May 24, 2021
Mobile commerce took a leap over the last year as consumers embraced store pickup options and contactless payments during the pandemic. Even with growing adoption, mobile shopping faces challenges in a number of areas that need to be addressed for retailers and their customers to get full benefit from the experience.
Incognia’s “Mobile App Friction Study on mCommerce Checkout” analyzed the mobile app experience from 12 retailers: Target, Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Wayfair, Joann and Hobby Lobby.
The factors used to grade app checkout friction were:
- Time required to complete a purchase;
- The number of screens presented during the purchasing process;
- The number of clicks required to complete a purchase;
- The number of fields and checkboxes required as part of the purchase process;
- The specific payment options offered;
- Whether pick up in-store, curbside, same-day and extended delivery options were available.
Lowe’s, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and Sephora had the least m-commerce checkout friction based on the lowest combination of required clicks, screens, fields and overall purchase time.
Key findings from the report include:
- Lowest Checkout Friction (pickup purchase): Lowe’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Depot.
- Lowest Checkout Friction (delivery purchase): Sephora, Lowe’s and Home Depot.
- Four minutes: Average time to complete the checkout process for pickup orders. Joann was best at 2:41 minutes.
- 3.5 minutes: Average time to complete the checkout process for delivery orders. Hobby Lobby was best at 2:36 minutes.
- 12 fields: Average number of fields required for pickup and delivery orders. Lowe’s and Sephora were tied for the best at three fields.
- 25 clicks: Average number of clicks required for pickup orders. Lowe’s performed best with 16 clicks.
- 22 clicks: Average number of clicks required for delivery orders. Sephora performed best at 9.
Lowe’s recently upgraded its mobile checkout to improve service speed in high-traffic in-store situations as well as in outside areas such as lawn and garden. “This checkout app developed in-house is allowing us to take care of customers from scanning items, tendering payment, and printing or emailing receipts before they even join a line,” Joe McFarland, Lowe’s EVP, stores, told analysts last Wednesday on a quarterly call. “Our customers are delighted with the solution, especially on busy weekends.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What are the obvious and less obvious pain points around mobile checkout? Overall, would you rate the mobile pay process as complicated or easy?
Braintrust
“I see people struggling with mobile pay systems. It’s simple. Educate the customer and they will not only use it, they will appreciate you for showing them how.”
