LAS VEGAS -
Although auto-related mobile websites are accessed by less than a fifth of in-market vehicle shoppers, the popularity of smartphones keeps on growing. So, these sites are likely to gain more traction, according to J.D Power and Associates director of automotive research Arianne Walker.
With that in mind, however, there are a few mobile-website strategies that must be remembered in order to successfully bring in customers, Walker said in an address at the 2010 J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Internet Roundtable last week in Las Vegas.
“Currently, fewer than 20 percent of in-market automotive shoppers visit an automotive website from their mobile device, but this figure is expected to increase accordingly as the proliferation of smartphones continues,” Walker noted.
“Having a mobile site isn’t enough; mobile sites with satisfying usability help increase the likelihood of shoppers to test drive, thus driving traffic to the dealership — which is the ultimate goal of a website,” Walker added.
J.D. Power argues that there is a great deal of improvement that can be made for OEM and third-party mobile sites, particularly the latter, as they often have low satisfaction rates, J.D. Power noted.
So what best practices can be utilized to improve the design of mobile sites? The presentation shared a few:
—The homepage of a mobile site should offer access to all the same features that are available from the brand’s traditional website and limit the number of screens the user must navigate to access detailed model-level information.
—Despite the limited screen space available on a mobile device, vehicle images on a mobile website should be large and of high quality. Large images allow shoppers to see details of a model’s design and features. In addition, navigation through photo galleries should be simple.
—Successful mobile websites establish a visual focal area using a large image that doesn’t distract from navigation elements. This makes a site more visually attractive while still keeping navigation intuitive.
—Reduce the number of clicks and amount of scrolling it takes to get to relevant information is critical. Requiring an excessive number of clicks may discourage shoppers from researching further.
—Text on a mobile site should be thorough, yet concise, and formatted in either bulleted lists or very short paragraphs for easy reading.
—Make the most of limited screen space by devoting space to product information rather than marketing messages. Limited model information does not help the shopper with their shopping research.
“When designing mobile sites, marketers should focus on the same basic principles that drive satisfaction with traditional websites — information and content; navigation; appearance; and speed," said Walker.
“Fortunately for marketers, this means they don’t have to start from ground zero — they can take what they’ve learned from designing their traditional site and implement those best practices on their mobile site,” she continued.
Continuing on, J.D. Power also shared some of the other mobile-website trends discussed in the presentation.
For instance, when considering the consumers who have done any auto-related mobile website browsing, J.D. Power found that OEM and third-party mobile sites have greater popularity compared to dealer or auto enthusiast sties.
Interestingly enough, this same pool of consumers places just as much emphasis on going after what J.D. Power called “upper-funnel” data — meaning things like photographs, reviews and comparison — on smartphones as they do researching “lower-funnel” data, meaning things like prices and store locations.
Taking a look at the pool of consumers using mobile devices for auto shopping, the proportion claiming to have downloaded an "auto-related" app is about a fifth, officials said.
However, most of the crowd who have downloaded a mobile app said they would rather use mobile websites to gather vehicle information.