eCommerce apps have become a lifestyle choice, especially with a broad group of consumers being technologically savvy. Also, people found it much easier to shop online since the dawn of the eCommerce industry. And, after the onset of the pandemic, this became a necessity rather than a luxury. Plus, remove the hassle of turning on your desktop and login with just a touch, bringing online shopping to your fingertips. So to say, the increased use of smart devices, especially mobile phones have brought a boom in the eCommerce industry. eCommerce apps are now everywhere. Businesses have leveraged the shopping habits of the modern-day consumer.
There are 3.2 billion smartphone users worldwide, which gives a considerable market share and great potential for eCommerce apps. To support the fact, mobile traffic has increased exponentially from 0.7% to 52.2% from 2009 to 2018. Almost 93% of millennials have used their mobile phones to compare online deals in 2018, and this number has only grown since. What is fascinating is that mobile phone users across the world have spent a whopping 18 billion hours on eCommerce apps alone in the same year. It is unimaginable what is achievable with this complimenting combo of smartphones and eCommerce apps.
But there are numerous eCommerce apps in the market, most of which are barely surviving, and some perform outstandingly. In the end, it all lies in how your eCommerce app stands out in the crowd and delivers an unmatchable customer experience.
Let us check out some of the must-have eCommerce mobile app development features to elevate your business to the next level.
A streamlined registration or signup process is always an attractive plus for the customers. Simplify the registration process by allowing the users to login via email, phone numbers with OTP, and even external accounts like Google and Facebook. An easy entry point to the online store makes the customer happy. Hassle-free access to the app translates to fewer customers leaving and higher sales volume.
This feature is for online stores with an extensive catalog of products. You need to make sure the users can find what they are looking for. Implement advanced search capabilities like sorting and filtering. Significantly reduce the number of steps a customer takes to find their product without browsing the whole store. This will definitely increase the conversion rate and deliver a positive consumer experience. The cherry on the pie is an increase in revisiting customers and brand loyalty.
Long and detailed product descriptions may seem unnecessary as it is a notion that good product images are enough to attract potential customers. After all, who has the time to read long texts on their mobile phones anyway? But descriptions matter, mobile or desktop. What if one of your app visitors wants to know about the product in detail? Do you expect them to visit the desktop site and go through all the trouble? Also, providing extensive product descriptions reduces the probability of impulsive product purchases, client dissatisfactions, and product returns.
An opportunity to showcase your product to the customer in a real-world context is what Augmented Reality equips your eCommerce app with. It has been in the market for a long time, but brands like IKEA have normalized augmented reality in the eCommerce world. It is a plus to have a try-before-buy virtual experience. Customers have found the augmented reality very helpful during online shopping as it helps clear doubts and hesitations before making the purchase. It also aids in decreasing the churn rate as it enables the customers to make conscious decisions using experimental interactions. 63% of the consumers have loved having augmented reality as a part of their online shopping journey.
A wishlist is one of the essential features you would want to have in your eCommerce mobile app. It is where potential customers add their favorite products while browsing. It is a common practice amongst the customers to visit back their wishlists even after purchasing some of the products from the list. This increases customer revisits and promotes customer loyalty. Customers like to mark products without having to add them to the shopping cart. The wishlist can also be used as insights by the retailers to send reminders and product recommendations to the customers, ultimately increasing sales.
Once customers are done browsing products of interest and have completed the purchase, it is advisable to deliver relevant product offers and recommendations to them. Many retailers today use sophisticated recommendation engines to drive personalization. It is effortless to attract the customer’s attention towards products, offers, and discounts that match their taste, leading to a probable conversion. Personalized content also helps in expanding the business reach and enhancing customer engagement with the brand. This, in turn, drives customer loyalty and encourages customers to revisit your online store. Personalization has been in play for a significant time now, but it is crucial to leverage the power of personalization in eCommerce shopping apps.
Voice shopping is just in the beginning phase of its life, with biggies in the eCommerce industry experimenting with it and pushing the boundaries for a better consumer experience. The possibilities are endless and only limited to the creativity of the retailers. Engineering capabilities of AI-enabled voice assistants help customers easily navigate through the app and lead to successful conversions even when the user has usage limitations. Hence, it is evident that voice assistants are here to stay and will be an advantageous feature to add to your eCommerce app.
As checkout is the final step of any conversion, a quick and hassle-free checkout is necessary for your eCommerce mobile app. Features like automatic checkout details using profile information and guest checkouts must be a part of any modern-day eCommerce app. The user must be able to complete the transaction with minimum time and effort. It is a crucial factor while mitigating cart abandonment issues.
