People are increasingly using their smartphones as a replacement for desktop computers, even for activities such as shopping and purchasing. And as more people move away from the desktop and onto mobile-optimized websites to shop for products and services, website creators can use established design patterns to help kickstart a mobile e-commerce project.

Having a good mobile e-commerce experience matters a lot. In fact, recent research has found that people are 67% more likely to make a purchase if a website they’ve reached on their phone is smartphone-friendly.

The power of design patterns is that they show you how other designers have solved similar problems so that you are not always reinventing the wheel. They also enable you to design your website in a way that meets the expectations that people develop from the other websites they’ve used, and they encourage you to consider design approaches that you would not have thought of on your own.

The example in this article are drawn from mobile website that run in smartphone browsers. Most are taken from large multi-department retailers because they have large product catalogs that require a thoughtful approach to features such as search and filtering and sorting of search results. There are also countless native apps for e-commerce.

Gamification is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior. The rewards or the spirit of competition can spur customers’ concentration and interest and lead to more effective sales. The use of gamification is starting in the business area, from extra-sales awards and level customer status. Although gamification can be deceptively difficult to employ effectively, it has the potential to help build connections among members of the business, drawing in customers, supporting collaboration, and engendering interest in products/services that customers might not have otherwise explored. Gamification offers businesses numerous creative opportunities to enliven their instruction with contests, leader boards, or badges that give customers opportunities for recognition and a positive attitude of the company.