Shopping through a web browser is a thing of the past. The present and future belong to mobile apps. If you're still on the fence about whether to build a mobile app for your online store or change your own shopping habits, keep reading. Drawing on our own experience, we've picked out four important reasons why a mobile app is worth having now and will be unavoidable in the future.
1. Anytime, anywhere
As long as a customer has access to a smart device, they're free to shop. One app brings together the ability to pick out a suitable product, complete the purchase, and then keep an eye on the item as it's delivered.
People generally have their phone with them at work, at home and everywhere else. If a customer can make purchases without taking a single extra step, that's a flexible solution they'll prefer over any alternative, any time.
2. Exclusive offers
We've already written before about how important having a loyalty programme is, in our blog post "Five tricks to keep your online store competitive". If you want to extend your loyalty programme to your mobile app too, there's no shortage of options: free delivery, special discounts and more.
These are just a few examples of how an online store owner can encourage customers to use the app. From the customer's point of view, though, exclusive offers are the ideal way to get the most out of their shopping experience.
3. The app learns what suits the user
Sometimes more isn't better - for instance, when an online store sends out a huge volume of offers. At some point, they stop being helpful suggestions and become annoying spam. Instead of flooding a customer's phone with offers, targeted offers are a much smarter solution.
The personalisation features an app offers, such as recommendations and notifications, mean the customer sees suggestions that are actually relevant and useful to them. And this, in turn, increases customer satisfaction.
How do you achieve this? If you build the right app, it can take past behaviour into account. For example, the app can send a notification when a product the customer has bought several times before is available at a discount, or when a new product has been added to the store that, based on past shopping behaviour, should interest the customer. Useful for the customer, useful for the online store owner.
4. Following in the footsteps of successful apps
Every major brand in the world has its own mobile app. Amazon, Starbucks and Etsy are just a few examples from that long list. But what can we learn from their experience and take away for ourselves?
Amazon stands out for its high level of user-friendliness, the simplicity of its returns process, and the speed of its delivery process. The Starbucks app lets you place an order and enjoy your coffee without exchanging a single word with staff, and offers plenty of bonuses specifically for mobile app users. Etsy's app adds value by offering separate solutions for both sellers and buyers, which ensures maximum convenience for both user groups.
Put this knowledge to work
Shopping through a mobile app has many advantages for both seller and buyer. Building an app can be costly and require a lot of IT expertise. So think the whole process and your financial options through carefully before you plan to bring the idea to life.
If you need extra funds, ESTO is here for you. With an ESTO credit line, you only pay interest on the amount you withdraw to your bank account. And you do so on a flexible repayment schedule. Try out the credit line for the first 30 days and make withdrawals at 0% interest. Review the terms before signing the agreement, and consult a specialist if needed.
The annual percentage rate of charge on an ESTO AS credit account is 49,22% per year under the following sample terms: credit limit 4000 EUR, non-fixed initial (maximum) interest rate 40,70%, contract fee 0 EUR, monthly administration fee 0 EUR, total amount of credit and repayments 5467,67 EUR, assuming the credit is drawn down in full without delay and repaid over 60 months in equal monthly instalments.
Review the terms before signing the agreement, and consult a specialist if needed. The annual percentage rate of charge on an ESTO AS credit account is 49,22% per year under the following sample terms: credit limit 4000 EUR, non-fixed initial (maximum) interest rate 40,70%, contract fee 0 EUR, monthly administration fee 0 EUR, total amount of credit and repayments 5467,67 EUR, assuming the credit is drawn down in full without delay and repaid over 60 months in equal monthly instalments.