2022. February 24.
The popularity of apps is unquestionable. Smartphone usage is reaching an unprecedented level in digital history: according to the App Annie survey, we spend an average of 4 hours 48 minutes a day using apps. But is mobile app development beneficial for online retailers? Here are the pros and cons!
Today, anyone can shop from anywhere, at any time. All you need is an internet connection and a suitable device. This can be a laptop, a tablet, or a mobile phone.
The penetration of smartphones is growing steadily, each year. In 2020, 3.5 billion people worldwide were using smartphones. At the same time, mobile purchases have also grown significantly, with some surveys showing that 79% of people actively using smartphones have made a purchase online.
So, the future is pointing in the direction of making products easy to buy with as little effort as possible. But there are several ways to achieve this. One is the native mobile application, and the other is the progressive web application or PWA.
Native app or progressive web application
Native apps are characterized by the necessity to be downloaded from an app store to the smartphone/tablet and then installed. This, although not a complicated process, can still discourage many people from using the app.
Progressive web apps, on the other hand, do not need to be downloaded, as they run in the web browser. While native apps are developed for a specific platform using the appropriate programming language, PWAs typically use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Partly as a result, PWA development can be a more cost-effective solution overall, as it does not need to be developed for Android and iOS. As it doesn't need to be downloaded to the phone, it's also much easier to update and guarantee that all devices will be running the latest version.
All you need is a URL to open the app, so anyone can easily access it at any time. The web app can also be pinned to the smartphone's home screen, so it will appear like a native app on the phone.
The advantage of native apps is that thematic searches in stores can facilitate downloads. This is not the case with web apps, instead, they can be SEO-enabled, which can help them get to the top of search listings.
Mobile app for e-commerce
Apps give you the flexibility and immediacy that today's people demand. The user browses the webshop while sitting on the bus, sees a book he likes, puts it in his shopping cart with a click and pays for it. By the time he gets to the next stop, his library has already been enriched with another book. It's a convenience that's hard to be challenged by other technologies.
Mobile-friendly website vs app
Many people confuse apps with a mobile-optimized website. However, it is worth pointing out that there is a very important difference between the two. Apps are computer programs that run on mobile devices and are designed for mobile use in terms of UX and UI. This makes them much more convenient and natural to use. One could say that a mobile-friendly website is now a standard requirement. This is borne out by the telling data that 88% of consumers are less likely to return to a website that does not display well on a mobile device. Not to mention that 78% of users prefer to shop in an app rather than on a website.
According to BuilFire's survey, people prefer apps because they are more convenient, faster and store personal preferences. These, combined with careful targeting and professional development, can give you a significant competitive advantage.
They promote purchase and awareness
If an app is well designed, there is a good chance that shoppers will view more products and add more items to their shopping cart.
The mobile app is a powerful tool to boost marketing results. Push messages can be used to establish and maintain an active connection with your audience. These notifications usually draw attention to something new, a discount, a promotion, or a special offer. Push messages are delivered directly to the user's phone, watched on the home screen, prompting the user to open and read the notification.
It is important to underline that in this case the principle of relevance should be followed in terms of volume. So, only send push messages if they are useful and interesting, valuable content for the user. Otherwise, notifications may become annoying.
A personalized experience
Apps allow retailers to track customers and map their behaviour. This means that a customer profile is created for each user, which can be used to personalize the app content and messages. This takes the customer experience to a new level.
The mobile app can be a very useful and good tool for online shops. With the emergence of PWAs, an app can easily be created instead of/alongside the development of a webshop, giving room for mobile shopping to grow even more in popularity.
