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App Development

Everything about developing a mobile application for an online store

Attracting a customer to an online store is expensive, and the application is a great way to keep it. If you do not make an application now, then soon there will be no one to sell, because the buyer is rapidly turning into mobile only. 5 more reasons to start mobile app development today

According to App Annie

Users choose apps because it is more convenient and often more profitable to buy in them:

  • Users have the opportunity to buy goods at any time and in any place.
  • In applications, it is more convenient for users to compare products and prices.
  • In-app purchase saves time that people would otherwise spend traveling to the store.
  • Applications support the loyalty program, hold unique promotions for regular customers.
  • Applications show the entire range of products in the store: in stock and on order.

eCommerce apps are not popular because of marketing campaigns, advertising, or a capitalist conspiracy. They are popular because it’s easier for us. Smartphone is always there. The personal user experience of each of us proves that reaching out and placing an order is much easier than going shopping in a store.

Why mobile application is better than adaptive layout and mobile site

There are three scenarios for moving eCommerce to mobile devices: the responsive web version, the mobile site, and the app. To understand which option will be useful for business, you need to consider the functionality of all three.

Responsive website

A responsive website is a website that adapts to the screen of a smartphone. It doesn’t provide a new user experience or offer features that make it easier to buy.

The amount of information in the responsive and web versions is the same, so the smartphone spends a lot of time loading the page. People are very sensitive to the speed of Internet services, any freeze causes tension and boredom, and this interferes with the purchase.

Adaptive layout does not make the user session more comfortable: only visual changes occur that do not affect the connection between the brand and the person.

Mobile site

A mobile site is a separate site that is developed for smartphones and tablets. The identification mark is the m.site.ru subdomain (and its variations). A mobile site can run faster due to lightweight code and simplified design.

The content of the mobile version duplicates the desktop version. The site owner has to do double work on promotion, adjust optimization so that resources do not compete with each other.

Instead of one site, the store receives two resources, for the support and development of which you need to pay. At the same time, the mobile site, as well as the adaptive one, does not have functionality that can affect the relationship between the seller and the buyer.

Mobile Application

Unlike a mobile site and a site with an adaptive layout, the application is designed to involve the user in the purchase. An application on a smartphone is embedded in a person’s personal life. The store icon is always in front of our eyes, and the application itself reports events and updates through push notifications, bringing us back to shopping again and again.

Navigation elements in eCommerce applications have a typical layout: the user knows in advance where to look for the catalog, tabbar, and “Add to Cart” button. We memorize the purchase algorithm at the level of physical actions and can repeat it “automatically”.

The application responds faster to our actions. And this applies not only to the speed of working with the interface. The application remembers information about the buyer: name, contacts, delivery addresses. The person specifies the data at the first order and never returns to this task.

With the help of personal discounts and a loyalty program, the application can tie the user to itself for a long time. Offers in which we see benefits for ourselves increase the number of orders and the average check in the store.

The application does not require re-authorization, and sites periodically throw customers out of their accounts, so we have to spend extra time logging into the online store.

And a small bonus for the seller. In the application, the user makes more spontaneous purchases, because all the features of the application indirectly work for this: push notifications, a recommender system, customization, personalized offers, discounts, banners on the main screen.

Thanks to these factors, buyers move through the sales funnel faster and complete the targeted action more often, so the conversion in applications is higher than on websites.

Statistics speak in favor of mobile applications. 85% of users prefer to buy in apps because it is more convenient, faster and easier than on a website. eCommerce applications combine the best of offline, web and social networks and provide it to the user in a convenient and concise manner.

The most popular eCommerce applications.

Based on the 2021 Data Insight and App Annie rankings, we have identified the top 3 apps in the ecommerce market

1. Wildberries

For the convenience of the user, a detailed system of filters has been created in the application catalog. You can search for products here using a photo, a QR code and by voice request. By pinching a product card in the grid, the user opens a preview – gets quick access to a large photo, brand, price, and the “Add to Cart” button. If the product you need is out of stock, the Recommendations will tell you how to replace it. When placing an order, the application remembers the user’s data, and the next time the fields are filled in automatically.

Hold the card – open the preview

2.OZON

On the main screen, the user sees special offers from the store. Banners, product selections and stories involve a person in a purchase. Above them is the search bar. The search query is refined using filters and categories. The product card contains all the necessary information about the brand, price and discounts. If the user is connected to the loyalty program, the application will show the price with a coupon discount – you can apply it immediately on the product card. The application remembers your card details, delivery address so that you do not waste time placing an order.