The Australian retail industry is struggling right now, so we were surprised to find that most Aussie retailers were falling behind worldwide trends by ignoring mobile commerce in their digital strategies. We decided to give them a hand with our top ten tips for mobile commerce.

1. Help people find your stores by including a “get directions from my current location” function. You can take advantage of the mobile nature of a smartphone by integrating your site with a map from Whereis or Google.
2. Ensure your store phone numbers are formatted to enable customers to tap and call. Many mobile customers will want to immediately talk to someone at their nearest store, so make sure your customers don’t have to copy and paste contact information.
3. Clearly display the opening hours of the customer’s nearest store. Customers on the go are likely to be looking for the opening hours of their nearest store, so make sure they can find it easily.

4. Help people find products by browsing and searching. Just like a brick and mortar store, some people love to browse while others prefer a get-in-get-out shopping experience. Make sure your mobile site supports both navigation methods.
5. Include extensive product information to help purchasing decisions. Mobile customers will either want to make a decision on the spot, or they’re researching a purchase. So mobile sites should display full product details such as price, description, size, colour, sizing chart, features and functions.
6. Don’t hide the fine print. Time-poor mobile customers don’t want any surprises at the end of a purchase, so make sure you display your delivery costs, time taken for delivery and returns policy up front.
7. Ensure people can purchase a product through your mobile site. Mobile shoppers are keen to purchase as well as research, so make sure they can conduct purchasing transactions through your mobile site.
8. Help customers check stock availability in their nearest stores. Many mobile shoppers want to complete their transaction the same day, so help them find stock that’s available in a store near them. It’s also a great way to get them into your stores and make additional sales.
9. Show customer or third party product ratings or reviews. They help customers on-the-go make informed purchase decisions and help avoid surprises when their purchase is delivered. It also reassures them that they are making the best purchase choice.
10. List your products on price comparison sites that are already mobile optimised. GetPrice and Lasoo get a steady stream of traffic from mobile devices. It’s a great way to distinguish yourself from your competition who are not yet engaging in mobile commerce.

We’ve recently released a white paper, Australian M-commerce 2011: A call to arms, which offers a snapshot of the Australian retail industry’s current approach to m-commerce.

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