How Mobile Apps Can Add Value To Your Retail Business?

Saurabh Singh March 27, 2023

Table of Content

Mobile Apps for Retail Business- What’s all the Hype About?
Reasons Why Every Retailer Needs an App in 2023
Build a Robust Retail App for your Business with Appinventiv
FAQs

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In recent years, mobile apps for retail businesses have entirely changed the shopping experience, and they have become a key shopping tool for consumers worldwide. Retailers are developing mobile apps that are meant for consumers’ shopping needs, including product browsing, rewards points, deals & offers, suggestions, and even transactions. Consumers are now getting personalized shopping experiences by remaining completely dependent on their mobile devices. Have you ever thought? – why mobile app is important for retail business? – Because of the experience that they are gaining by using mobile is amazing. Mobile apps for retail businesses have become the easiest and most efficient way to purchase and assist consumers with their purchasing decisions.

Mobile Apps for Retail Business- What’s all the Hype About?

Everything is moving toward smartphones, which has been obvious for a while. And more than anyone else, this idea is relevant to merchants.

Let’s take a closer look at the mobile market, how mobile apps for businesses are becoming impactful, and what possibilities it presents to the retail sector.

As per Think with Google statistics,

Smartphone users are more likely to make purchases from businesses whose mobile apps provide them with pertinent recommendations on products they might be interested in, according to 63% of smartphone users.
Smartphone users utilize half of the installed shopping applications on their smartphones at least once a week.

Also, Forbes’ e-commerce industry report of 2023 says that the e-commerce industry sales are anticipated to reach over $8.1 trillion by 2026.

Global retail ecommerce sales

It can therefore be stated that ecommerce application development services are not a passing trend but rather a useful long-term strategy to survive in a cut-throat competition. It is anticipated to gain a market share worth billions of dollars in just three years.

So, what does this entail for your retail business, then? You’ll probably lose an opportunity to earn more if you don’t join the digitalization trend now. Let’s move on to discuss the reason why your retail business needs a digital switch.

Reasons Why Every Retailer Needs an App in 2023

Reasons to use a mobile app for retail business

Revolutionary changes in how retailers can connect and converse with customers have been brought about by the thriving mobile platform. No matter what your mobile strategy entails, mobile apps for the retail industry pave the way to connect with customers and enhance their experience. They also optimize the company’s operations, generate more revenue, and reduce costs all at once. Let’s look at why retailers should opt for retail app development services and add value to their business:

1. Conduct a Loyalty Scheme

An excellent platform for running a rewards or loyalty program is provided by mobile apps for retailers. Customers can earn incentives for recommending your establishment, which will boost sales. Through a mobile app, the complete loyalty program can be easily controlled.

You can retain consumers with your app by implementing a loyalty program. Mobile apps for small retail business serves as a conduit for communication between your company and its clients.

2. Data Analytics

In a world centered on the customer, insights are the new money. Deep data analytics is necessary to comprehend clients’ less obvious requirements and provide them with a personalized experience. However, you must first gather information about your customer’s preferences through mobile apps for the retail industry.

Making business choices based on sound analytics rather than just a hypothesis is made possible by data analysis. Such a strategy offers a lot of flexibility for enhancing the purchasing experience. Retailers can therefore increase revenue for both out-of-store and in-store.

3. Ease of Using the App

Ease of using an app is all about how navigational and smooth is your user interface. This usability majorly comprises of user experience or comfort of functioning an app. Users will easily fall for your app with an easy-to-use interface and a great design. Great usability can also guarantee you sooner market success.

One such example of great usability is easy payment options that can be integrated into the app to make the purchasing process simple and user-friendly for shoppers. With a flawless and seamless path to purchase, retail apps also help eliminate friction points.

4. Personalization

Retail apps are becoming much more personalized and user-friendly, thus targeting each individual shopper, which in turn, enhances their shopping experience. Today many companies are integrating special discounts and loyalty programs within their retail apps, such as Starbucks and Shoppers Drug mart, etc., to make it more personalized. They often include push notifications, loyalty programs, and deals & coupon integrations targeted to the user’s needs.

As per Think with Google stats– 51% of mobile app users use retail apps in-store to help users with their shopping needs.

Our experts at Appinventiv worked for a brand, “Edamama”, an e-commerce app for mothers that provides tailored product suggestions based on the gender and age of the child.

edamama ecommerce app

Such a personalized experience encourages users to stick with the app, thereby increasing engagement rates.

Consumers having easy access to more information helps in making sound purchasing decisions. They now want a more personalized shopping experience that includes saving money with discounts, checking reviews & ratings, and comparing the best products and services to meet their lifestyles.

