Today, we are fortunate to live in a world where it is not necessary to physically go to the store to buy something. In fact, most of us can purchase items straight from our mobile devices, without visiting the website of an online store. Mobile applications are an important and convenient channel of communication between retailers and consumers. They provide usability, extensive branding options and a consistent store presence on the shopper’s smartphone.
When creating an online store, many people doubt whether they need to create a mobile application that copies their existing website. But due to the increasing trend in the use of mobile applications, the Viaduct team believes that companies should absolutely develop mobile applications and here is why:
● The buyer tends to use his smartphone to monitor prices, promotions and discounts, as well as study the reviews of other buyers. The mobile app helps build brand loyalty and makes customer relationships stronger.
● More and more users today make purchases through social networks. At the same time, retailers lose direct contact with clients and the ability to obtain information about them in social media. Therefore, it is necessary to promote mobile applications as a direct sales channel as they are highly interactive and, moreover, encourage users to share links with friends on social networks.
● A high-quality effective mobile application is capable of loading content much faster than the website of an online store itself. In addition, the architecture of the application allows developers to create useful and exclusive features with intuitive navigation and gamification, which increases the degree of interactivity and fosters deeper interaction with users.
● Mobile web browsers generally block any data collection in the online store, making it difficult for retailers to create a positive shopping experience. But blocking does not apply to mobile applications. What is more, mobile apps have access to multiple smartphone features, which improves the shopping experience.
There are users who prefer to use only mobile applications for purchases. And there are those who want to have as few applications as possible in their smartphone or prefer to buy from an online store by opening it through a browser. Consequently, if brands offer customers website only purchases, they lose a significant portion of mobile shoppers, and vice versa. Mobile apps are not only a useful addition to an online store, but also an effective channel to promote sales and increase brand awareness, which allows a business to create a successful marketing strategy to attract more customers and increase revenue.
Mobile app developments are essential for successful e-commerce businesses. A website with a responsive design is enough only at the first stages of a project to test a business idea or market. However, in order to gain a significant market share, a business needs to develop an online store for Android and iOS platforms. Our team of experienced Viaduct developers successfully create effective native mobile applications on iOS and Android for online stores and other business areas.
