Due to the continuous improvements in mobile technology, handheld devices are becoming the primary tool being used by people for various functions. Phones are not only used for texts and calls anymore as they were traditionally made for, but for a lot more complex functions such as online shopping.

The use of smartphones for online shopping has become so prevalent that the numbers have already exceeded those that are shopping using computers.

With this in mind, businesses, especially those who are engaged in online shopping, should be able to provide a sound experience for those who intend to do their online shopping activities by using their phones. Aside from making their sites more responsive on mobile devices, another aspect that should be given attention is designing the checkout process for mobile customers easier.

Take note. However, that design is not about just the aesthetics. It’s about planning all the small details and making them work altogether to reach your goal. In this case, you would be working on all the aspects that can help ease the checkout process for mobile users.

With all these said, here are seven tips on how to design the mobile checkout process a lot easier:

1.Don’t Force Account Registration

Businesses prefer that their customers create an account so that these customers would be part of their statistics, as well for them to be included in their marketing campaigns. However, account registration is seen as a tedious process for a lot of customers, especially those who are using mobile phones as it is a bit more challenging to fill up forms on smaller screens.

With this in mind, it is best not to require shoppers to create an account before they can complete a purchase. Checking out as a guest should be an option, and only the necessary information should be required such as the delivery address, and the payment particulars.

If you do this, you will be able to keep customers who would do not appreciate account registration and would rather not continue when this step is mandated.

2. Have Easy Editing Options

After browsing through your product galleries, there may be customers who would like to make some changes to their shopping carts such as adding or removing products from the cart, modifying product specifications and others.

In this light, you should, therefore, provide an easy way for customers to do changes from the checkout page. For example, allow the removal, reduction, or addition of items in the cart. Also, you should link products in the cart to their original product page so that customers may change size, colors, or designs, without the need to remove the product the list, and then go back to the product page, and choose another product. Your customers would appreciate the convenience that you will provide.

3. Kill Popup Error Messages

As a general rule, any error message that pops out can cause your customers to stop from buying. The negative connotation that error messages have is so strong that it really does affect the completion of a sale.

Error messages are very common on the checkout page, where the customers may provide information that are not fit with the form requirements you have set.

Instead of returning an error message once all the forms are filled up, it is better to provide real-time comments as they fill up the forms. For example, if the credit card number lacks a digit, provide a subtle warning right away before the customer moves on.

4. Auto Complete Fields

After a while, your customers would have filled a number of forms regarding their personal information, or their payment particulars, so it is best that you provide a way for them to easily fill up the same forms in the future. Auto complete is a great help. It would be a lot easier for customers to complete a purchase when the form completes by itself accurate information.

However, not all your customers would be using autocomplete as they fear risks of having their information compromised when someone gains access to their phones. So to make it easier even for them to complete fields, offer other auto-complete functionalities such as providing options to choose from instead of having to type. Just keying in a postal code should already enable to the automatic keying of the city, province, and state.

The little stuff like these that make it easier for customers are really appreciated, and are proven to lead to great results.

5. Maximize Trust by Adding Security Seal

One of the challenges of e-commerce, no matter what kind of device it is accessed from, is the security. This gravely affects the ability of e-commerce to reach its maximum potential.

This is especially true for mobile devices, where people are predisposed to the idea that security in such platform, is lower as compared to desktop computers. While there is not much truth on this, it is still what prevails in the minds of a lot of customers.

There are ways for you to combat this such as by making use of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate to your website, including its mobile version. When you do this, your customers would see a green lock and an “https” on the URL of your site, and they would know that they are under a secured connection, and would, therefore, be safe from online harm.

For checkout, you should also be able to ensure your customers that they are safe by displaying certificates that prove the security measures that you implement. Some of these are the logos of anti-malware products that you use for your site, as well as proof of your compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards.

These are some of the ways on how you can improve the confidence of your customers that they are transacting with a credible online shopping platform, keeping them away from online threats. Let them enjoy their online shopping without fear.

6. Have Several Payment Options

It is also a great idea to provide a number of payment options for your customers to choose from so that whatever option they find most convenient would be available for them to use. The basic is being able to accommodate various credit cards.

And as you deal with the entry of credit card information, make sure to make filling up an easy thing to do. The following are some reminders that you should keep in mind when it comes to getting credit card information from your customers:

• Given that there are numerous credit card companies and you may not be able to partner with all, make sure to inform your customers of those cards that they can use in paying.
• Let your customer’s key in their credit card numbers on however they please – with the use of spaces or dashes or the lack thereof. It would be easy to extract just the credit card number anyway.
• Instead of using drop-down for the expiration date, just let your customers type as they have already started typing for the credit card number anyway.
• Provide a visual aid on where to find the security code, something that first-time payers may not be familiar with.

You may also implement other payment options such as cash on delivery, but make sure you study whether this is really something you can commit with. If you decide to also offer COD, then you will have to consider this when you deal with potential courier partners. COD is risky, but can also help you tap customers who do not have credit cards.

7. Use Progress Indicator during Checkout

One of the reasons why customers abandon their carts is because of complicated checkout processes. A lot complain of being unable to tell just when their purchase will finally be completed. Some abandon their carts just as they are almost done.

To counter this, providing a progress indicator can help. This informs your customers just how many steps are needed to complete the purchase. Just remember that the process itself should be very brief because an indicator itself would not help out if the checkout process is really long.

More than anything, the progress indicator should be able to show that the checkout process is simple, and that your customers are almost done, and their purchase would be completed.

Design your Checkout Process for Ease

The seven tips above are geared to help make your checkout process a lot easier for your customers. Doing this, you will be able to prevent cart abandonment caused by a tedious checkout process. In its own right, an easy checkout process promotes higher conversion.

So follow the tips above so that you can see the results they bring. Always remember that online shopping has reached its status by providing convenience so it is always best to find ways to make it even more convenient. All the facets of online shopping should be improved, and the checkout process is just one of them.