Why Retail Companies are now starting to invest on mobile app development?

Why Retail Companies are now starting to invest on mobile app development?

The number of consumers using mobile apps are exponentially increasing every single day. About 54% of customers prefer mobile apps to mobile sites. Mobile apps are a boon both to the consumer as well as the retailer, with the later getting ample chances to stamp their brand in their customer's head and increasing the life time value of every customer who download their app. To expand your retail business globally, it is a great idea to start thinking about developing your very own retail app.

Why develop retail mobile apps?

Growth of mobile apps in e-commerce:

A recent survey has mentioned that there is an overall 30% increase in e-commerce due to the increased use of mobile apps. Consumers demand engaging apps that provide useful information and the ones which end up saving their costs considerably. Developing your own mobile app for your brand is vital as it helps you to boost your revenue and also helps in moving your business forward. Mobile apps help you to increase your customer base and engagement to a great extent.

An average mobile user spends 201.8 minutes per month visiting retail apps.Consumers prefer mobile apps to mobile websites as they provide the best user experience.The main reason mobile apps surpass mobile websites are as follows,


About 63% of consumers felt that mobile apps were convenient to use.

About 57% of consumers felt that mobile apps were fast and the loading time is quick.

About 40% of consumers felt that mobile apps provided user settings and saved them.

About 31% of consumers were benefited and rewarded just for using the app.

Ways to drive traffic to your retail mobile app:

Understanding your Shopper: Before developing your app, it is important to consider the following,

The app should be appealing to all customers,

The interface of the app should be designed in such a way that it doesn't frustrate the customer.

User experience is the key to drive sales. At the end of the day all that matters is finding your customer's exact needs and fulfilling them accordingly.

Invest in building a user friendly mobile app

Build a responsive mobile app. The navigation time between each and every window should be quick and simple. Customers get frustrated if it takes forever to get a response from a window. Walk in your customer's shoes so as to know whether your customer might like your app or not. Design each and every element in your app so that everything is very appealing to your customer. Use high definition images in your app's interface so as to make it more attractive and pleasant. Let your creative juices flow while developing your app's layout.

Rewards:

Use geo – location technology to offer deals, discounts, reward points etc to your customer. This strategy surely captivates the customers and drives sales. Reward your customers with discounts, special offers, deals etc by telling them to share their positive experience they had on purchasing from your app on social media. This way, you can take care of your social marketing as well as satisfy your customer.

Prioritize your customer needs:

Provide your customer with a variety of options. Customers tend to like online stores that offers numerous selections and are more likely to return because of it. Provide them with additional features like when the item has to be delivered, different methods for payment and always ensure security. Design advanced options for shoppers who are in need of filtering and sorting particular products. Don't always relay on generic templates but start using customised templates so as to stand out from other retail apps.

Enhance your mobile app performance

Enhance your mobile app's performance by collecting statistics and data on user's purchase, preferred products and how they use your app. Collect feedback from customers, doing so can help you improve your services. Taking into account such information might increase the efficiency of your apps and helps you to sustain in the market for longer periods.

Checkout process

Customers become frustrated if the checkout process is complex and long, try to keep the checkout process as simple and quick as possible. Keep the checkout button readily available even if the user had no intention to add the item in the cart. Don't try to pester the customer into registering an account mandatory as customers feel frustrated wasting their time. The more you waste your customer's time, there are more chances that the customer opts for another online retail app which is simple and quick to shop.

Upcoming trends in retail app:

Push Notifications: Push notifications are messages that pop in your mobile phones. Push notifications increases app engagement by letting the user know about offers in stores nearby their location, downloading a coupon etc. Push notifications provide a new marketing strategy by sending marketing messages to customers. Push notifications are generated by keeping track of the user's searches, history, purchases etc. Daily notifications about your brand boosts sales. With more apps being introduced each and every day, the stakes are set high so as to maintain a level of engagement between you and your user. Push notifications boosts your engagement. A recent survey has mentioned that push notifications increased 88% app engagement. Personalised push notifications have higher click throughs. Push notifications are not ignored like your inbox emails instead they have higher click throughs and they increase your app installations.

Beacon Technology:

Beacon technology allows the retailers to know the exact position of their customers and it also sends out push messages to the customer promoting sales by offering discounts, deals, free coupons etc. Beacon technology helps to improve sales, marketing and customer engagement. Beacon technology uses Bluetooth low energy to seek out apps and send instant messages to shoppers. A survey conducted by https://www.swirl.com/ mentioned that 73% of shoppers who received a beacon triggered message said that they were interested in purchasing the product, 60% of shoppers engage with beacon triggered messages, 61% of the shoppers felt the need to visit the store more often.

Augmented Reality:

Augmented reality provides high definition graphics along with audio and other sensory enhancements. A recent survey by retailperceptions mentioned that 71% of shoppers felt the need for augmented reality so as to ensure the feel of the product in their environment and to select different colours before purchasing the product. Augmented Reality allows you to explore a varied range of options in your product and it also allows customised modifications. For example, buying something like a shoe online is pretty scary, but by using augmented reality, you can purchase the perfect shoes according to your shoe size, try on different colours and then get a clear idea before you buy the exact one you love.

A recent survey by http://www.retailperceptions.com/ has predicted that augmented and virtual reality technology might yield a profit of $ 120 billion. You can modify and see 3d figures and holograms using augmented reality in your smartphones and tablets. A recent survey has predicted that by 2018, the number of augmented reality users is expected to reach 200 million.

In-app mobile payments

For your customers to have a happy shopping experience, integrate a proper mobile payment method in your app. In-app mobile payments offers one-click checkouts as they provide quick and simple transactions.

Here are a few apps to integrate along with your app,Research done by http://www.parksassociates.com/ proves that PayPal is the leading mobile payment app.


70% of mobile app consumers use PayPal.

30% of mobile app consumers use apple pay app.

25% of mobile app consumers use android pay app.

20% of mobile app consumers use chase pay app.

18% of mobile app consumers use Samsung pay app.

Conclusion:

We hope that you really enjoyed reading some useful information in here. When it comes to developing mobile apps for retail stores, we equatortek are one of the best in business as we understand how to create engaging apps which deliver awesome User Experiences and drive sales for your business. Please leave your feedback and do contact us in case you decide to develop an app. Cheers!!

Posted by admin  Posted on 2017-08-02 

Post Comments 0

Drop us a line

Please correct the following errors and try again:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get in Touch With Us Now

Contact Now
Get a Quote