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Sold on the benefits of an app? It's time to think about whether it'd be a good fit for your business
With how commonplace they’ve become, if you have a successful eCommerce business, you too may have considered developing a mobile shopping app to enable your most loyal customers to shop with ease. Not only are app downloads another point of affirmation that you can congratulate yourself on, but mobile apps often lead to better results for your business.
But the development of an app is a big undertaking, and not a decision to be made based on their potential promises alone. You can never be 100% certain that the time is right to develop an app, but there are some key markers you can check yourself against to better guide your decision.
As an eCommerce business owner, there really are no prerequisites to actually developing an app. In theory, if you’ve sold a singular product, you could build an app if you really wanted to - whether it would benefit your business at all is another question.
But, there are certain boxes that we would recommend having ticked off before the development of a mobile app becomes a major talking point within meetings or discussions with stakeholders.
An eCommerce app is the closest a customer can get to actually walking down the shelves of a physical storefront online. It’ll be used to check out new products in a truly branded experience.
Whereas, a large portfolio of products better lends itself to an app. Just as it encourages potential customers to further explore your website, it will encourage them to scroll through and explore your app too. By taking up visual real estate on a phone and through the implementation of wishlist functionality, customers will more naturally return to the purchasing journey. Plus they don’t have to log in every time.
With the proliferation of smartphones over the last two decades, shopping has integrated into our daily lives. As a result, it should not be a surprise that mobile devices have steadily made up a larger percentage of eCommerce sales with every passing year…
But -
Each brand, as a result of their product portfolio or buyer demographic, will have a different percentage of their sales made on mobile devices. After all, some people just prefer to make certain purchases on a desktop.
Put simply, if mobile sales only make up a small percentage of your net sales, then it’s going to be hard to convince your customers to, not only pick up their phones, but to shop through the app instead.
An app is predominantly there to serve existing customers, as new customers are unlikely to interrupt their buying journey to download an app if this is their first time shopping with you. A strong brand presence and loyal customer base provides a strong base for a successful app launch, and ensures you can encourage downloads and engagement from day one.
You can view a loyal customer base in multiple ways. Potentially you have a large following on social media, a high repeat purchase rate, or high customer lifetime value. Something needs to suggest your audience will want your app on their phones.
Black Friday 2024 saw a record 80% of sales being made on mobile devices. With this in mind, an eCommerce app becomes more and more enticing with each passing year. But that should not mean you create one without first considering how it will impact your wider business.
Firstly, a mobile app is an investment in both up front costs and in maintenance expenses. You’ll need to make sure that it will actually support your wider business goals.
After all, if your business goals are to grow your social media following, reposition your brand as either a high-end or more accessible brand, or streamline your business processes, an app isn’t going to do too much.
Secondly, do you have the resources to leverage an eCommerce mobile app?
Not only does the development of an app require extensive resource on its own, but there’ll be more touchpoints that need updating once it’s up and running.
Much like your eCommerce store, a mobile app requires ongoing maintenance and regular updates in order for its potential to be maximised. You need to have a plan for how an app will become a natural part of your business and how it will be deployed.
The prospect of developing an eCommerce app is an exciting one. Hopefully it brings your business a new way to service your most loyal customers. However, they are a big investment, and their development should be extensively considered before work begins. When you’re in a place to consider one, and you think you have everything in order, there should be little holding you back from bringing in new value to your business.
Want to know how? Contact us to learn about our mobile app development service.
