4 Reasons Why Your Business Needs an eCommerce App

Some 5-10 years ago, eCommerce mobile applications may have been a luxury only the likes of Amazon could afford. But today the cost of eCommerce app development has considerably dropped down, and the app stores are now hosting thousands of eCommerce and retails apps of all kinds. According to Statista, nearly 60% of consumers in the U.S. used mobile apps for shopping in 2019. Another research shows that today people prefer to make their purchases via mobile apps rather than in person or through a website. This puts businesses that practice mobile commerce at a great advantage in today’s very dynamic digital markets. 

It’s all about user convenience. If you want to engage and retain your customers, it’s important to meet them where they are at all times. And the smartphone is that place. Let us highlight the main benefits of mCommerce and help you understand how and why your own mobile application can be of much use to your business.

1. Provides better customer experience with great usability

Simplicity of navigation and speed of purchase are very important aspects of a great shopping experience. Since a good eCommerce app is built in strict accordance with the guidelines of mobile platforms such as Android and iOS, it offers considerably better performance and user experience than a website. 

Tailored specifically to the standards of your users’ mobile devices, a mobile app offers a faster, more intuitive, and convenient shopping where your customers can find and buy what they want in just a few clicks. Added with high-quality images, interactivity, social sharing, and exclusive features like wishlist, your custom eCommerce app is certain to bring you better conversion rates and higher revenues.

2. Boosts customer engagement and retention with direct communication

Another significant advantage of an eCommerce app is that it provides your business with direct connection to customers. We’re talking about push notifications, something you simply cannot do with a website. Sure, you could always send a promotional email to inform your customers of discounts or special events, but it will never be as effective as a real-time, direct notification that pops up on the user’s smartphone. 

Once installed, the app enables simple, unintrusive communication with customers. It offers a way to stimulate impulse purchases and make shopping at your store an integral part of your customers’ lifestyle. From personalized discounts and direct alerts about new products to big marketing campaigns, such face to face communication brings limitless opportunities to your business. 

3. Increases sales with faster, easier, and more secure checkouts

Shopping cart is where customers make their final decision on whether to buy a desired product or not. It’s the essential part of any online store where the easier it is to check out, the less hesitant a customer will be about making the purchase. This is where having your own eCommerce mobile app provides substantial benefits as it can shorten the checkout process by a minimum of 2-3 steps. 

Integrated with mobile payment systems like Apple Pay or Google Pay, the app will save and automatically process user account details so that they no longer need to fill out the form every time they want to buy something from your store. The app can also be connected to the device’s authentication systems such as Touch ID to make payment verification a fingerprint away.

The smoothest and most secure checkout flow within the mobile app brings cart abandonment rate to a minimum, enables easier repeat purchases, and helps you build and maintain trusting relationships with customers.

4. Improves your marketing strategies and customer loyalty with better consumer data

From basic information like age, sex, and location to shopping history, buying patterns, and behavior, your customers’ mobile devices hold tons of invaluable data that can help you understand your target audience much better. And what’s the best way to access that information if not your own mobile application?

A mobile app can serve as an exceptionally effective means of collecting and processing consumer data. Depending on your budget and business strategy, you can equip your mobile application with different levels of user analytics. From basic to most sophisticated data analysis, a mobile app enables you to turn rich customer data into deep insights that can help you deliver better customer experience and build a personal bond with each customer. 

Based on buying habits, individual tastes, and preferences, you can target your customers with personalized, real-time content that would encourage them to make purchases more often. Show them the products they’d love, inform users about the latest additions in your store based on their interests, remind them of their regular purchases—there’s so much you can do. Providing your customers with a convenient, caring mobile app will not only improve customer loyalty, but help your business expand its reach and cut down marketing costs with better forecasts and data-informed decisions.

There’s nearly four billion smartphone users in the world today. They have their phones with them wherever they go and use them to go online every day. Mobile-driven shopping is growing on a daily basis and so does the profit of businesses embracing it. So if you’re looking to expand your reach, increase customer loyalty, and enhance your marketing capabilities, now is the time to invest in your own eCommerce mobile application. Don’t be late to the party!