Why Mobile Apps are Important for your Ecommerce Website

If you have an ecommerce website, chances are that you have considered developing a mobile app for your online business. A mobile app is not only a great tool to reach a large number of customers, but it also helps in retaining the already existing customers. Owing to the popularity of mobile applications among people, more and more businesses are building their own apps.

A mobile app is a great resource to directly boost the number of orders placed from your store. Research shows that people shop 130% to 140% more from mobile apps than from mobile or desktop sites.

A few reasons that make mobile apps highly important for a business are:

1. High number of smartphone users

Mobile phones have become more accessible to the middle and the lower class than computer systems. India had more than 468 million smartphone users in 2017, and this number is expected to rise by 84% and reach 859 million by 2022, according to a joint study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India and PwC.

As the shopping habits of consumers are shifting from offline to online platforms, especially because of the corona pandemic, they are more likely to make purchases from mobile apps than offline stores.

2. More people prefer apps to mobile sites

Mobile apps have a lot to offer, such as:

1. Ease of Access — To access an app, all it takes is pressing an icon that is already present on the device. Whereas, to access a mobile site, people have to go to the browser, type the website address, and wait till it opens. And if they close the browser, they will have to do it all over again. Moreover, mobile apps have a smaller response time in comparison to mobile sites when the internet speed is low.
2. Enhanced UX — It’s easier to scroll through mobile apps than the ecommerce website of the same brand. The display and navigation are better, paving way for an enhanced buying experience.
3. One-Click Ordering — Mobile applications facilitate an easy ordering process. Brands like Amazon require you to swipe a tab to place the order effortlessly. Big Basket has taken a step further to eliminate any order cancellations due to payment failure by introducing an ‘order first, pay later’ feature.
4. Easy Payment — Phone apps offer easy payment options. Whether it’s OTP detection or payment requests on apps like Google Pay, PayPal, PhonePe, etc., it is easier to purchase and pay using the same mobile phone. Moreover, mobile apps allow existing users to access their stored net banking and card details and make the payment seamlessly.

3. Increased customer loyalty

Mobile apps use data from previous purchases and behavior to offer personalised suggestions. For example, when you buy a product on Myntra, it asks you whether you’ve bought it for yourself or someone else. Based on the data collected from a few such purchases, it offers suggestions on the right size of clothes for you when you make the next purchase. Because of this, customers are likely to return to the app for their next purchase.

Another way you can benefit by launching a mobile app for your ecommerce website is by offering discounts or offers that are exclusive to the apps or are easy for customers to avail. Some apps offer a discount coupon for a certain number of purchases, while some offer discounts for certain total purchase value. The customers will come back to the app to avail those offers.

Further, these apps have stored data like card details, addresses, etc., which makes it more convenient for a customer to place an order. This again increases the chances of customers shopping from the same app every time.

When a customer installs an app on their phone, it suggests that they liked your website and plan to return to it in the future. As a brand, you can benefit from it by making the user’s buying experience better and earning their loyalty.

4. Easier marketing/engagement

It’s much easier to engage customers on mobile apps than on their web variants. Push notifications are an effective tool to compel customers to check the app. Notifications about special offers, item back in stock, availability of a new, popular product on the app, etc. work wonders.

These apps may also use data from the other apps on the phone like GPS, shopping trends, etc. to make offers or suggestions that would interest the customers.

One more factor is that customers are more likely to check their phone when bored than a desktop. ‘Boredom shopping’ is done best on mobile apps because these apps are already present on the phone.

5. Low cart abandonment rate

Mobile apps have a cart abandonment rate of only 20% as opposed to 68% on desktop sites and a shocking 97% on mobile sites. This is because saved details, one-click ordering, and other features make the checkout process considerably easier.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned points signify why it is important to develop a mobile app for your ecommerce website. Mobile applications help a brand to meet the market trends and demands, increase customer engagement, and increase the revenue by boosting the sales.

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