Search
“ Mobile is a transformative technology . As our percentage of customers adopting mobile continues to grow , mobile can no longer be a limited subset of features or products . And we think with clever use of functions and design , it is possible to give mobile customers 100 %.”
Paul Cousineau , Director Mobile Shopping , Amazon . com , No . 1 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Mobile 500
“% of retail apps users who engaged in the type of activities in the past 30 days : Make a purchase online ( 58 %); Look for info about a specific product / service ( 56 %); Browsing ( 54 %); Make a purchase offline ( 35 %); Look for something nearby ( 35 %); Find opinions of reviews from others ( 34 %); Manage or check my account ( 21 %).”
U . S . Consumer Mobile Apps Study , 2014 , Google / Ipsos MediaCT
The focus at this stage is to enable people to use your app in the way that they intend to . An excellent search facility will help users find what they want quickly and easily , in order to satisfy their needs and drive conversion . In our experience , app search has a far higher conversion rate than non-search app usage , reflecting the higher intent of the shopper . There are a number of ways to enable search , from keyword to product scanning and image search .
“ 47 % of respondents prefer apps - versus a mobile website - when they want information quickly .”
App-Nesia in the UK : The Need for Re-Engagement Marketing , 2015
Search is displayed prominently ( e . g . at top of screen )
If search is a primary function of your app display it prominently , as it can be the fastest route to discovery for users with high intent to convert . eCommerce apps should feature search at the top of their home screen ( and if the home screen is long , repeat it at the bottom ). For apps with huge inventory , displaying the search field by default would ensure it is both obvious and fast to use .
And , provide a prompt to search , which can be a call-to-action to the user and can clarify what to input , e . g . product , brand , category , ID number , etc . ( See image 12 ) image 12
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