This one is a classic. Analytics revealed a 40% drop-off rate when users loaded high-image auction pages on mobile. It was especially true for auction houses that relied heavily on nice imagery and didn't necessarily optimize their photos while creating their catalog. Some customers even uploaded large PNG.

Auction Mobility provided free custom WordPress websites as an incentive for auction houses to use our platform. Initially, we maintained three different templates tailored to various auction business models, offering flexibility but making updates and maintenance time-consuming. As demand grew, managing multiple templates became inefficient, slowing down website delivery and reducing the time available for other high-priority design tasks.

Many users struggled to understand proxy bidding, leading them to bid manually and risk missing opportunities, ultimately reducing auction house revenue. Additionally, when multiple proxy bids competed, users were often unaware they were instantly outbid, mistakenly believing they were in the lead.

Sitting next to the sales team at Auction Mobility, I often listened to their pitches and wondered how I could help them showcase our platform more effectively. We assumed that potential customers would be more engaged and inclined to convert if they saw our platform fully branded with their colors, logos, and current auction content. We believed it would create an emotional connection and increase trust in our solution.

A significant number of valuable lots remained unsold because they didn’t meet the auction house’s reserve price or lacked last-minute competitive bidding. However, analytics showed that many bidders had expressed strong interest in these lots. Auction houses lacked an efficient way to re-engage these potential buyers, leading to missed post-auction sales opportunities.

Over time, we noticed that some auction houses wanted a more integrated way to use our bidding technology. By keeping bidders on the auction house’s website, we expected higher client adoption, increased bidder engagement, and faster onboarding, as clients would feel more in control of their brand and user experience.

Timed auctions attracted many bidders but often lacked last-minute competition, leading to lower final prices. Live auctions encouraged real-time engagement but limited participation to those available at a set time. As a result, auction houses missed revenue opportunities, and bidders were frustrated when they lost items without a chance to react. A solution was needed to drive competitive bidding while maintaining accessibility.