How Mobile Apps Can Help eCommerce Businesses Increase Their Sales

Today, people shop for goods online more than ever before. According to stats, over 80% of US Internet users shop via a mobile device. At the same time, the Internet provides a chance for eCommerce businesses to reach target customers anytime and anywhere. Mobile commerce is an undeniable trend that is expected to reach $425 billion by 2025.

Smart eCommerce retailers understand these tendencies and are ready to adapt accordingly.

Building a website is just the first step, but if you want to increase sales, mobile is the obvious path. If your goal is to increase your sales and grow your eCommerce business, you need to develop a mobile app. 

The good news is that, contrary to the belief that creating a mobile app is a complicated task that takes thousands of dollars, an eCommerce app builder will make the job easy for a fraction of the cost. Let’s check out the features that will help you increase your revenue through an eCommerce app.

1. Create a Personalized Shopping Experience

Modern consumers don’t have the time to dig through hundreds of products in order to find what they’re looking for. They want convenience and prefer to receive an offer that matches their gender, age, preferences, etc. 

Many eCommerce stores already employ personalization techniques but mobile apps significantly improve UX by analyzing the customers’ buying and browsing history and providing the best recommendations for further purchases. Your personalization strategy can include repeat purchases functionality, push notification campaigns, unique rewards, and special discounts.

2. Improve Marketing Communication

Today, eCommerce brands are constantly looking for a way to differentiate themselves from the competition. And the most frequently asked question is: What digital marketing tactics to use? 

Mobile optimization is among the top digital marketing channels, with 25% of businesses using it. This means that brands definitely should have a mobile marketing strategy and consumer preference for mobile apps vs mobile sites should be thought through as part of that strategy.

Mobile apps are every marketer’s dream. Without an app, you’ll need to rely on your customers navigating directly to your site in order to have a chance of driving conversions. However, even your best customers won’t need to come back to your site to make a purchase every day or every week. Therefore, in order to reach your customers, you will need to invest in social media campaigns and email communication. But with an app, you have a more effective way to communicate with shoppers—push notifications.  

Statistics say that about 60% of people open a push notification, compared to only 20% of emails. Moreover, once they open the notification, 40% of users have an interaction with it compared to about 5% of emails! What makes push notifications a better means of communication is that users don’t have to do anything. With push notifications, a message will appear directly on the customer’s home screen.  When the customer opens that message, they will be directed straight to the mobile app, so it is much easier for them to make a purchase. 

3. Increase Your Conversion Rates

Did you know that compared to website conversions, mobile app conversions have a much greater rate? A study by Forrester on internet retailing discovered conversion rates for mobile apps were 6%, 2.3% for mobile browsers, 4.2% for desktops and 3.3% for tablets. 

Mobile application conversions go a long way past downloads; genuine conversions occur in-app when an engaged customer changes over on a predetermined goal. In order to boost your conversion rates, you need to constantly analyze customers’ pain points. Then, use the results of your analysis as a basis to update the mobile UX by adding exciting features such as AI-driven search, fit analytics, and mobile payments. 

4. Improve Customer Loyalty

eCommerce retailers often create loyalty programs in order to retain their customers. Statistics say that over 80% of consumers tend to buy from stores that have loyalty programs. What’s more, the influence of mobile apps on joining such programs is estimated at nearly 60%.

Rewarding shoppers based on the amount of money they spend in your store within a certain period of time encourages them to increase their order value and urges them to buy from you more frequently in order to reach the next step in their reward journey. A mobile app allows customers to see their status within the program in real-time, which adds up to your personalization efforts. 

Image source: Unsplash

5. Boost Brand Recognition

The days when companies interacted or influenced customers with billboards and TV ads are long gone. Even if you have a website and social media profiles, that’s still not enough. These days, having a highly mobile brand presence is a great way to add extra fuel to your brand identity.

Customers’ expectations are changing rapidly and today, they often use mobile apps to interact with businesses more conveniently. If you provide your customers with a good, user-friendly app, they will install it on their mobiles and, even if they don’t need your products or services, they’ll be using it to check out the latest products or updates. This is a great way to gain and increase visibility but also to boost your credibility. 

6. Offer Multiple Payment Options

Offering multiple mobile payment options is a great way to reduce your cart abandonment levels. This will allow customers to choose the best option for them and quickly finish the order. A study conducted by the Baymard Institute found that eCommerce apps with multiple payment options can decrease shopping cart abandonment by 8%.

Besides payment by credit cards, you can also provide payment with digital wallets, crypto value, or even cash on delivery. It’s important to know your customers’ habits so that you can provide payment options they will actually use.

Final Thoughts

Today, more and more people are switching to using smartphones, and in turn mobile apps for their everyday requirements, including shopping. For that reason, eCommerce businesses of all sizes should consider building a mobile app. Selling your products via a mobile app would definitely prove to be a significant revenue-increasing advantage for you in the long haul.