Ecommerce Mobile App Development- A Detailed Guide
Technology is moving at such a pace that today even browsing eCommerce stores on desktop is outdated.
Modern businesses have to reshape their online store strategy to fit in the line of changing customers’ preferences and rapid pace of technology. Most of the retailers have already taken the road of eCommerce mobile apps, it is full of challenges though, but of course the result is worth the risk.
When we say risk, it is not about the failure or success of your eCommerce application, rather the investment on technology and the ROI you receive. Because for an application to become successful, it requires a lot of planning to maintain the balance between the technology and the consumers’ efficiency and comfort to use the technology.
“Figure out how an existing technology will shape in future and then make your decisions for eCommerce Mobile App Development”
You cannot trust how a technology will shape in the future, by simply focusing on its current pace. So, if you are planning to move ahead with your plan to build an eCommerce website or an eCommerce mobile app, it is recommended to consult a third-party technology company to put more light on the current and future prospect of a technology.
Consultation from a leading eCommerce mobile App Development Company will help you to understand how you can provide intuitive mobile app experience to your users, identify the buying behavior of the individual users, benefits of social media integrations, and online security requirements.
Why You Need a Mobile App for Your Retail Store
Today, mobile apps are dominating, mainly because of the improving Internet infrastructure and growing digital trends. Here’s some interesting facts about the rise of Mobile:
- The fact that 77% of US people own a smartphone and 53% own a tablet demonstrates the quantity of prospective M-commerce clients.
- According to statista m-commerce is a significant contributor to the US retail ecommerce market, accounting for 31% of all sales.
- In 2021, mobile commerce sales in the US were estimated to be over $360 billion and are expected to nearly double by 2025, reaching about $710 billion
- With a projected 187.5 million mobile shoppers in the US by 2024, it’s essential for companies to invest in mobile commerce strategies to stay competitive.
- Over half of smartphone users make purchases from company-specific apps, indicating that mobile apps can be an effective tool for driving sales and customer loyalty.
- 42% of smartphone users plan to increase their mobile shopping in the coming year, demonstrating the growing importance of mobile commerce as a key sales channel.
These statistics reveal that shopping online is the new favorite of online consumers, and they look forward to new features that make their shopping experience fun, easy, and cost-effective.
Modern Entrepreneurs Guide to App Development for eCommerce
Acutely planned mobile commerce solutions are essential for the successful development of the eCommerce mobile applications. There are a range of activities included in a complete online shopping transaction, beginning from the app development, pre-launch marketing, launch, marketing, selling, delivery, and servicing, and payment.
During eCommerce development, it is essential for the app development company to design an app ensuring customers’ preferences and ability to generate revenue out of the application.
Things to Consider During Development of eCommerce Mobile Application
Below is the list of 7 things to Consider During Mobile App Development so that a secure and robust system can be built to ensure high reliability and ease of use.
Business Goal
Before you begin with the eCommerce mobile application development process, be very clear with your eCommerce business goals. Of course, you want to sell a product, but the question is “how”, since most of the long-term and short-term goal-setting will be done by making the right choices when figuring out “how”.
- Increasing the average order size
- Increasing revenue categories
- Focusing on omnichannel marketing
- Delivering unique content consistently
- Increasing shares on social media
- Provide outstanding customer service
- Providing personalized experience to visitors
Set your eCommerce business goals before you begin building an online shopping app. While setting goals, give priority to your targeted audience and prepare smart branding tactics considering their choices.
Simple UI and UX Design
Designing a complex ecommerce app may seem like a good idea, but it can actually complicate the shopping process for your customers. With the average attention span of a mobile app user being only 8 seconds, it’s crucial that your app’s design is simple and user-friendly. Within these 8 seconds, a consumer needs to be able to quickly understand the text and images displayed, and make a decision about whether or not to click for more information.
This means that a cluttered or confusing app design can lead to lost sales and frustrated customers. Therefore, it’s important to prioritize a clean, easy-to-use interface and a seamless user experience to ensure your customers have a positive shopping experience and keep coming back.
Technology
This is the most complex and challenging consideration, as what you choose now will affect the future of your eCommerce Mobile App. There is a vast list of technologies, including existing and emerging that you can consider for your eCommerce application development.
Most of the time, entrepreneurs come up with the request to make an eCommerce mobile app like Amazon or flipkart. In doing so, technology is among the number of factors that they have to consider when making an eCommerce mobile app like eBay or Amazon. Here, choosing the right platform for your mobile app is crucial, along with what new technology you empower your application with. For example:
- Geofencing
This location-based service is highly popular among eCommerce companies. Geofencing works on technologies such as Beacons, RFID, GPS, and Wi-Fi. It helps in accurate targeting, enhances engagement and supports better use of data. According to a report, brands have experienced a 20% increase in their sales, after using location-based marketing.
