The pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns taught us to work remotely. Society, our Clients, and ourselves were not aware of the power and possibilities that modern technological solutions give us all, including, of course, mobile products such as stores in the form of mobile apps. During consecutive lockdowns, we learned to use online shopping more efficiently and the possibility of remote meal ordering. Each of us has made up our minds about the digital products that we used the most. We made this kind of revision and selection of our favourite digital tools. Now that the economy is trying to get back to its original state, it’s worth revising your sales tools and making sure they’re working properly. Especially since the next lockdown is probably approaching, caused by the re-increase of Covid-19 infections.

EU Digital COVID Certificate

The smartphone that we carry in our pocket is not only a communication tool but also identifies our health state. In several countries of Western Europe, the identification of each person through the EU COVID Certificate is becoming a common solution. To enter a restricted public space in Italy, each person must present a certificate of vaccination or convalescent status*. Recently, during my holidays in Italy, I had the opportunity to experience this process more than once. My biggest surprise was when trying to enter the McDonalds restaurant, which was located inside the train station in Milan, I had to present the EU COVID Certificate. During the holidays abroad, my smartphone no longer only served as a communication tool or a camera but also guaranteed the ability to use commercial public spaces freely. 

*source: Covid travel in the EU

Pass to normality

Similar solutions may also be introduced in Poland soon. The smartphone will gain another important role – it will simply be a gateway to normality. Despite many controversies related to this, paradoxically, this is good news in the context of the marketing space. Our/your clients will become even more familiar with the daily use of the possibilities offered by mobile technologies. I honestly admit that after my recent experiences on holidays abroad, I stopped carrying my wallet with me. Thanks to the mObywatel application, I have digital versions of all of the necessary documents with me, confirming my identity, including, of course, my EU Digital COVID Certificate. In addition, I use the digital version of the payment card in the MyWallet app and I no longer need to carry cash on me. At the same time, I choose stores where this form of payment is accepted. Of course, this doesn’t always work. There are situations when cash is the only possible form of payment, then I usually have an additional trip to an ATM (where I can use BLIK to withdraw money without the necessity of carrying a plastic card in my wallet). However, we can confidently say that in the vast majority of facilities in Poland, contactless payments became the standard and if a place doesn’t use this technology, then (at least in my eyes) its days are numbered.

New standards

The smartphone hasn’t been a standard since today. But quite recently, for the majority of society, a smartphone has become a standard in the areas of everyday life, such as online shopping, remote meal ordering, and, above all, it becomes a new proof of not only identity but our health state. All these new standards mean that technological solutions in your companies (e-commerce stores, mobile applications, remote management systems) should also go hand in hand with a new chapter in the evolution of a smartphone. If your e-commerce store does not meet the standards set by the biggest players in the industry – it will die a slow death.

UX Audit 

The marketing space has an extensive set of tools that can improve the results in your sales or image products. Regardless of which one you choose, each task aimed at improving or optimizing sales should be preceded by Expert Analysis, the results, and recommendations of which are included in the UX Audit. In The Humans, each UX Audit we carry out includes a set of specific recommendations that, when implemented, will increase conversion in your e-commerce store, mobile application, or other systems. They are a kind of QuickWins. If the UX Audit is additionally supplemented with a Qualitative Research or Research Workshop on representatives of your target group (from 8 to 10 people), the results and recommendations may contribute to the recovery of as much as 10% of abandoned purchasing processes (more about it here). According to a study by SaleCycle, as many as 8 out of 10 online store transactions remain unsettled. It’s a lot. You can safely conclude that instead of focusing on acquiring new leads/customers, it is worth looking at the processes that are already taking place in your sales paths. Expert analysis will allow you to identify errors and problems that occur in them. In addition, the conducted qualitative research will allow you to determine the needs of your customers in terms of their experiences in the mobile space of your products or services. Many of our clients have found out about it, for whom The Humans conducted a UX Audit and organized a Quality Survey. One of the last brands whose sales and image results have increased dramatically after implementing the recommendations from our UX Audit is the Eurocash Group in its Delikatesy Centrum app.

To sum up

The evolution of the smartphone continues. Each new role we give it (as developers and users of the application) makes it a tool without which normal functioning in society won’t be possible. For brands with their products, for service providers focused on increasing and improving sales results, UX optimization should be a constant element of product development. Read our original E-commerce Report 2021 to find out what the latest data for online sales look like. You will learn what you can do to increase conversion in your online store. You will also check what a real, professional UX Report should look like.