Prioritizing mobile site performance metrics continues to pose a formidable challenge for most brands. The question arises: should the emphasis be on design, content, functionality, user experience (UX), or perhaps another aspect? With the projected doubling of mobile commerce (mCommerce) between 2019 and 2023, accounting for a substantial three-quarters of total ecommerce sales, it becomes imperative that we comprehend the interrelationship between mobile site metrics and mobile site performance.
Key findings:
Over a span of four weeks, we meticulously scrutinized mobile site data from retail, travel, luxury, and lead generation brands across Europe and the United States. The objective of this study was to isolate speed as a performance metric and determine whether there was a tangible correlation with conversion funnel progress, expenditure, page views, and bounce rates.
Based on a mere 0.1-second enhancement in natural mobile site speed, we observed the following noteworthy improvements in conversions and customer engagement:
Mobile site speed improvements exhibited a direct correlation to enhanced funnel progression.
A positive shift in the number of page views, conversion rates, and average order value across all industry verticals.
Retail conversions witnessed an upswing of 8.4%, accompanied by a 9.2% increase in average order value.
In the travel sector, conversions surged by 10.1%, while average order value experienced a moderate rise of 1.9%.
Luxury brand page views per session soared by an impressive 8.6%.
The bounce rate for lead generation information pages witnessed a commendable improvement of 8.3%.
Escalating customer expectations:
Consumer expectations have undergone a remarkable escalation over the past decade, and this trend is set to continue. In response, consumer-centricity continues to evolve as one of the most critical and influential business principles. While competition, technology, and the evolution of digital channels serve as key drivers, arguably the primary catalyst has been the heightened consumer expectations, or rather, the diminished tolerance for a subpar experience.
The need for speed:
Mounting expectations and the widespread use of smartphones are intensifying the urgency for mobile speed. To maintain a competitive edge, brands must prioritize site speed throughout their organizations. They need to embrace a mobile-first mindset, instilling the right processes and allocating resources to consistently monitor and optimize their site speed.
The competitive divide will widen between brands that offer an exceptional mobile experience and those that do not.
What should be your next steps?
Investing in mobile site speed will unlock revenue and foster brand loyalty. There is no reason why every brand offering a mobile experience cannot capitalize on these opportunities if they adopt cultural, strategic, and tactical measures.
To maintain your speed status and formulate an appropriate strategy, consider the following:
Understand the speed status: Gain insights into your site’s current performance in isolation and in comparison to your competitors.
Comprehend the potential impact of mobile site speed on the bottom line: Equipping yourself with this data will enable you to advocate for and substantiate the importance of considering speed as a primary performance metric.
Embrace a mobile-first strategy: Mobile-first, a design strategy tailored to meet the expectations of today’s consumers, holds greater relevance than the responsive approach.
Turning plans into action:
4. Recognize speed as a paramount performance metric: It is crucial to build consensus and establish speed as a priority key performance indicator (KPI) and performance metric.
Introduce a page speed budget to project teams and clients: A page speed budget, or web performance budget, encompasses a set of constraints that project teams adhere to in order to ensure that the mobile site meets performance standards and loads swiftly across various devices and platforms.
Utilize the appropriate tools effectively: Ensure that you employ suitable tools for both measurement and reporting. Your analytics package should be correctly configured, with a strong focus on conversion points, funnels, and relevant KPIs.
Foster the right culture with the right individuals: Cultivate a performance-centric culture where speed is regarded as a pivotal metric by leaders, strategists, developers, designers, content practitioners, and project managers alike.
