PALM SPRINGS, CA – A Zappos executive during the Mobile Shopping Summit 2016 explicated that while mobile micromoments are fleeting, retailers need to fine-tune every inch of the customer journey to make these moments impactful.

During the session “Win The Shift To Mobile Through Immediate, Relevant & Frictionless Micromoments,” the executive stressed how important it is to get every detail right to make the experience helpful to the customer. Retailers should map out their customer journey and determine which micromoments are important for their business, and make sure that everything is completely optimized from big things such as features working properly to the little things such as font and size.

“Go over your customer journey and figure out how the customer figure out about you, how they purchase from you,” said Aki Iida, head of mobile at Zappos. “All of these opportunities support these micromoments and you need to understand your customers needs in that moment.

“So you have to design these moments and make sure they are as efficient as they can be,” he said.

Mobile micromoments
Consumers of today have small moments throughout their days in which they could possibly interact with a brand or retailer. These companies can make a huge impression, usher in new customers and drive sales if they can map out the customer journey in a fine-tuned optimized manner.

Micromoments can be defined by various categories such as looking for information, seeking a nearby location, search for instructions on how to do something and browsing to buy something. These moments can happen throughout the day when customers are waiting in line, in the bathroom, bored while out to dinner, etc.

While many retailers are doing mobile, it will be the ones who master these micromoments and understand the customer’s needs in those moments who win out. Retailers can leveraging data and individual information to deliver a highly contextual experience.

For instance, if a customer is walking by a bricks-and-mortar location, a retailer can serve them relevant deals based on their past purchasing history of which they can use immediately in store. Not only does this make the experience more personal and relevant for the customer, it can streamline driving sales.

Tying the picture together
While each micromoment is fleeting, retailers need to make sure that a wide range of variables are tied together to make sure the moment is optimized and relevant. For instance, when consumers are looking for an answer, they should not have to wade through an excessive amount of information to find what they want and helpful and interesting features need to be visible to them so users know that they are there.

Recently, Zappos developed a Snapchat filter to maximize awareness on Cyber Monday in an attempt to drive sales with millennials and those who are likely to be online shopping.

Consumers shopping for digital deals on Cyber Monday are also likely to be using social media applications such as Snapchat, and Zappos was looking to drive users to its online store through its filter. On Cyber Monday, many users on Snapchat shared images of themselves with friends featuring the Zappos logo, spreading awareness and positive brand sentiment (see more).

“If your customer wants to search for a particular product make sure that they can get to your content quickly,” Mr. Iida said. “Make sure that all the information that is relevant to them can be accessed without having to go through tons of literature and tons of unnecessary content.”