With Christmas looming, consumer-facing organisations of all kinds have ramped up their marketing campaigns and honed their web content, keen to capitalise on the seasonable peak in spending, borrowing and holiday planning. But if retailers are to maximise their online sales this Christmas, then they need to provide their customers with access to their stores both online and via mobile.

eCommerce strategies are now more sophisticated than ever, as retailers discover the value of true personalisation online, leveraging real-time insight into each customer’s known interests and needs to optimise content and offers and drive greater long term brand engagement and loyalty. However, creating the right mobile offer, with the same highly effective personalisation, requires more than simply translating the existing web site to support mobile devices.

With the mobile channel taking an ever-increasing proportion of online revenue, it is essential for organisations to come to terms with the challenges and opportunities associated with mobile retailing. The speed of development is far outpacing that of the online channel, putting greater pressure on marketers to meet the needs of an ever more demanding and sophisticated consumer audience.

With that in mind, here are 10 top tips for boosting mobile retailing this Christmas:

Customise your offering
Simply creating a cut-down version of the website for a mobile platform is not enough. The site must reflect the advantages and limitations of the mobile platform, exploiting the growing consumer commitment to mobile commerce.

Size does matter
With a much smaller screen, retailers need to be far more precise and accurate in how they present content.

Make it personal
By utilising personalisation techniques, you can ensure that the right content and offers are put in front of the customer in the right format at the right time.

Keep your customers interested
Retailers have about seven seconds to capture the attention of an online visitor and engage their interest. So think about page load times, which are generally slower on mobiles than on the web, and the number of steps you put a visitor through. Don’t let someone bounce off your mobile site because it takes too long to download a complex page or render a flashy product image!

Testing, testing
Leverage multivariate testing to ensure your mobile site is developed correctly. Testing a mobile site is not a ‘once and you’re done’ project. Like your main website, it too is at the mercy of the ever changing demands and requirements of your customers. Be sure to continually test the mobile site and give it the attention that its online counterpart receives to ensure you are driving desired customer behaviour.

Keep innovating
Consider the use of new techniques such as location based services to entice customers and enhance their mobile retailing experience.

Know your audience
Make smart decisions about which new techniques to focus on. For example, augmented reality using the mobile’s camera can be compelling – but is it really relevant to your customers?

Keep it consistent
Consumers expect a consistent brand experience irrespective of what device they are using. Any personalisation on the mobile site must be mirrored on other channels, including tablet specific sites and the main website – and vice versa.

Shopping insight
Use the customer’s mobile interaction to gain further insight into their behaviour and shopping habits. This can then be used to plan for future campaigns and mobile content.

Get ready for the January sales
Many consumers are now spending just as much money in the New Year as they are in the build up to Christmas. Make sure you are able to hit the ground running in January with fresh mobile content and product offers in order to stand out from the crowd. Remember to use live testing to help determine which offers have the most positive impact on your sales.

Wayne Morris is UK general manager at Maxymiser