Are the UKâs top mobile sites really usable?

Econsultancy put out a great article last week: ‘How Usable are the UK’s Top Mobile Sites’. It referenced stats just released from IMRG and Experian Hitwise showing the ten most popular mobile retail sites in the UK and asking the question – are the most popular mobile sites the most mobile optimized sites?

The results were interesting…

The good:

• Amazon
• Debenhams
• John Lewis

The average:

• Tesco has useful mobile apps and site but could streamline the checkout process for mobile
• M&S have been pioneers in mobile but still have work to do around QR and there seems to be issues around having to enter information twice and not being entirely streamlined for mobile purchasing
• New Look has a good site but some issues identified in the checkout process

The bad:

• Next has a mobile optimized site but no automatic redirect in place so it’s basically useless because no average consumer thinks to type in a mobile URL
• Argos has had mobile apps and sites for a while but when browsing on the mobile site it requires you to download the app which is a confusing user experience
• Asos has a site that is usable but has inconsistent navigation and a lengthy checkout process.

In summary, most of the top sites are doing ok but checkout seems to be a common problem with over-long forms, compulsory registration, and poor usability.

Mobile now accounts for 20% of the UK online retail market and that’s up from less than 1% in 2010. If retailers want to keep up with sales they need to work harder to get mobile optimised on all fronts (discovery, search, purchase) and work harder to optimize the mobile experience.

What do you think? Have you seen any mobile retail sites you’ve been particularly impressed with?