With people preferring different payment methods, the eCommerce payments ecosystem has evolved to be an incredibly diverse place. Just a couple of payment options would not do the trick now. And with mobile app payment options, the sky’s the limit – Google Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, and the other quick and convenient payment experiences. Also, the payment provider must support multiple currencies and international payments if your eCommerce online store caters to various geographies.
Like the eCommerce website, the customers should be able to access products and reviews. Also, being able to leave reviews about the product is essential. Customer ratings and reviews act as a driving force in the eCommerce industry. By providing more information, you are helping the customers to choose their product and make an instant decision to purchase. When a customer writes a review, good or bad, it gives them a sense of satisfaction and creates a trust of transparency for the brand. This, in turn, increases customer loyalty.
An efficient and seamless customer journey is the ultimate goal of any eCommerce business. To adhere to this mantra, the customers should be able to effortlessly manage their orders via the mobile app, like tracking delivery and returns. This enables the customer to feel more in control and enhances engagement with the buying process. Also, this helps in significantly reducing customer support issues in the future.
Offline availability of a few features on an eCommerce shopping app is a sure-shot way of boosting customer experience. The customers should access some of the features even when they have intermittent or no access to the internet. For instance, for commuters with signal interruptions, even if active purchase might not be available offline, they should be able to browse and save the products and return to buy them when they have an active internet connection.
It is necessary to know how customers feel about your app. Hence, retailers must allow the customers to review and give feedback regarding the app’s performance. Also, reviews can act as a fantastic marketing tool, same as product reviews. Excellent shopping app reviews would encourage more customers to download and draw a greater revenue potential for your online store.
Alerting customers for new product updates, saved items back in stock, hot flash sales, and personalized marketing campaigns with many other things are some of the benefits of push notifications. These small yet effective nudges are the key to communication between your brand and the customers. Push notifications are better than email campaigns as they are a more direct approach to attracting consumer attention.
You can boost your sales using this unique feature in your eCommerce mobile app. Instead of the same old shopping carts, give something new and exciting to the customers. Let them see the app in action. Progress bars are also a great way to calm your customers as they can anticipate the number of steps they have to go through before completing the purchase. The customer can undoubtedly feel the rush of endorphins, too, as soon as the progress bar ends.
There is nothing more frustrating for customers than the unending trial and error of reaching customer service. It doesn’t matter if it is a pre-order query, order update, or a complaint, the customer should effortlessly be able to contact customer support. Quick customer support messaging feature with a real executive or a chatbot is a quick and engaging way to tell the customer that “we got you covered.” Make sure you have a chat icon or a contact customer support icon on every screen to make the customer feel secure throughout the journey. Retailers can even include phone numbers and email addresses on the contact us section of the app to make it easier for the customers.
No matter what your product is, you must facilitate mobility for people to reach them! In the era so flexible and mobile-centric, it is necessary to make sure that your online business offers both iOS and Android supporting eCommerce apps. It will cater to a broader audience whilst personalized targeting for mobile users. Trust us, you do not want to miss half of the world because people are shifting to mobile shopping more than ever before.
Before you decide to develop your branded eCommerce mobile app, make it clear to your developer that you are looking for a highly efficient and customized iOS and Android eCommerce shopping mobile app. Different industries need different features, and it also depends on your customer service requirements. Be very cautious while adding the features to garner everything but the best.
You can choose all or some of these features for your eCommerce app but make sure they align with your business goals. Determine what you want to achieve from your app and how these features can facilitate your business journey and deliver a great customer experience at the same time. You can even consider a staggering start and roll out some of the features in different phases of your eCommerce mobile app development.
If you are thinking of an eCommerce app to complement your business offering, that too within a short period, you can go for Krish’s Mobile Accelerator. This Magento commerce mobile accelerator enables you to launch your eCommerce app using intuitive mobile designs, pre-coded functionalities, and essential integrations within four weeks. You can leverage this quick-launch app approach to accelerate your commerce sales across multiple channels and geographies.
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Minal Joshi is a content marketer at Krish with a flair for eCommerce and Digital Commerce aspects. She is a MarTech fanatic with a knack of writing with which, she helps brands to curate, create, & commence digital brand positioning. Sharing insights via articles, case studies, eBooks, Infographics, and other forms of content creation is what she lives for. Being an ardent traveler, when not writing, you'll find her sipping coffee into the mountains or petting a stray.
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