The retail industry has changed dramatically as a result of technological advancements. The majority of the difficulties that retailers formerly faced are now the responsibility of IT like the FortySeven IT https://fortyseven47.com/ team. Customers also benefit as they do not have to waste time hunting for a certain item in a plethora of city shops or worry about payment options.
Furthermore, unlike a few years ago, a custom software developer is now widely available and is no longer restricted to giant retail chains or shopping malls. It’s difficult to picture a tiny private custom software development company operating without an online presence; in fact, there’s absolutely no way a custom software development firm could continue in business for long without one.
Retail is currently heading toward the next stage of evolution, which is mobility. Despite accounting for barely 3% of all categories in app stores,’ shopping apps’ quickly gained popularity among retailers and customers.
In this article, Hanna Shnaider, the head of marketing at FortySeven will be explaining the five major features of a mobile retail store app that will help you in making your business unique.
Stats Behind Retail Store Apps
According to the 2016 PWC Total Retail Survey, 45 percent of customers use mobile retail applications regularly to read reviews and feedback on items, 44 percent to check out special offers, and 30 percent to watch advertisements. Almost 16% of customers indicated they bought things through retail mobile applications as well.
Only a year later, PWC discovered that 25% of users were making purchases on their phones. In general, mobile commerce sales in the United States increased significantly in 2017, reaching $113.57 billion, up from $96.81 billion in 2016. Globally, the figure has risen from $429 billion in 2016 to $549 billion in 2017.
According to present estimates, about 80% of all transactions will be conducted via a mobile device by 2020, with m-commerce revenues in the United States reaching $200 billion.
Pick Your Features
Mobile devices may appear to be less functional than desktop computers due to their smaller size. In reality, retail mobile applications provide a more comprehensive collection of services than traditional e-commerce sites. The largest benefit is that clients can shop using mobile apps from home and on the go, and in the store. But that’s just one of many strong points.
- Product evaluation
While previews are widespread in internet buying, they might be handy in physical locations as well. For example, a customer could want to view how an item looks unpacked, but the store can’t allow package damage and doesn’t have a live model on hand. FortySeven software professionals can construct a retail mobile app that includes a variety of product reviews, such as a static visual preview or a video and a 3D or even an AR model, similar to those discussed in this article.
What’s more, the development companies can show you what other consumers have to say about the product. In this manner, a consumer may get a preview of the item they wish to buy while browsing in the store and read the remarks written by other customers who have already purchased it.
- Scanning for codes
A retail mobile app may scan a barcode or a QR code of any product in the store using a camera lens. After quickly recognizing the development code and discovering the item in the database, the mobile app development will provide further product information, such as pricing, previews, customer impressions, current applicable special offers, and quantity left. With such a function, both the shop and the buyer can save time on pre-sale consultation.
- Mobile payment
Naturally, a custom software agency can utilize mobile payment to buy goods at a virtual store and then pick them up in the physical store. Customers can, however, utilize mobile payment as a checkout after placing all of their desired purchases in a physical store’s cart. Customers and software development companies benefit from this feature because it allows them to save time and avoid large lines.
- E-promotions
Apps for retail stores make it easy to create and use coupons:
- Discounts can be customized for each user based on their purchase history or (if a user agrees to share some of their data) mobile search history.
- Whether customization is used, generating and promoting special offers for a mobile app involves very little time and money for shops.
- All users need to activate a coupon in their mobile app: they may present it on a computer screen to a checkout cashier or press a button to activate a discount for mobile payment.
- GPS and beacons
Retail services can be made even more personal with beacon and GPS technology. When a customer’s smartphone is in a specific area, beacons (tiny sensors installed in a store) trigger actions in a retail store app. Predetermined rules or conditions normally govern the activity. For example, suppose a consumer stands near a product for an extended period. In that case, a beacon can cause the app to display additional information about that product or perhaps provide a discount coupon.
The range of a store-customer communication with GPS is much greater than the store’s interior. When customers are nearby, a retailer can detect them and notify them about special deals or discounts that may pique their interest, urging them to come in.
However, there’s a thin line between being helpful and being bothersome, so the key to this method is to set clear boundaries and keep it inconspicuous. When consumers receive notifications regularly, they will not enjoy them, regardless of how valuable they are, and will most likely remove the app.
Additional Functionality
If your primary purpose is to learn more about your audience or to deliver coupons and special offers from time to time, all you need is for people to have your app loaded on their devices. To put it another way, your retail mobile app doesn’t have to be a virtual store or even something related to shopping.
Still, you should provide some useful functionality to your audience so that they would willingly devote some storage space to your program. Several companies including custom software development companies have already adopted this strategy: Nike has a fitness tracking app, Teavana has a timed app for making several types of tea, and FortySeven is not left out. In addition to serving their objectives, these apps allow you to send coupons and collect user data.
Costs
The cost of developing a retail store app or any other sort of custom mobile software is mostly determined by the capability package. Furthermore, this package offers both major (as described above) and simple functions that some consider standard (login, registration, social integration, and sharing). This article on iOS software development expenses might help you get a better notion of price.
However, keep in mind that your project will include two distinct interfaces or even various apps, irrespectively of functionality. One is for you and your shop assistants to gather and analyze customer data and update and control data in client apps. The other is for your customers to use the features you’ve put in place.
Conclusion
Apps for a company or retail store can help with buying and selling in a variety of ways. Retailers can customize special offers or produce a custom software and predict when a buyer needs a final push to purchase by using data from their customers’ mobile devices, beacons, or GPS. Customers could also use apps to acquire more information about any item (pricing, previews, and reviews) and pay without waiting in large lines. For both buyers and software development company owners, all of these options make shopping a more enjoyable and efficient experience.
