An e-commerce app is a mobile application that serves as an online store for a business. Ecommerce apps boost brand awareness and the number of visitors.
Businesses across the world are creating mobile apps to promote them more effectively. United Arab Emirates is leading the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nations in e-commerce.
Mobile commerce sales are 42% (1.6 billion dollars) of total retail e-commerce sales in the country. The retail e-commerce market produced an astounding 3.9 billion dollars in 2020.
Only e-commerce website development couldn’t help you make a strong digital footprint. Mobile apps are at the front and center of the digital revolution and changes in people’s shopping behaviors.
So, it’s clear now that you should create an e-commerce application to meet your customers where they spend a lot of their time — their smartphones.
Shoppers are annoyed when they have a negative online shopping experience. Thus, you should develop applications that cater to your buyers’ requirements.
Building such an app can feel like a daunting task. Don’t fret, as we are here to help you. This article will discuss building an e-commerce app for brands to help them thrive in 2022.
How to Build an E-commerce App for your Business?
Follow this step-by-step process to develop a winning e-commerce application for your brick-and-mortar/online business.
Do Market Research Thoroughly
You must perform in-depth market research in order to create a top-notch e-commerce app. There will be numerous mobile apps in your niche.
How would you make sure that customers come to your app ditching all others? The answer is to learn about competitors’ practices and then replicate them in better ways to stand out.
Market research means looking at what other similar businesses are doing to market their products through e-commerce applications. Then, you should try to build a better strategy to beat them.
Moreover, you should research your ideal customers’ likes, dislikes, and shopping habits to gain more traffic and repeat purchases. This aids in developing an app that caters to the audience’s demands to make them buy your products/services again and again.
Determine your App’s Objectives
Once you figure out who your customers are and what are their pain points, the next step is to identify goals for your mobile app solution. Figure out how you will gauge your app’s success.
This information will come in handy when your mobile app development company starts creating app layouts, designs, and functionalities.
Before developing a customized application, it is imperative to understand your current extent of success and status in the industry among competitors.
If you want to build your online presence, creating a tailored app solution is enough. However, you would need to put more effort into developing your app if you want to drive mobile traffic for your existing online business.
Picking an Apt Platform
You would read lots of material on the internet praising one or the other type of operating system for mobile apps. However, it depends on your brand and revenue.
You would need detailed data about the CMS, inventory, database, and costs to choose a platform to launch your app. The software stack allows you to turn your amazing idea into a reality.
It consists of sophisticated parts such as the back end, front end, development method, and support.
Like ecommerce website development, e-commerce app development for android also requires an android user interface, a native programming language, and specialized development tools for native app products.
However, you need a native language, UI frameworks, and iOS development tools to build an e-commerce application for iOS.
Identify Required Features and Functionalities
So, you have collected data and established objectives by getting information and data about other similar apps. The next step is to list core and native features for your mobile application.
Brainstorm the ideas and operations to make your app more immersive and attain repeat purchases. For example, easy checkouts, various payment methods, push notifications, and a lookbook.
Think about adding captivating functionalities for customers like bespoke designs and branding, a rating or review system, social media partnerships, and back-end synchronizations.
These feature requirements are kind of standards in today’s e-commerce app development and will make your app platform look enticing and friendly to consumers.
Your app should feature a fast sign-in and check-out by employing AI elements. People dislike those shopping platforms that ask them to log in every time.
Furthermore, a prominent cart button is a must. Make sure people see the buy now/add to cart button at first glance by placing it at the most optimum position.
Build UI/UX Design
Have you ever visited an organized modern-looking website/app that is super easy to navigate and use? You must have remembered that refreshing experience.
This is the impact UX UI design has on the minds. You should ensure that your UX UI design conveys your message and brand identity to attract ideal customers.
App development companies often use smooth transitions, attractive images/videos, animations, and color palettes to make your native application more interactive.
Create Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Making MVP is essential to compel visitors to become loyal customers of your business. It consists of a large number of product features that stops visitors from abandoning your app without making a purchase.
Remember, you should consider what people deeply think of your goods/services to create an ideal MVP for them. Plus, it decreases the risk, shrinks the development process time, and split resources productively.
Gathering Feedback
After launching your minimum viable product, you collect feedback from customers. This feedback will enable you to spot your app’s weaknesses and resolve them.
It will help you see how your native app meets its primary goals according to customers’ feedback. You might need to make some basic alterations to the main features and requirements of users.
Don’t Get Stuck
Yes, change is the only constant in life. In the mobile app market, only those apps survive that are frequently updated. You should modify your native app’s design with new trends in design.
Frequently updating your app in line with the latest trends can seem intimidating to you. You can partner with a prominent digital marketing agency in Dubai to let them do the heavy lifting for you.
Find a professional website design and development company that is already darling with clients in your niche. Make sure their app developers keep abreast of new trends and technologies. All you need to do is to tell them about your brand values and goals. It will help them understand how you want your target customers to perceive your business.
Today’s users are tech-savvy, and they welcome and anticipate good changes in the features. By modifying your e-commerce app regularly, you retain your consumers and appeal to new ones.
Bottom Line
The e-commerce industry is rapidly swelling, and it is expected to grow in near future. Buyers are flocking to online shopping platforms as the use of smartphones is rapidly increasing.
If your business only has a physical presence, you are losing a considerable chunk of your customers.
Developing an e-commerce application seems like a mundane task to some business owners. Make sure you hand this project over to people/company who knows their work and have relevant experience.
If you are an e-commerce brand, a mobile application is an enormous help in your brand’s marketing.
You may be interested in: E-commerce trends in 2022