Why is there a compelling need for an ecommerce mobile app?

Are you an online business owner looking to reinforce your customer base and give your brand the extra boost? An ecommerce mobile app could help you in racking up elevated profits and augment your client base. Incidentally, all your prospective consumers spend a considerable amount of time on their mobile phones and keep a look out for all their necessities. Studies prove that people prefer mobile searches when compared to their desktop or laptop due to the -convenience of usage.

Based on a survey by Statista, “the number of smartphone users around the world reached 2.32 billion at the end of 2017 and will increase to 2.87 billion by 2020.”

In order to survive the cut throat competition online business owners are compelled to develop an engaging and a custom made eCommerce mobile app to suit their customer base.

Why is an eCommerce mobile app important for your retail business?

• Uses prefer app rather than browsers:

The preference of mobile apps to browsers is not a surprise. Shoppers who are first time online users intending to make a purchase, find it easy to access the mobile app and complete their purchase. They need not key-in a URL to visit the online store. Therefore, this comfort attracts a larger set of users towards retail mobile apps. Consumers who spend their time over mobiles will definitely not ignore engaging apps thereby increasing prospective leads.

• Customer loyalty:

According to a research done by Criteo, users who download and access your mobile app are twice as likely to come back within 30 days when compared to users on mobile browsers.

This is because when they have your icon on their mobile phones, your presence is always felt. Whenever they have an urge to make a purchase, your mobile app becomes the first option for them to access easily. With a mobile app, you improve your brand presence amongst the customer base.

There are also multiple ways you could improve customer loyalty with mobile apps. Let us see some options here. Target customers through personalized content based on their previous purchase history and eventually, improve your conversion. Formulate a rewards system in place to motivate customers to come back. Furthermore, provide freebies or discount on specific purchases. Provide a round the clock support for your products. Undoubtedly, this is critical for your brand image and customer satisfaction.

• Decreased response time:

The point on seamless customer support does not end with what was discussed above. Though mobile apps function while connecting to servers, they take a good ten minutes lesser to retrieve data. This improves the speed of the app and result in happy customers.

• UI/UX:

A user-friendly navigation can helps customers to easily locate what they are searching for. Also, mobile screens may not accommodate several ads and banners which reduces distraction and enables customers for an easy checkout and focused purchases.

According to a research by Criteo, mobile apps have a positive impact on the percentage of users who complete purchases. Customers viewing your products through mobile apps browse through 4.6 times as many products when compared to mobile desktops. Also, the average order value in apps is 140% and 130% higher than mobile sites and desktops.

• Better engagement:

With mobile apps you could use your customer’s mobile devices to your advantage.

Devices like the GPS can help you get information about the customer’s location. You could track their address eliminating the need for them to enter the address manually. You could direct them to the nearest physical store if required for purchases. You could encourage customers to use their microphone for making a voice search which will consume less time and simplify searches. Users can take product photographs with their cameras, upload it and share it across social media channels which will add real-time value to your marketing.

What are the benefits derived from custom mobile apps?

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• Any business can connect to customers only if the user wishes to do so like visiting a website, searching for products and so on. However, with a custom mobile app, businesses can pitch the lead and remain in touch with their customers by sending appropriate notifications and alerts.
• The custom apps are SEO friendly which would help websites to rank higher on Google. Also, it will give an overview to business owners about their stand in the market space too.
• Custom apps come with a plethora of add-on features taking charge of the look, navigation, catalog listing and so on. With such options, the retailers are definitely at an advantage.
• They are easy to use and understand which attracts customers to come back for more every time. With its tracking ability, custom apps can also target returning customers and keep feeding them with relevant information about products.
• Analytics is an integral part of such custom apps which is a huge aspect to be taken care of by retailers. With this feature, business owners can get first-hand information about their online performance; identify bottlenecks in a timely manner and also inputs on how to rectify them.

Such being the potential list of capabilities, why would any retailer miss out on gaining the maximum from it?

Wrap Up:

It isn’t a child’s play to have an ecommerce store up and running successfully. It is all about seizing the right opportunities and making the most of it- mobile apps being one such potential opportunity. Have you planned your roadmap to success yet?