No matter where you go in the world today, one common behavior stands out: people shopping from their phone. Today’s mobile-first society means most online retail is accessed on mobile devices, but the vast majority of eCommerce designs still cater to desktop first and mobile second.

This creates measurable friction. Customers will leave your website when you make them pinch-zoom in to look at products, or force them to search for the cart button. This article will discuss how mobile-first design strategies can solve those problems.

It took time for the move towards mobile commerce, but once it happened, it was instant. With improved speed of smartphones and the availability of mobile payment options, consumers found themselves making their purchases solely through phones – even high-consideration purchases.

When designers follow a mobile-first strategy, they optimize the smallest screen size first and scale up from there. The restriction of screen space makes designers consider only what really adds value, making everything lean and fast.

There is another layer to the mobile-first design philosophy: performance. Internet connections through mobile networks tend to be less reliable than fixed internet services. Sites that aren’t optimized to handle such circumstances tend to underperform, leading to increased bounce rates. Google has found in its research that moving from one-second load times to three-second load times leads to a 32% increase in bounce rates. In the world of eCommerce, this translates into lost sales.