When we talk about e-commerce businesses, the sky is the limit. Today, people are shopping online more than ever before. And this statement applies to all industries globally. Using the power of the Internet, you can reach consumers anytime, anywhere from any device. However, the type of device you choose to target your consumers can be detrimental to your success.
It’s no secret that mobile usage has become an integral part of our lives. In fact, according to a recent study, more than 90% of the adults in the USA own a mobile phone, 81% of whom are smartphone users.
Smart business owners are recognizing this and adapting quickly to ensure it helps increase their e-commerce sales. How they are doing it? It’s simple; they are making things work for their brands using mobile apps.
If you dive into recent eCommerce trends, you’ll notice that for your online store to reach its full potential, having a website is just not enough. Everything is now moving in a mobile direction.
But is it REALLY a mobile app that can help? Of course, yes!
Working as a business consultant, I often come across business owners who are content with the growth, sales, and revenue their eCommerce site is generating and so they don’t see a good reason as to why a mobile app is mandatory.
This is why I am writing this guide.
In this article, I share with you the 7 reasons why you need to build a mobile eCommerce App to keep your brand and website relevant in the years to follow.
Seven reasons to build a mobile eCommerce App
1. Mobile eCommerce is a growing trend
Sales generated from mobile devices have completely taken over the eCommerce industry.
Dive into your sales data and see what devices your customers are shopping from. There’s a high probability that a major chunk of those people are using mobiles and tablets to browse your website and make a purchase.
According to the data reported by Statista, almost 70% of all eCommerce sales worldwide come from mobile devices. Which by the end of 2021 is likely to hit 73% globally.
People are so much used to shopping from mobile devices. It is WAY more convenient than waiting to get to a computer.
As mobile sales continue to grow, the best way to drive more traffic to your online store and to retain the maximum share of the market is to work your way through a mobile app.
Believe it or not, but shopping mobile apps are growing at an average rate of 54% per year, as reported by Flurry Analytics. Which is the highest as compared to other categories.
2. Consumers prefer mobile apps
Most of you are probably generating sales from mobile devices without a mobile application. Some of you might have even looked at the site data and are satisfied knowing that you are reaching a smartphone and/or tablet user via your website. But let me tell you that you are just barely scratching the surface.
Don’t get me wrong here. Whether you have a mobile application or not, a mobile-friendly web version is a must-have. In fact, 85% of online shoppers prefer using a mobile-friendly website as compared to a desktop version.
So, having a site optimized for mobile devices is like a first step to generating eCommerce sales. But the following stats is what makes all the difference:
More than 75% of consumers would rather use a mobile application to purchase from an eCommerce store than a website. This means that if you were currently getting 100 mobile transactions over a week, about 80 of those people would rather shop from your mobile application. And they are your existing customers.
Here are some of the reasons why people choose to use mobile apps over a mobile-friendly website:
3. Provides you a competitive advantage
This backs up my last point if you don’t have a mobile app yet, your online store is at a disadvantage.
Consumers prefer to shop from mobile applications, so it’s only a short while until they stop buying from your mobile site altogether.
Also, if you act to be an early mover and build an eCommerce mobile application, you can gain a good advantage over other websites without one.
If your target consumer is to choose between your brand and your competitor, your mobile app will give them a reason to buy from you.
4. Promises you higher-conversion
Using a mobile app can really boost your KPIs and improve your related stats. Let’s dive into the conversion stats between a mobile app and a mobile site.
When you study these numbers side-by-side, mobile application is a clear winner.
As opposed to a mobile-friendly website, consumers view 286% more products and add items to their shopping carts at an 85% higher rate using a mobile app.
This is amazing as it brings better exposure for your products and brand.
5. Improves your marketing communication
Mobile apps work like magic when we talk about marketing. By slightly improving your marketing campaigns, you can generate even more revenue from your existing and new customers.
Without a mobile application, you are directing your customers to your mobile-site to drive conversions. But often is it the same person coming back to your website? So, you spend more money on email campaigns and social media marketing to keep that traffic coming to your website.
But with a mobile application, you will have a more direct and better way of communicating with your customers –push notifications.
Here’s a quick glimpse of the engagement rates of push notifications compared to email marketing. 60% of the users open push notification, compared to 20% of email. 40% of the people who have opened the notification than interact with it, which is only 5.4% on email.
Clearly, push notifications are a better way to engage with your customers and promote your products and/or offers.
6. Creates a personalized shopping experience
Personalization is one of the core elements of eCommerce success. Most of you might already be using personalized tactics to drive sales for your online store.
Unlike email marketing and or the use of website data to personalize marketing campaigns, mobile apps can take your personalization to a whole new level. With an app, you can track the user’s browsing and shopping history to offer them custom recommendations.
Although this can be achieved through a mobile version of your website, but that is dependent on a computer, which needs to be logged in all the time. Using a mobile app makes it a lot easier. You can use the mobile app data and send personalized push notifications to your app users for even better conversions.
7. Allows you to reduce cart abandonment rates
One of the most important KPIs you might be tracking. Shopping cart abandonment is the biggest challenge for eCommerce businesses.
While the customer is just a click or two away from finalizing the purchase, they do not just make it. So, what goes wrong here?
Here are a few reasons why it happens:
- Top-ups or additional costs for shipping and taxes (60%)
- Being forced to sign-up or create an account (37%)
- Long and arduous checking-out process (28%)
- Difficult to calculate the total cost of the order or couldn’t see it (23%)
- Website crashed or had errors (20%)
- Site security was an issue and customer didn’t trust it with their credit card information (19%)
Apart from product prices, the most common factors cart abandonment rate is related to the experience of the user. But with mobile apps, you can easily overcome and eliminate those problems.
Conclusion
A mobile app is a must-have if you want your eCommerce business to be a success. I have outlined seven data-driven reasons for you to prioritize mobile app for your brand. Let us how you are planning to go about keep your online store ahead of the competition.