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Most of us carry around a mobile phone in our pocket that has the computing power of what main frames had back in the day. We rely on these devices to perform many tasks including---shopping.
It was a surprise for your WPG correspondent to learn that a growing number of consumers around the world are using mobile devices including smart phones and tablets to shop and to buy stuff.
The trend is global but folks in some countries are more avid than others. Mainland Chinese make more such purchases than shoppers of any other country. According to one source, 33 percent of all e-commerce orders were placed through a mobile device instead of a desktop computer.
Interesting, you might conclude, but so what? Well, if you've been following this series if blogs, you know that e-commerce, including the cross border variety, is growing at warp speed. You also know that you can dip a toe in this revenue ocean if you have a site and a WPG membership.
But what if your product photos look great on a regular computer screen but squeezed or amateurish on a smaller smart phone screen? Your high tech medical device looks like a cheap microwave oven, your smoked almonds like flattened cow dung. You, dear readers, have committed the cardinal sin of e-commerce. You've perpetrated a bad customer experience.
Worse, you may not even know it. Instead, you'll do the digital equivalent of the perp walk, waiting for that customer to show interest in your wares. And waiting. And waiting.
You may have already done an audit of your website for mobile friendliness. If not here are some things to check on.
Simplicity
Keep the design simple and the pages easy to navigate. Use warm colors and avoid gimmicks like text that pulsates, objects that spin. Keep in mind that English is a second language for your international visitor. Simplicity, brevity and clarity are good design principles for all visitors.
Video is good if it's good video
Don't use video just for the sake of having it. Keep videos short and make sure they have good audio, which usually entails pinning a mic to the speaker's collar. Avoid cheap special effects where objects zoom in and out. You may like them but viewers aren't impressed.
Test before you trust
Look at your site on your wireless devices. If the text is hard to read, the photos don't render well, or the video doesn’t play, hire a consultant to get the design right. Such consultants are plentiful; but be sure to check samples of previous work--on a wireless device.
Checkout the checkout
Provide a currency calculator so buyers from other countries don't have to search the Internet for one. Collect only the minimum amount if information in order to prevent data entry frustration. An abandoned shopping cart, where the customer closes the browser and does not complete the transaction, is a common headache for online sellers. It's also a metric that you can access and try to figure out why you are being abandoned before the pay button is hit.
It's perfectly acceptable to use your site as a marketing vehicle while conducting transactions offline or having a third party such as WPG attract prospective buyers, conduct due diligence, and pass qualified leads to you. Customers, especially those seeking to distribute your products in quantity in their market, will want you or your staff member's personal involvement in the transaction. The smaller company excels at this kind of customer service, and some buyers love and expect it.
So how many tasks your web site can perform depends on your products and how scalable you want production and sales to be. If you want to sell and collect payment on your site you’ll need apps that are readily available in the e-commerce marketplace.
| Product Model | Inside Diameter | Outside Diameter | Thickness |
| HK1012 NTN | 10 | 14 | 12 |
| BK1010 NTN | 10 | 14 | 10 |