Indian mobile websites score high on Product and Mobile Page design (80%), Findability (69%), and Registration and Conversion (73%) but speed is low (55%)
With the rising influence of mobile, consumer experience is playing a critical role in mobile-commerce. Mobile sites have become important storefronts for brands, and customers’ buying decisions are determined by seamless search and purchase journeys on their devices. However, are Indian mobile websites equipped to handle consumer need? Do they offer coherent search and purchase paths? Do they match international standards and apply global best practices?
Today, Google India released a Google-commissioned study from Accenture Interactive benchmarking over 110 Indian mobile websites across three verticals – financial services, retail and commerce, and travel. The study aimed to rate them against specific attributes, viz. Findability, Product Page Design, Registration and Conversion, Mobile Design and Speed. The study found that on average, Indian mobile websites score very well on Product and Mobile Page design (80%), Findability (69%), and Registration and Conversion (73%). However, they fell behind when it comes to Speed, scoring only 55% compared with other Asia-Pacific mobile sites. The study further found that average mobile site performance for the retail sector is highest at 70%, whereas, the travel and finance sectors stood at 65% and 63% respectively.
According to the study, brands that are unable to prioritize great mobile experiences run the risk of poor conversions. The study states that 86% of Indian consumers are likely to make purchases on mobile sites that have made search and purchase processes seamless. If not, brands face 20% drop in conversions for every second of delay in mobile page load-time and 53% consumers leave a mobile site that takes longer than three seconds to load.
Sharing insights on how brands can improve their mobile webpage speed, Vikas Agnihotri, Country Director – Sales, Google India said, “Smartphones are a catalyst for consumers to research and carry out commerce online today. It’s up to marketers to prioritize a seamless mobile web experience to retain consumers with content and speed. Brands must counter the top three barriers of slow speed, slow server times and lack of caching policy, to build a strong connection with their consumers, improve conversions and build stickiness.”
