Developing a mobile shopping app is always requires a vast understanding of the market, and user demand, as there are millions of apps available in the market of the same category. Mobile apps are now becoming a need for almost every sector, including medical, education, social media, and, more importantly, shopping. Putting resources into E-commerce is always productive. However, this should be well described. Otherwise, it’s going to be useless.
People prefer mobile shopping applications because these applications are more convenient and user-friendly to them. The shopping trend is inclining from websites to mobile applications. The dependency and habit of smartphones demand many ideas for app development.
Numerous online stores are now realizing that they need mobile apps for their online stores. Apps help them achieve good ROI if their development and promotion are done correctly.
If you want to do things perfectly, there must be some essential points that need to be taken into consideration. So if you are planning to convert your online store into a shopping app, consider these valuable tips below before moving on to the development part.
Are you planning to build a Mobile Shopping App?
If you are thinking of developing a mobile shopping app for your store, though there are many factors to consider, there are some that you cannot afford to ignore. The foremost factor that is t consider is whether your app offers a solution to a problem because if it doesn’t it is good for nothing.
In this regard, the question you need to ask yourself is why users should install your app when there are hundreds of other apps doing the same job. The better you convince yourself the better is your chance to convince your customers into installing your mobile app.
Though there are several factors that need to be considered for developing a mobile app, in this guide, we’ll cover some of the most crucial factors that every mobile app developer should keep in mind.
7 Things To Consider While Building A Mobile Shopping App
The following are the 7 most essential things that a retailer must consider before developing a shopping app for his store:
- Target Audience
- Platform
- Accessibility
- Checkout Process
- Technological Edge
- Security
- Marketing
Let us delve deeper to find out more about them.
1. Target Audience
Having the best app idea isn’t a guarantee for success. Wrong positioning of your app in the market is one of the common mistakes you’ll make if you didn’t study your target audience.
These are the people who are expected to ultimately download your app. Understanding their preferences and disliking should be your top priority.
That is why you should take up extensive research of your market before building an app.
When it comes to an online shopping app. a lot depends on the kind of items you’re offering for sale. Depending on the nature of the items, you need to categorize your target audience on the basis of demographics, region, gender, etc.
For instance, if your online shopping app sells toys for toddlers, you need to target children between the ages of 3 to 6 and new parents. Accordingly, the app is designed keeping in mind the liking and preferences of the customer. In this regard, the more colorful and easy to navigate the app is, the better.
Check out: Spice Up Your Customer Retention Strategy With Mobile Apps
2. Platform
Depending on your target audience, you need to decide which mobile platform is most suitable for your shopping app. You may find out on the basis of your research that the majority of your target customers use Android devices or iOS or both and accordingly you need to choose the platform for your app.
Now when you’re developing specifically an Android app or iOS app, you are in fact developing a Native mobile app that will be functional only on either of the devices but not both(ios and android).
Alternatively, you may choose to develop a Hybrid app that is functional on both the devices. While selecting the type of mobile app you wish to make i.e., Native or Hybrid, you need to study the pros and cons of both of them.
Though relatively cheaper than Native apps, Hybrid apps are not as smooth as their counterparts and may lag on heavy usage, In comparison, native apps, being specifically designed for a platform use full functionalities of the platform and offer superior shopping experience but a high cost.
In short, a new business having diverse customers can go for Hybrid apps and vice-versa.
With a mobile app, you can do wonder – Try making one for your business right now!
3. Accessibility
Accessibility is a major determining factor for the success of your app. If your app isn’t easily accessible then no matter how good it is, customers will not use it.
With thousands of apps available in the market, customers don’t mind uninstalling an app right away if it is difficult to access. Lengthy signup or registration details often turn off the customers making them leave the app.
As such, an easy login option with mobile phone numbers or social media accounts should be made. Social signups are the most preferred mode of signing in by customers. With a click, they are able to sign in to the app, while all basic details about the customer are fetched from his social media account.
A better way to check the accessibility of your app is by performing an app-accessibility test which will reveal how much access your app is.
