10 Reasons Why You Need An eCommerce Mobile App

How often do you visit the Amazon website? If you were to ask me, very very rarely! I have the app installed on my smartphone and when I need to purchase something, I simply open the app by tapping on the icon and do the needful. There are two primary reasons behind using the app. One- it saves my time, and two- it is convenient and offers me a better experience. Most people prefer eCommerce mobile apps over websites because of these two reasons.

Buying habits have drastically changed over the last couple of years, especially in this covid-stricken world. People are shopping online more than ever before, and the usage of eCommerce apps has significantly upsurged. It comes as no surprise though as human life is heavily surrounded by apps these days. Having an eCommerce website is a good option, no doubt, but it alone won’t suffice to capture the maximum potential of your business.

You might often ask yourself- Do I really need an eCommerce app? This is what compelled me to write this blog post- to take you out of this turmoil. Here are a few strong reasons why your business must have an eCommerce mobile app and how you can make the most out of it.

1. Rise of Mobile Commerce

Mobile devices capture a major share of eCommerce sales. This can be backed by a Statista report which says that hand-held devices account for nearly 73% of worldwide eCommerce sales in 2021, and the numbers are expected to go higher in the future. 

Apps have played a significant role in the rise of mobile commerce, and it’s no rocket science to understand why. It is way more convenient than using a website or waiting to get on a desktop. People carry their devices wherever they go and thus can make a purchase anytime, anywhere. Whether they are in a bus or coffee shop, whether it is day or night, they are just a few taps away from placing an order.

Shopping apps are growing at a remarkable rate, and it’s time that you build one too.

2. Mobile apps have transformed the shopping experience

Thanks to eCommerce mobile apps, users can easily connect and communicate with their favorite brands 24×7. In fact, it’s a win-win situation for both brands and customers as the former can leverage push notifications for real-time communication with the latter.

Undoubtedly, mobile apps have changed the way users interact with businesses and lead to a more enhanced brand-customer relationship. Brands can deliver more personalized content to their customers through their mobile apps and improve their shopping experience. With technology like AR and VR coming to play, apps have taken the online shopping experience to a whole new level.

3. Better Conversions

One of the key performance indicators that businesses aim for is conversions, and mobile eCommerce apps drive more conversions than websites or desktops. Studies suggest that consumers view 286% more products and add items to their shopping cart at an 85% higher rate when they’re shopping from a mobile app as compared to a mobile browser.

With features like push notifications, you can persuade customers to return to your eCommerce application and make a quick purchase. This comes of great use especially during flash sales or drop-down in prices. An eCommerce website lags in this aspect and thus has a lesser conversion rate as compared to an app. Mobile apps follow an easy checkout process as well which is most important from the conversion perspective.

4. Improves customer loyalty

Mobile apps and customer loyalty go hand-in-hand. An eCommerce app helps brands stay closely connected with their customers and know them better. It’s all just a matter of a finger tap. Customers can open the app as many times as they want and still not get frustrated as opposed to if they had to open the website multiple times.

Moreover, brands can launch loyalty programs in their app that offers customers exclusive discounts, loyalty points, rewards, etc. on their purchase. This helps build customer loyalty. They tend to be more loyal towards your business and are likely to return to your app for future purchases.

5. Time-saving

I said this at the beginning too that apps are time-saving. Time is a crucial factor as far as millennials and Gen Z audiences are concerned. They look for something that saves their time and eases their task and thus rightly have a preference for eCommerce mobile apps. Moreover, they have shorter attention spans; an app allows you to maximize it.

eCommerce websites are a little bit on the slower side as compared to apps. This can severely affect user experience, the conversion rate, and the overall bottom line as the chances of a user bouncing off for a few seconds delay in the page load time are very likely. Studies suggest the same.

• 40% of users abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
• a second delay in page response can bring the conversion rate down by 7%

Stats: https://neilpatel.com/blog/loading-time/

6. Apps dominate websites

More often than not, preference will be given to mobile apps over mobile websites. Statistics don’t lie. A study showed that 78% of users would prefer to access the eCommerce store from a mobile app rather than a mobile site – that’s more than ¾ of the users. So you can imagine how profitable it can be for your business to invest in an eCommerce mobile app.

As I pointed out in the beginning, time and convenience are the two foremost reasons behind it. An eCommerce app will always have an upper hand no matter how fast and responsive its mobile web version is.

7. Competitive advantage

Building an eCommerce mobile app gives your brand a competitive over other brands that are still stuck with a website. If ever a consumer is in dilemma whether to choose your brand or the competitor’s, having a mobile eCommerce app will tilt the choice load more towards you.

Today, when people browse an eCommerce app, they have an amazon app-like experience at the back of their mind. You can take inspiration from them and build an app for your brand that has the same standards.

8. Higher Average Order Value

You may wonder how apps can affect the average order value? As I pointed out in point 3, consumers check out products 286% more from a mobile app as compared to a mobile browser. Moreover, the tendency to add items to the shopping cart is 85% higher. So this makes sense that they are going to show more intention and spend more when shopping from a mobile app.

9. Low cart abandonment rate

When customers buy from a mobile app, their information including login details, address, payment options, gets saved so that they do not have to specify them again in the future. This makes the checkout process simpler, faster, and better, and thus the cart abandonment rate is lower as compared to the mobile website where they may be asked to log in again, and the checkout may get a bit tedious.

10. Offer a personalized experience

Based on user’s app browsing history and buying habits, such as what often do they look to purchase, how often do they buy, and what time they use the app the most, you can consider all these points and offer them a personalized app experience that caters to their wish and requirements. In fact, you can also track which pages of your app are the least interacted with and what sort of problems users may be facing on a particular page. This way, you can address those problems and improve customer satisfaction.

Final Thoughts

You would have understood by now that there are ample benefits of having an eCommerce app. The stats speak for it. An app can indeed prove to be a game-changer for your eCommerce business. You will have more sales and conversions, higher engagement, lower cart abandonment, and much more.
Wondering how to build it? Here’s our guide on how to build an eCommerce app.