5. Retailer-Shopper Relations

Today, most shoppers are looking for tools that increase convenience and engagement throughout the shopping life cycle. And, that’s why shoppers are more likely to gain more customer retention and gaining valuable shopping experience. Many retailers have already acknowledged this and are now completely focusing on expanding their digital presence. By having the right digital interaction with shoppers, retailers are creating much closer connections with their customers, thus, meeting their shopping needs.

The right retail apps provide the shopper with much more selection options and convenience to ensure that their shopping experience is seamless. And this in-app engagement enhances customer engagement, brand loyalty and builds strong and long-term customer relationships.

Citing the top retail mobile app examples, our experts worked with the world’s largest furniture retailer- IKEA, by creating an ERP solution that made the customer onboarding experience smoother, thereby boosting engagement.

Ikea shopping app

6. Push Alerts and Push-Based Applications

Push-based apps today can foresee user requirements and deliver pertinent information based on their preferences. Without the user’s request, the app may automatically deliver updates about price, discount, or availability if they are interested in a particular product.

The ability to identify a customer’s preferences by monitoring their app usage is already a reality. Additionally, you can use push notifications to inform customers of forthcoming news and events, such as new product introductions, the start of sales, presentations, and exclusive deals.

7. Sales Assistance

Customers and revenue must come first in the retail industry. In today’s social media-driven world, it is essential for retailers to build and sustain real-time customer relationships and respond to their inquiries right away.

Mobile apps for retailers help the sales section by giving executives access to real-time information. Any e-commerce software can become more interactive by using a chatbot for customer service. It responds to your clients’ general questions and converses with them in a human-like manner. A smart chatbot integration can save a lot of your investment and effort in human resources.

These chatbots are pre-programmed with keywords and are activated when a user poses a question for which the program already has the solution saved.

8. Increase Brand Exposure

One of the most crucial reasons why every retailer needs to go for retail app development solutions are brand exposure and consumer awareness. It can be considered one of the prime benefits of mobile apps in retail business because it offers a setting where regular communication with your target market can grow engagement.

Furthermore, a consumer’s intent to buy increases the more frequently they are introduced to your brand. Mobile apps for businesses are regarded as an effective tactic for promoting and developing businesses because of this.

Mobile apps are one of the best tools for dramatically increasing the exposure of your brand in the cutthroat market of today. This can be done by developing an app with top-notch retail mobile app features that appeal to your target audience and that are also well-branded and easy to use.

Build a Robust Retail App for your Business with Appinventiv

Today shoppers are moving away from brands that are slow to adopt the mobile-first approach and are less active in the digital shopping world. In turn, the companies that have not yet adopted a mobile-first approach are suffering the consequences.

Being a leading retail app development company, Appinventiv has worked with many world-class retail start-ups and brands, thus enhancing their brand loyalty and value. If you are looking for a custom retail mobile app development company that specialized in building intuitive mobile apps for businesses, then connect with us and get started with your mobile app scaling journey.

FAQs

Q. How much does custom retail app development cost?

A. The retail mobile app development cost is mainly influenced by factors like developer hourly rates, the complexity of the app, choice of platform, and feature integration.

After accounting for all required factors, retail mobile app development cost will be around $5,000 – $50,000. This price may considerably rise if features are added to make it more user-friendly.

Q. How long does it take to build an app for a retail business?

A. When you outsource retail app development, the first question that comes to your mind is the retail mobile app development time. An app takes an average of 7 to 12 months to create, including the discovery, design & development, and pre-launch phases.

We learned the steps involved in creating an app, and we discovered that having a larger crew doesn’t always result in a quicker turnaround time. But there’s always a method to make things go more quickly. The mobile app development process can be accelerated with clear specifications, prompt responses, and shared accountability. Send us a message if you’d like a detailed cost estimate of your project.

Q. What are the benefits of mobile apps in retail business?

A. Here’s how mobile apps for retailers can prove to be extremely beneficial for your business:

People are definitely spending more time on their smartphones, so you can make use of this time to expand your company.
Mobile apps for businesses can boost your brand awareness.
Mobile apps for retail businesses have the potential to greatly expand your customer base if used properly.
Websites load more slowly on mobile applications.
The ability to gather more customer data through apps will enable you to analyze that data and fully comprehend the purchasing behaviors of your customers. Additionally, mobile apps for retail industry help you identify the strong and weak points of your company.

Q. What are some of the top retail mobile app features that implement in your apps?

A. Numerous user-friendly features are available in customized smartphone apps for retail businesses. Based on user feedback and industry trends, we have listed the most significant ones here.

These characteristics can be regarded as the essential components of your retail mobile apps.