App navigation also forms an important part of app accessibility. Seamless navigation and search option enable customers to find their desired product and proceed to the checkout.
Make sure your app has a quick-search bar at the top of the app and enough product sorting and filtering options to enable the customers to find the right product in no time.
Check out: Benefits of Shopify Mobile Apps – See What Your Business is Missing Out Without an App
4. Checkout Process
Studies have shown that the majority of shopping cart abandonment happens to take place at the stage of checkout. Customers have repeatedly complained of the tedious checkout process as the main reason for abandoning their purchase.
Retailers should not forget that mobile screens are relatively smaller than desktops and too much information on a single page often makes the user confusing. It’s much harder to read on mobile phones than desktops.
Secondly, the lengthy checkout process makes shopping tardy and burdensome. Imagine yourself at a store where you have to checkout at multiple points. How painful it can be? In a similar manner, multiple checkout pages in your mobile app take the joy out of the shopping experience.
Thirdly, first-time buyers are wary of the security features of your app. Therefore, it makes sense to add trust badges along the payment gateways to create a sense of safety among shoppers. So that user can make transaction either by credit card or any other means without feeling insecure and can get a good user experience.
As such, a single checkout page with all relevant details about the product, discount, shopping list and delivery duration simplifies the buying journey. It makes checking out of the store a whole lot easier reducing cart abandonment and boosting conversions.
5. Technological Edge
Technology is fast charging especially in the field of mobile computing. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have revolutionised the way we interact with our world and the primary medium of using such technologies is smartphones.
Also, recent studies have shown that shoppers are willing to spend a premium to experience a shopping journey. The modern shopper is more sophisticated and prefers personalized experiences.
As such, you must integrate the latest mobile technologies in your shopping app. Otherwise there are possible chances that in the near future with the advancement in technology, your app may become quite redundant.
Many companies like Ikea already are using the latest technologies like Augmented Reality to give a richer shopping experience to their shoppers. They surely enjoy an edge over their competitors.
Therefore, your mobile app must support some of the latest technologies like AR/VR to give a more immersive shopping experience.
6. Security
Mobile phones are databases of personalized information and often the primary targets for data breach and privacy violations. that is the reason why many shoppers fear shopping through their mobile phones.
With the spread of media, users have become more aware and cautious when it comes to online shopping. they prefer shopping over desktops than over shopping apps because their concern is that many apps ask for a lot of privacy permissions and threaten their privacy.
Despite the fact that online security has significantly improved over recent years, security threats still remain.
This calls for developing a mobile app that is absolutely secure form external branches and bug-free. A lot of care should be taken to ensure that your app is not prone to cyber-attacks. It must be built over a robust framework integrating the latest security updates.
7. Marketing
Mobile app development is the first step towards the success journey of your mobile shopping app. Your app cannot be a success until it has a sufficient and strong consumer base that is loyal to your brand.
Considering that there are thousands of apps submitted daily on the app store alone. Shoppers will not download your app until they have knowledge that such an exists. Mobile app marketing ensures that your app has a sufficient market presence in the eyes of potential users.
Run Google/Facebook app install ads that prompt users to download your app by redirecting them to the app store/play store. They appear in the form of product ads on Google search pages and Facebook. And when interested customers click on the add they are redirected to the app store top download the app.
As part of mobile app marketing, app store optimisation is an important component. It involves optimising your content and images on the App Store/Play Store so as to rank higher. So, when users enter relevant keywords, your app rank higher and s such downloaded more than others.
Conclusion
When it comes to factors that you should consider while building your mobile app, the list is not exhaustive. There are many other components of a successful mobile app journey, but these are the crucial ones.
For instance, app maintenance and customer support are also very important factors, especially for retaining customers. An avid entrepreneur must keep a close eye over the latest developments and follow all the leads.
In this fast-paced world, your app must move hand-in-hand with the latest industrial and technological development. In our world, it is not the slow and steady who wins the race, but who has a technological edge that outsmarts others and MageNative can help you to win the race leaving others behind.