People have a knack for shopping, which is why many individuals are called shopaholics. Shopping has become a routine part of our daily lives, whether it’s for groceries or clothing for an event. Digitization has played a significant role in adding to the ease and comfort of shopping.

The brick and mortar shopping game has completely flipped because of technological advancements. E-commerce has changed the way people shop. The mobile app development industry took people’s urge to shop, regardless of the time and place, and turned it into their advantage. With e-commerce individuals shop with a few taps on their mobile devices, without any hassle.

The e-commerce mobile apps slogan “Shop on the Go” has been ruling over smartphones and their users. Alibaba, Amazon, Myntra, and eBay are some big fish of the e-commerce industry. Supermarkets and malls are becoming more of a hangout or window shopping spot for most people. Honestly, no one wants to be at Target counter billing groceries while Cristiano Ronaldo makes his next gravity-defying goal.

An e-commerce app is a game-changer in any business. But what makes an excellent e-commerce app? What are the features that would make users want to use your e-commerce app? Many things should be considered when building your e-commerce app, for instance, the platform, product offering, and target audience among others.

Let’s discuss some tips and tricks to build your e-Commerce Mobile App.

KPIs For Your E-commerce App

KPIs are essential for measuring the success of every project. To create a successful e-commerce app, its best to set your KPIs. The KPIs and objective link directly to the features you need in your e-commerce app as well as assist in the development process.

For instance, if a B2B business decides to build its e-commerce store, their KPIs would include returning customers and higher conversion rates. According to these KPIs, the main features would be segmented push notification and re-ordering.

So before, diving into e-commerce, ask this question: What are the business KPIs and how will they be measured? If you fail to answer this question, it would be difficult to make your e-commerce app a success.

Target Market & Audience

Done with setting your goals? The next step is to think about the market that can help you achieve it. Are you looking to tap into the IT industry? If yes, then are you building an e-commerce app for a computer hardware or software solution? Is your product for B2B or B2C?

Identifying the target market and the audience is an essential step in creating your e-commerce app. The target audience and market identification can assist in streamlining the development process and enhance the app’s marketing. To analyze the target audience look at the demographic, psychographic, behavioral and geographic orientation.

What Technology To Use?

After you are done setting up your goals, objectives, and target audience, the second step is selecting the type of app you want. The first question is whether you wish to opt for iOS or Android. When you are sure, which platform you want to launch your app on, you decide on the app type: Native Apps or Progressive Web Apps.

Native apps are built for a specific device or platform. Users download and store these apps on their phones. Native apps, due to its OS-specific development, make full use of features and exclusive APIs smartphones offer.

However, Progressive Web Apps are next-gen apps that offer similar interactivity, speed, and performance of a native app. There is no need to download these apps via digital distribution channels like Google Play Store or Apple App Store.

List Of Features

Once the app technicalities are streamlined and clearly set, the focus should become the app’s offered features. Some features are mandatory in e-commerce apps, for instance, look books, native experience, back end synchronization, etc.

Moreover, Push notification is considered critical in mobile e-commerce apps. Easy checkouts give two advantages; it helps in streamlining the initial purchases as well as it makes reiterating purchases more straightforward and more accessible. It makes it crucial for e-commerce in both B2C and B2B.

Wishlists are a popular feature in B2C retailers; then again, it is the same for B2B too, as customers of this industry time and again repeat purchases. Another option is multiple payments, it is important to offer different payment options so it makes it easier to target a broader target audience. For instance, in Europe and the United States, apps and websites expect customers to pay, but East Asian businesses offer features like mobile payment options, WeChat.

User Experience & User Interface

User interface and user experience is the most essential thing in mobile apps. Smooth transitions, attractive color schemes, visuals, and graphics play a part in keeping the customers engaged longer. Obviously, you would not want to stay on an app that has a crappy or glitchy interface, right; the same goes for the customer using your app or visiting your website.

Create variations for your logo, when you wish to change the app colors for a special event or day. It will create your brand identity and impression on your target market. Leverage from different and smart branding tactics that build customer loyalty and leave an imprint of the customer’s mind.

App Budget

Apps development is costly, but some organizations offer affordable mobile app development, like ApplifyLabs. The cost to build an app for e-commerce depends highly on the complexity, features and the experience of the developer. Before hiring a developer to build an e-commerce app, you should be mindful of the budget of the app, especially if you are going for native app development.

E-commerce apps are becoming a significant trend and all B2B and B2C companies are vigorously adopting this trend. E-commerce mobile apps will play a vital role in your business growth. However, it all narrows down to your app requirements and budget. Nonetheless! By following the guidelines mentioned above, you will be able to create a pretty successful e-commerce app for your business.

Also read, Things You Should Know Before Starting A Business