Are you currently weighing up whether or not to build an eCommerce mobile app for your online store? With 48% of web page views worldwide taking place on mobile devices, it certainly should be a question to ask yourself.
In recent times most eCommerce sites have been built from a mobile-first perspective, but even that’s not enough in 2020. When it comes to providing the best quality mobile experience, you need an eCommerce mobile app.
51% of millenials say that they prefer purchasing through eCommerce mobile apps, so if you’re committed to providing an excellent customer experience, you’d better make sure your store has one!
Five reasons to build an eCommerce mobile app
1. Leverage eCommerce mobile application’s high performance attributes
In order to win loyal customers, you need to create an excellent experience which keeps users coming back. This is where an eCommerce mobile app really helps.
Below are some key performance areas where an eCommerce mobile app outperforms a responsive website:
Loading time: A slow loading website can kill your business from the very beginning. Users in 2020 expect almost instantaneous page speed and the best way to deliver this is with an app rather than a responsive website.
Personalization capabilities: Customers want to see products and offers that are directly relevant to their needs and interests. When users create an app profile, their shopping preferences and previous order data can make personalization much easier. Once customers feel remembered and welcomed, they are more likely to return again.
Offline access: The best eCommerce mobile applications can provide users with basic functionalities, such as checking prices or comparing products even when offline.
2. Keep your customers coming back
eCommerce mobile apps have unique features that enable you to bring back shoppers who have downloaded your app. Check out these two highly effective ways of doing this:
Push notifications: Whenever you want to inform your customers about the latest discounts, deals, or items that are back in stock, push notifications can be a great option to inform them of this and bring them back to your store.
Incentives for your previous customers: Users want to feel special and treated well, especially loyal consumers who deserve to be rewarded for their frequent shopping. You could try a reward points system to be used to for discounts or similar incentives that recognizes regular customers.
3. Promote brand recognition
By building a beautiful, user-friendly eCommerce app, you’re painting a positive picture of your brand to your customers and potential customers. Users will often maintain this association when deciding whether to make a purchase or not.
Many companies who are looking to drive digital transformation or a mobile-first strategy offer discounts and other incentives for new customers who download or purchase through the app.
You can also integrate social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram into your eCommerce application to empower customers to post about your products and services with ease.
4. Boost conversion rates
Conversion rates are three times higher on eCommerce mobile apps than mobile sites and one and half times higher on mobile apps than desktop sites. With a naturally high channel conversion rate, let’s have a look at some tips that can maximize the effectiveness of your mobile app:
Avoid intrusive ads: Imagine someone bombarding you with tons of irrelevant information while you’re having a look around a high street retailer. There’s a high possibility that you’d get irritated and leave right away. To increase mobile app conversions, try to avoid hosting intrusive ads.
Simplify your app’s navigation: Your app’s navigation can make or break a sale. To ensure you provide a friendly user experience, it’s critical that users have easy access to search options and relevant calls-to-action.
Utilize push notifications: Push notifications can be an effective way to increase conversion rates when by bringing people back to your app at important times and letting them know when there’s a deal they can take advantage of!
5. Lower cart abandonment rate
Cart abandonments are a headache that eCommerce businesses will always have to deal with. Baymard Institute reveal that the average rate of all incomplete purchases is a whopping 69.57%!
From the statistics above, we can see that nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents leave because of a long or complicated checkout process.
eCommerce mobile apps have the ability to create a simplified checkout process, contributing to a higher conversion rate and more sales!
Final words
The impact of mobile eCommerce is growing every day. If your online store is embracing the future and you want to maximize conversions – it’s time to create a top quality eCommerce mobile app!
