The overall ecommerce sales are increasingly coming from mobile devices. In 2018 it was 40% of the total sales, and by 2021 it is expected to jump to 54%. For businesses that develop ecommerce apps, it means they are better positioned to address this growth.
However, it is going to take more than coupons and discounts to keep your customers hooked on your app.
According to a new survey and report from Clutch, businesses must design ecommerce apps with the goal of delivering the best possible overall experience. This means addressing everything from browsing to checking out without any difficulty.
Seamus Roddy, who wrote the report further explained the need to deliver on all points when creating an app. Roddy said, “Businesses must consider customers’ motivations for using e-commerce apps: how likely they are to engage with particular brands’ apps and how they use the apps to interact with products.”
Clutch carried out the survey to determine the types of ecommerce apps people use most, the activities they carry out in the apps, and why they use certain apps. The goal of the report is to give businesses an understanding of how people use ecommerce apps.
The survey was carried out by Clutch with the participation of 501 consumers with retailer/shopping apps on their phones. The respondents were made up of 69% female and 31% male who used ecommerce apps anywhere from 1 to 3 times per month to multiple times daily.
What Ecommerce Mobile App Features Do Customers Want?
Almost two thirds (65%) of the respondents use mobile apps to get deals and offers available only in the app. But according to Clutch, businesses should go beyond just offering products with high discounts. It is best to create apps which cultivate community and browsability.
This, however, is not the primary reason people use shopping apps. For example, 71% of the respondents use the apps to check prices. And they check prices (22%) even when they are in brick and mortar outlets, undoubtedly for comparison. For this reason, Clutch recommends for stores with a physical presence to integrate the in-app and in-store experiences.
When it comes to purchases, overall 62% say they use apps to buy something. But people who use pure online retail apps are more likely to make a purchase. For this group, the number goes up to 90%, while 88% of them also use it to check prices. Additionally, 34% use the apps to get product recommendations on similar items.
Even though the numbers are impressive for large online retail apps, Clutch recommends for small businesses to avoid measuring up. Instead, it is best for small businesses to target their specific market and achieve success there.
Restaurants and Ecommerce Apps
The purchase rate for frequent restaurant app users is high, coming in at 79%. And almost the same amount (75%) use the apps to view menus. But when it comes to using the apps for recommending similar products it is only 9%.
When creating restaurant apps, Clutch suggests providing features which match the user behavior.
Creating the Best Possible Ecommerce Mobile App Features
Using all the Data, Clutch came up with six steps for creating shopping apps matching the e-commerce app users’ prefer.
The Six Steps
- Make shopping apps easy to use to save app users’ time and improve their buying experience
- Integrate shopping app users’ in-app and in-person experiences
- Compare metrics to competitors’, not to large pure online retailers
- Match your shopping app to your business product
- Avoid using discounts only to attract shopping app users
- Develop browsable apps
You can read the full report here.
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