Shopping search engine ShopWiki saw a jump in mobile user click-through rates and weekend traffic from mobile devices following the redesign of its Web site using responsive design earlier this year.  

ShopWiki reports that mobile click-through rates increased by 24 percent in the United States after a responsive design site was launched. Additionally, the company reports that mobile traffic jumped significantly during the first eight months of the year, with its U.S. site now receiving 31 percent more mobile traffic on the weekends compared with weekdays.

“Responsive makes sense for us since such a significant percentage of our visits use smartphones,” said  James Keating, general manager for ShopWiki and the retail group at Oversee.net, New York. “ The percentage of our mobile visits doubled week to week last Black Friday, and has been increasing ever since then.  

“Mobile responsive Web will format the content to smartphones so that users can better see and engage with the content,” he said. “We also feature the content that is most important to a shopper when they are on the move.

“Ultimately, we want to help a shopper who is in a store, or otherwise on the go, be able to make easy, informed decisions about products they want to buy.”

Showrooming a trend
ShopWiki reports similar increases for its European sites, with the mobile click-through rate for its Dutch site increasing 25 percent after the responsive design site was launched while its British site saw a 16 percent increase.

In terms of mobile traffic, the Dutch site is receiving 28 percent more mobile traffic on weekend days and its British version 26 percent more.

The increases in mobile traffic on the weekends suggest that shoppers may be using the site when they are inside a store to help them compare prices with other retailers.

“Mobile usage increases on the weekends since shoppers move from online to offline as they look at products in the store, and wonder if the price is right,” Mr. Keating said. “With the responsive version of our Web site, we service those price shopping in a store – called showrooming – on weekends better.”

Prioritizing mobile
ShopWiki is also working on an iOS app that includes a bar code scanner.

ShopWiki operates online shopping Web sites in 11 countries in North America, Europe and Australia. The sites help users find the best prices and deals on 244 million products at 162,000 online stores.

The results reported by the shopping search engine in mobile point to the need for merchants to provider shoppers with a site design and layout that conforms to their screen size.

“Mobile experiences for retail purchases are no longer optional, and shoppers expect search sites like ours, as well as retailers, to provide them a site that is usable on a mobile phone, but also to feature the information that is most relevant,” Mr. Keating said. “Prioritizing the product images, store name, and prices over other elements of our site was a part of our success.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York