying experience. Mobile
only 13 percent of the worldwide smart connected device stores must adapt to mobile platforms, as well as offer fast,
market by 2017 – merchants are bound to lose billions in full-featured, marketing-savvy shopping carts. When that
mobile shopping dollars until these gaps are closed. Many happens, fewer carts will be left holding the (shopping)
of the missing pieces are routinely included in online bag – and the m-commerce juggernaut will gain even more
payment systems but are MIA in mobile editions. Among speed than the pundits are predicting today.
the deficiencies are:
1. One-click checkout
One-click purchasing may be standard for returning Ultimately, it's all about the
shoppers making purchases on their desktops or laptops, buying experience.
but it's still the exception in the m-commerce world
– despite the fact that repeatedly entering credit card
34
34
