Is your ecommerce site ready for mobile shoppers?

More than half of UK adults now use their smartphones to scroll online stores, making it a more popular tool for shopping than for playing music, according to a YouGov tracker.

Smartphones have become firmly implanted in many areas of life, and online shopping is no exception. While buyers of the past may have browsed catalogues, telesales, or the high street, today they expect a pocket-sized shopping experience from the comfort of their sofa.

As consumer behaviour evolves, it’s important for ecommerce retailers to keep up. In this article, we’ll explore how small retailers can adapt to stay competitive.

Why mobile shopping is now the majority

According to YouGov’s 2024 study on how Brits are using their smartphones, 55% of Brits report using them at least several times a week for online shopping. That’s around 4% more than say they use their phone for listening to music.

Experts propose that convenience and the rise of mobile pay are major driving forces behind the current dominance of mobile shopping. 

Caila Schwartz, Director of Consumer Insights at Salesforce, explained to Reuters, “What we’ve always seen is this gap between shoppers looking and browsing from their phones, but then they go back to their computers and buy.” 

She added that this gap is shrinking as retailers introduce mobile-specific features like digital wallets (options like Apple Pay and Google Pay), store billing and shipping details for loyalty members, and personalised product recommendations.

Faster checkouts, tailored recommendations, and all-hours availability means there are fewer barriers standing in the way of shoppers hitting ‘checkout’. And, because phones are always within reach, casual scrolling can easily turn into an impulse buy.

The trend reflects a broader shift towards digital-first shopping habits, including social commerce, which is particularly prevalent among younger consumers. 

Women and young people more likely to shop on mobile

YouGov reports that women are more avid mobile shoppers, with 60% using their phones for online shopping, compared to a still-significant 50% of men. 

Talking age, 65% of 25-49-year-olds and 57% of 50–64-year-olds say they shop online via their phones. The figure drops sharply after 65, with only 35% of older smartphone users using their devices for shopping, according to YouGov.

Armed with this data, ecommerce retailers can tailor mobile-first marketing to the right audiences. The beauty of mobile commerce is that it offers built-in channels such as targeted SMS and push notifications. 

You can also roll out social commerce campaigns on platforms like Instagram or TikTok, where audiences tend to skew younger and female.

While older shoppers and men are slower to hop on the mobile shopping trend, adoption is steadily increasing across all groups compared to previous years. Regardless of age or gender, all customers now expect a seamless mobile shopping experience as standard.

How do you get your site mobile-ready?

Many sites still fall short of mobile-readiness, with slow loading times, clunky navigation, and frustrating checkout experiences on small screens, which easily drive shoppers away. 

Mobile shoppers have an increasingly short attention span, and any inconvenience can result in abandoned carts. They may be more likely to abandon their shopping carts due to high shipping costs, forced sign-ups, or app downloads.

For SMEs, this can mean lost sales, wasted ad spend, and customers that may not return. To get it right, test your site pre-launch with tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and take advantage of mobile optimisation features on ecommerce platforms like Shopify.

Even simple fixes, such as offering guest checkout, faster loading pages, and smoother checkouts, can significantly boost conversions and customer satisfaction.