Most of the eCommerce companies are investing heavily to enhance the experience of smartphone users. The reason is simple – our generation has become a quite comfortable purchasing and paying with their mobile devices.
Earlier, the concept of 'online shopping' had no existence. With the technological advancement and introduction of eCommerce, people started exploring new facets of shopping. Gradually, they got comfortable with the mobile websites. But, when we talk about today, you'll end up finding the majority of the online shoppers being diverted to the mobile apps. So, why did that happen? Why are people more inclined towards mobile apps than mobile websites?
Mobile apps have really taken the world by storm. You will find an app for almost anything and eCommerce is surely not going to lag behind in this digital race. The quest of staying abreast with the changing trend gave rise to a number of eCommerce mobile apps. The mobile websites, thus, have taken a back seat up to a certain extent.
The applications are dedicated while making it easy for you to do what you really need as compared to the mobile websites that make things more long and complex.
The apps can easily utilize the features of your smartphone. For instance, you can use the camera, GPS as well as the Bluetooth. Moreover, you can even automate a lot of processes like payments and checkouts in case of mobile apps.
It is possible for you to use some apps even offline. Although, they may take some space in your storage, it is far more convenient rather than the need of staying connected with the internet for everything.
The apps can load quickly. You do not have to go through step-by-step process of opening the browser, typing the URL and waiting for the page to load. All you need is to click the app's icon.
Not all web browsers are compatible with mobile websites. This can make it troublesome and frustrating for your customer. Unlike this, it is easier to navigate using mobile apps.
Looking at this, it doesn't come as a surprise as to why people are shifting their preference towards mobile apps.
Talking about today, you will find a significant increase in the eCommerce mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play. As per the Statista, roughly two million mobile apps are now available for download on both these platforms. Think! How crowded the online marketplace is!
Every day new businesses come up developing their own mobile app only to face some serious competition. So, if you are planning to walk with the trend, you need to understand what the consumer expects and what features they are looking forward to! This will enable you to enter the eCommerce mobile market with a bang!
Considering this, we have listed down some really important features that you should include in your eCommerce mobile app. This will not only give a competitive edge but also help you deliver excellent user experience.
It can really be exhaustive for your customers to keep on filling up the pages of information. There are high chances that they uninstall your app. After all, who would like to spend so much time on it?
It is always good to inculcate an easy registration process. You can enable sign up and login with two clicks at maximum by also giving an option of linking it with their social media account. That's it! Doing so will not only bring your customers on-board in just two clicks but you also get an extra brownie point of learning their preferences through their social media accounts. Great, isn't it?
Client support or we can say 24*7 live chat plays the biggest role in any business. It plays an important role in business as customers are the one, who helps your business to grow and expand to the next level. According to one report from American Express, it is reported that 9% of Americans would love to spend more with brands that provide excellent customer service or 24*7 client support. So, make sure to include this feature in your eCommerce mobile application, allowing your customers to get in touch with you.
Imagine; a regular online shopper happens to visit your eCommerce mobile app to give it a try. After selecting the stuff and adding them in the cart, he finds that you do not support a payment option that he prefers. What's the end result? You have lost your customer just because of the fewer payment options.
Thus, it is better to include the most popular payment methods like debit card, credit card, net banking and eWallets. In case when you have the facility of in-built wallet, you can also subtly push them to use the same.
Your target customers have their set of requirements. You are capable of fulfilling those requirements but, how will you bridge this gap of communication? Push notifications can be your rescue here.
It is one of the most significant features to make your eCommerce mobile app a great success. Push notifications are known to enhance customer engagement as you are able to keep your target customers informed about various offers, referrals, sales, discounts and promotions. This, in turn, helps in cross-selling as well as up-selling – ultimately increasing your profits greatly. Apart from this, push notifications are known for increasing retention ratio by 54%.
While building up your eCommerce mobile app, the content and screen size hold a great importance. As the mobile display screens have limited space, it is vital for you to ensure that your app's layout looks clean and is not stuffed up.
It is recommended to design a simple and uncluttered layout that looks user-friendly to your customers. With easy display of brands and products along with a seamless navigation, your customers will be able to enjoy browsing your app. A responsive design is the best solution. It automatically fits into any screen size and resolutions while rendering your customer with a great shopping experience.
This is a very significant feature to consider for all the eCommerce mobile apps. You must have already seen this icon in many existing eCommerce mobile apps. It is a way to bookmark a particular item that you really like but would like to buy it later. So, integrating this feature in your app means, you will be able to notify your potential customer about the upcoming offer on the same product in the future.
This way, you will be able to push your customer to make a purchase. Hence, it is imperative to include this feature in your eCommerce mobile app.
This is yet again an important feature that should not be missed. You'd obviously want to get the reviews on how your products are working for your valuable customers, right? It is true that the products and services you are offering might not always work well with them. So, in case your customers have some negative feedbacks, do not hesitate to display it. It will not play a negative factor here. In fact, it will be opposite.
If your customers find only positive feedbacks on your app, they will come to know that you are trying to misguide them. Hence, display the reviews that you receive from your customers. Additionally, integrating the review and rating feature will also give you an insight into what your customers are thinking about your product or service. You can further work on those reviews to provide them with a seamless shopping experience.
So, you have launched your eCommerce mobile app and have the opinion that you are faring well in terms of business, popularity and brand recognition. But, it's not always good to just work on assumptions. If you are running a business, facts and figures are important. How do you judge what is working for and against your business?
Google analytics can be of a great help here. Optimize its use and with the help of real-time data, find out how your customers are actually feeling by spending time on your app. Know which product is having a great demand or which is having the least, which one needs a different packaging or what offers can create an appealing combo. Google analytics can work wonders for you. Explore it and use it effectively for your eCommerce mobile app.
A mobile app and that too an e-commerce one is not just about the products you are offering. Its success largely depends on the features that you offer to your end users. Unique features along with easy navigation and a really seamless shopping experience can definitely help you climb the ladder of success in no time.
Nirav Shastri has expertise in eCommerce business enhancement and B2B lead generation. He has 7+ years of experience in the IT industry and currently working as a Sr. Digital Marketing Strategist at Space-O Technologies, Mobile App Development Company. In his free time, he likes to read about new trends of information technology and watch motivational videos. You can find him on Twitter and LinkedIn.