If the Kardashian/Jenner clan is making serious efforts to launch and update their mobile apps for business, you have to know that there’s some serious money involved.
Mobile apps aren’t a new concept, we have had them for as long as Smartphones have been in the scene.
But it’s only in the last five years that e-commerce businesses sat up and took note of the potential of mobile apps and what it can do for business.
And mobile apps aren’t just rewriting how we stay in touch and communicate but also how we browse and shop for things. In fact, mobile adoption is growing even faster than web adoption did in the early 2000s.
Why is a Mobile App Important for E-Commerce?
Customized presentation
With 59% of people researching for a product on their mobile phones and 65% on their tablets before purchasing it highlights the importance of a good mobile app.
Your e-commerce website’s mobile app isn’t just a phone version of your website, it’s much more than that.
And given how updates like Mobilegeddon dictate the functional basics of mobile commerce, it also underlines the importance of having a separate mobile app for your website.
It is also speculated that mobile-friendliness is fast becoming an important ranking factor for Google.
For an e-commerce website particularly, a mobile app can work wonders. It not only gives users the freedom to search for relevant items online but an app version cuts through the clutter and presents in a mobile-friendly format.
Mobile apps help in marketing
Besides quick and customized access to your products, a mobile app helps in marketing too with its push notifications and in-app offers.
With more and more apps getting downloaded every day, you have more opportunities to reach out to new and existing customers, hence market better.
More orders
There are two types of customers who buy your products – one who have a need for them and come looking for it and two who chance upon them and buy them.
Mobile apps are a great way to give customers a chance to ‘chance’ upon your products. People browse through their phones when they are bored, and a mobile app would increase the likeability of your products getting noticed.
And often times, this lead to more orders.
In fact, even if yours isn’t a product-based business, you can use mobile apps to buy tickets and make reservations like in the case of a restaurant business.
Push notifications and text alerts
Most websites do send a text or e-mail alert if the customer asks to be notified for something.
But these are also excellent ways to draw the prospects attention. Is your bestselling item almost flying off the rack? Send a notification to your customer and they’re 70% likely to check it out.
Push notifications aren’t just for promoting products. Give the customers exclusive discount offers for shopping on the app or promise them a certain percent off if they write your app a good review.
Increased customer interaction
Your customers might not always be at their desktops, but they almost always have their Smartphone on them.
Use your apps to develop customer loyalty and encourage interaction.
It all really does come down to the sales figure. When you invest time, effort and money to launch and optimize a mobile app you do want to know if your returns are worth it.
And while your mobile apps can increase the sale of your e-commerce business, it can also do absolutely nothing for it.
39% of Americans said that they have only one or two shopping apps on their phones, which mean that unless you are a well-established brand already you have some stiff competition.
How do you make your eCommerce mobile app stand out?
Par-excellence user experience
If there’s one thing that will work wonders for your m-commerce, it is user experience. Know and understand that your customers – like the rest of us – are finicky and need everything to be smooth and glitch-free.
They hate slow loading apps and one that don’t function well.
So most of your mobile app budgeting should go towards ironing out problems immediately and fixing the app to make it more manageable, navigable and operational.
Convenience
Your app should be easy to find on the App store or Play store. There are ways to optimize your app for the App store. Coupled with traditional SEO, this would help your app to be found easily both on the mobile and also work for your web link on Google.
Make sure your app does make it easy for them to browse, make transactions, comment, write reviews and about anything else.
Give them something extra
Why should they download the mobile app in the first place?
Sure your 20% app only discount might attract them the first time or when you give them $20 off on their first flight booking from the app but they can easily uninstall in one click.
Your mobile app should make things easy for them while giving them added advantage.
Giving customers the option to checkout directly (and hassle-free) from the app. Or like say for instance what Delta Airlines does, they empower the customers to make changes to their reservations or check-in directly from their mobile app.
Special discounts and loyalty rewards for shopping on the app are again something that most e-commerce businesses are already doing. Doing this would ensure that your app-specific customers would religiously keep coming back.
Get creative
Some apps have changed the way people do business. Take Build a Bear, for example, their mobile app is less of an app and more of a game where kids get to customize their own bear and play with it.
And as they play more and earn more rewards, they can use them to get discounts and avail other offers at their stores.
You can play with the layout of the app or for a fashion e-commerce business you can add get that look with a bunch of clothing items shown together.
Creativity is key.
Your mobile app is more than just your website on a mobile phone. Make sure you hire someone who has an idea of what works for an e-commerce mobile app and how can the app help increase sales.
