Do you ever step out of the house without your phone? I am guessing not very much, we are so used to our smartphones, that they have become a necessity, which we probably wouldn’t want to lose, even if an asteroid hits the planet! But do we prefer to carry our laptops everywhere we go, most of the time, this is not the case, mobiles are much more handy and easy to carry and compact in size? This alone should answer your doubts about having a mobile app for your e-commerce business.
Mobile Apps are revolutionizing the world in each and all the sectors. In a world that is surpassing the limits at every step, having just a website is not going to solve your problems, what you need is to give your customers a go-to, anytime-anywhere access, and I do not need to point out the obvious to you. The world is evolving, and change is inevitable, what makes you stand the ground taller, is your approach to these changing circumstances.
According to Google, 80% of people change devices while making a purchase. Mobile commerce or m-commerce purchases are going to account for 54% of online purchases by 2021; if you lag right now, you’ll get the benefit of the rest of the share. Another interesting statistic that drills right into the favor of a mobile app is that out of the total online purchases, 60% are made on mobile phones. As an entrepreneur, you might want to have the first movers advantage before it is too late. In India alone, more than 500 million people own smartphones, 77% of which are online. Opens up the gate to a new perspective, right! Let us discuss the opportunities that m-commerce can create:
What the trends posit
The numbers show that mobile purchases are expected to rise by more than 54% in the next 3–5 years. Why? Because Mobile Apps are just a click away, always in our pockets, an arm’s length away, which is not the case with laptops or desktops. You tell me, what would you prefer, getting up, switching on your laptop/desktop, then browsing the website, or simply just unlocking the phone and clicking on the preferred app? I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest; it’ll be the latter.
Having a mobile app promotes your e-commerce business by bridging that gap. The average year over the year growth rate of m-commerce in every sector is 6%, so you cannot match the market forces by being ignorant towards this aspect. Mobile commerce is a thriving industry.
The next question might be, can’t these sites be accessed directly from the browser. Yes, they can, but conversions fall by approximately 53% if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load. Talk about patience. Also, the UI/UX of an app will provide a better and easier experience for the customers.
Consumers prefer Mobile Apps.
When consumers go on a shopping site, they’d prefer to get a personalized experience, speed and relevance. They do not want to see some unnecessary stuff that doesn’t interest them. Data shows that mobile apps have been far more successful in achieving this. While mobile websites can stand as an excuse, data shows that 78% of consumers would prefer mobile applications over mobile websites. This happens because the experience given by mobile applications is more convenient. Do not abstain from having a mobile website that is not the agenda being discussed, but make sure to give mobile applications the attention they deserve. This is requisite to the fact that 88% of consumers are more likely to not return to the website after a bad experience, and more than 47% abandon the website if it does not load under 2 seconds. All this analysis budges you to invest in a mobile app for your e-commerce because ignoring so, will not only under your customer turnover but also affect customer loyalty of the existing ones if they do not get an optimized experience.
Be ahead of the competition.
There are millions of e-commerce businesses that are thrusting right now. Given a choice between your website and the mobile app of your competitor, the consumer is more likely to prefer a mobile app. In fact, being opportunistic right now will come in handy to increase your customer base, by developing a mobile app before your competitors to give you a headstart, because in the coming years, every e-commerce business will have an app, so why not start the race early. This way, if a customer is torn between your site and a competitor’s, they’ll adhere to your brand because of the mobile app. Another aspect that should hit you is, we already have a high bar set by companies like Amazon, so when they look at your website, they’d want to find the same convenience and optimistically a little more. The best way to incorporate these features is through an e-commerce mobile application.
Engagement Rate
Being a part of this industry, you constantly need to let your customers know what’s new, and how you upgrade. This needs uptight promotional tools. Mobile applications lead this aspect with the help of a feature called push notification. Ecommerce businesses mainly resort to mails for updating their customers about the new and exciting offers, but the engagement rate with push notifications is much higher. 60% of the users actually tap on the push notifications as compared to 20% of emails. Apart from that, 40% of those who open the notification show interaction compared to 5.4% in emails. These stats speak for themselves. You always wanna be a step ahead of your competition. The other rising promotion trail is social media, but for that, you need to have that customer on the respective site, push notifications to appear as normal texts on the home screen, and lead the customers to your mobile app. These notifications help to get attention to increase interactions, because even your best customers, would hardly repeat purchases more than twice a week
Conversion Rates Speak
What do we look for, from the business point of view when we develop an e-commerce business, interactions which finally transmit to purchases, right? Mobile applications offer 130% higher conversion rates than browsers, which includes a straight 286% high when it comes to products viewed by each individual. These conversion rates depict the clear answer to your prayers. The initial cost of setting up a mobile app might look a bit too much, but it is worth it because it’ll generate higher revenues.
Better UI/UX
When you develop a mobile application, it delivers a seamless experience to your users, which keeps them coming back. The buffering of mobile websites gives an edge to mobile applications that don’t play with the patience of your customers. Moreover, the user interface that is built-in applications leads to smoother transitions from one window to another, and UX provides better graphics that catch the eye of the users. Now, these little things matter in order to build customer loyalty and ensure they do not shift from your brand. The UI helps you to stay connected with your customers via push notifications. The advantages of UI/UX can be better incorporated in a mobile app promising a higher engagement rate.
A personalized shopping experience
What do you think can be a better USP than a personalized shopping experience. It is all in the first few scrolls that you have to tap the interest of your customer. What exactly does personalized shopping experience mean anyway? It’s simple if you are a stockbroker, you probably aren’t looking for a stethoscope (exceptions not included), then you wouldn’t want to see these things being displayed on your homepage. Observations based on consumer behavior, data analytics, time spent on the app, the information provided by them like gender, age, location, etc. can be used to provide a personalized experience to the users. These tailor-made suggestions are better interpreted when done through a mobile app as opposed to a mobile website.
Retention Rate
While sales remain the number one priority of any organization, they disguise other vital information. The sales do not exactly tell us how often a customer returns to the site. Retaining old customers through brand loyalty is very crucial besides adding new customers. According to a study, additional customers cost 25% more than the existing ones. However, mobile apps show some satisfying results like our knight in shining armor, 38% of users return to the mobile app 11 times or more after making a purchase. Additionally, 50% of the users visit the app at least twice a month, and if these stats do not always show a green light, you can always resort to push notifications.
Average Order Value
As the name itself suggests, AOV is the average order value that is taken into consideration from a macro study of the consumer trends. The average order value of a cart/purchase made from a mobile app is $10+ than a mobile website. Let me put this into perspective for you, because of the easy and quick experience that mobile applications provide, the customer visits and notices more of what you have to offer, this naturally increases their interaction with the site and increases your cart value. This can also be supplemented with cash and trade discounts. For example, if you get 2000 orders every month, increasing your AOV by $10 will lead to increased revenue of $20000 per month. All the more reason to shift to mobile application NOW!
Wrapping up
We discussed the various benefits that mobile applications have to offer, with some astonishing stats, I do not believe any trader would not want to get their hands in there. E-Commerce can be beneficially supplemented with an application providing a better experience to the users. One more that should be kept in mind whilst developing an application is to provide premium quality customer service. Often consumers get really restless and anxious once their order is placed. Ensuring a constant update regarding their orders, answering to their queries, and taking into consideration their requests is only going to boost your sales, as a happy customer is more likely to shop again.