- Chatbots
Chabot is a winning strategy in mobile app development. Based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, it helps in increasing engagement and conversion rates in mobile apps. Chatbot development is becoming a new trend, and nowadays, ecommerce companies don’t have to build a separate infrastructure for the same, instead can add one to their existing mobile app.
- Augmented Reality
This technology helps in creating an artificial environment by creating a blend of elements in the digital world and physical world. Closer the blend to the user environment, more engaging content is created for the user. Brands like Zara, Sephora, and Ray-Ban are using augmented reality features to engage their customers and increase conversion rate.
- Big Data
Growing digital footprints and emergence of data analytics technology enable online retailers to personalize in-store experience for the customers and increase conversion rate through predictive analytics. For instance, Amazon had 304 million active users in 2016, and through Big Data analysis, it can predict demands and fill out the stores with products’ customized to user’s preferences and latest trends.
- Recommended Engine
The technology is based on a complex algorithm to study the consumer behavior in terms of what might interest them, based on the ads viewed, books searched, video or job seen, and so on.
- Cloud Computing
With cloud computing, a mobile app ecosystem can be created that reduces the time for the application to respond to queries. Besides, the application uses fewer device resources yet can capture, store, and render information about users’ interactions leveraging cloud technologies.
Using these technologies enhance the user-experience, while also providing you the necessary insight into the processes.
Also Read:- Future of E-Commerce Trends To Watch In 2024
Security
In today’s digital age, mobile ecommerce solutions have become essential for businesses, but they also come with significant security risks. Customer data, including personal information and credit card details, is available on these platforms, making security of paramount importance. Cyber threats are an ever-present reality in the current internet landscape, and businesses need to ensure that their customers’ data is secure.
It is crucial to continuously focus on how eCommerce apps deal with customer data to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches. Implementing encryption technology, two-factor authentication, and intrusion detection systems can significantly enhance security. Regular monitoring, testing, and training employees on data security best practices can help prevent human errors and vulnerabilities.
Social Media Integration
When users are available on a platform, why not go there and collect the data, rather than forcing them to fill the forms on a specific platform, where they have come to shop and have fun. For this reason, social media integration with eCommerce Mobile App is important. Forcing customers to perform an action that in no way is going to benefit them is not a very great idea. Through integrating apps with the popular social media sites, we can enable the users to connect with us on different platforms but also provide us with relevant details.
Easy, Quick Checkout
One thing that is dreaded in the eCommerce application development corner is the complicated and time-consuming checkouts. Follow the latest trends for payment integration, considering what mode of payment most of your customers choose.
In-app payments in custom eCommerce apps is the latest trend, which also makes capturing of crucial transaction details easier for the eCommerce business. Besides, always provide multiple options to complete a transaction to make the checkout process easier. Recognizing the advent of mobile wallets, you can also ask your eCommerce development company to integrate mobile wallets to your online shopping apps.
Finding a Talented eCommerce Development Team
Finding the right team of eCommerce app developers largely depends on how acutely you have considered all the factors that impact building an online shopping mobile app.
Begin your search with making a list of all those factors that are crucial for mobile app development and who all can fulfill the development requirement. Make sure you have considered following factors in your list:
Size of the Product Development Team
It depends on how large or small your project is, including how many features you want in your mobile app. Based on this, you can decide how many UI/UX designers, software application developers, and marketeers you need for your eCommerce app development project. It will directly impact your budget too.
Skills and Experience
You need a product development team that has a required skill set to help you achieve your eCommerce business goals.
Consult any eCommerce top-rated mobile application Development company that has a team of talented and experienced software engineers and creative designers. To determine the same, you can do the following things:
- Check the experience in terms of technology that you want to use in your shopping application.
- Check the references to determine the relevant experience
- Learn about the approach they plan to apply for your project
- Determine how you are going to communicate if the team works from offshore
Quality Over Cost
We understand that you have dedicated a specific budget for your eCommerce design and development budget. But it is important how you set your priorities and utilize your budget. For a good quality software product, you must invest in good software engineers, which are costly.
The Bottom Line
As customers are finding eCommerce mobile apps more convenient to use, many retail stores are launching their mobile apps to connect with their customers and generate more revenue. Flourishing eCommerce app development companies are making it easier for these companies to create and maintain user-friendly shopping apps. However, it is important for businesses to be aware of the eCommerce development process and find the right eCommerce development company to complete their project.
To facilitate the creation and maintenance of user-friendly shopping apps, thriving eCommerce app development companies are now widely available. One such is Finoit Technologies, a leading eCommerce app development company, specializing in helping businesses deliver high-quality products. Connect with our development expert and leverage their expertise and technical proficiency to deliver innovative eCommerce apps that cater to the unique needs of each business.