Retail businesses usually struggle with keeping track of their overall performance based on the inventory and the efficiency of their different stores. As a result, they overlook the current market demands and consumer expectations. It becomes a major hurdle to remain competitive in the marketplace which may result in huge losses.
Therefore, many retailers have acquired mobile apps to make their operations more fluent and organized which has turned out to be a great success. As for the USA alone, the online retail market has reached a valuation of $338 billion in 2020 as compared to $41 billion in 2013. That’s a huge stride for any business sector and it proves that there is a huge potential for growth by digitizing your retail market with mobile app development.
Having a retail app opens multiple opportunities to scale your business by having new customers. There are several mobile app development companies in los angeles that you can choose to build your application. However, you must know how things work on the development end and what features you must include in your app. So, in this blog, we are going to cover all the relevant aspects of retail app development.
How Retail App Development Works?
Before getting into the creation of your app, you must understand the development process. So, you ensure a product that can bring value to your business with enhanced customer experience.
First, you need to align your business requirements with the scope of the project on which further development depends. For that purpose, you can consider the market trend and customer expectations with research to stand out. Based on this, you can plan the development approach and the structure of your application.
Now, you can design your application according to your business theme while keeping in mind the user requirements. Here you need to design an impactful user interface that catches the attention of the audience while providing a fluent experience with proper navigation.
Further, you can develop multiple functionalities to perform different actions within the application to complete the retail cycle. Here, you need to integrate different elements and components with the backend program to make them function. After developing the app, you test it to avoid any bugs and errors that may affect the performance.
Once the project is completed, you can deploy it on the platform where you want to target the audience. Moreover, you can also run a marketing campaign that will create awareness about your app with impressive promotion. So, you will have a certain level of traffic on your online app. The business will further expand based on the user experience you offer to the customers by including valuable features.
7 Features that You Must Have in Your Retail App
According to the stats shared by Statista based on a survey taken in 2018 targeting the USA, 57% are more likely to use retail apps to check the pricing of the products. Meanwhile, 40% of users are indicated as online buyers from these apps.
Therefore, the competition in retail apps has been increasing and you must include the following features to make your online retailing sustainable.
1- Account Personalization
Your app must offer a personalized experience to the users by giving them the option to have a personal account after signing up. Here, users can fill out their personal information and add credit cards to make a purchase. The user should be able to view their buying history and other personal offers.
2- Checkout Option
Although it’s a basic feature for a retail app, providing a secure checkout to the users is your responsibility as a retailer. For that purpose, you can include secure payment options like PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and more with proper integration. It makes the shopping experience safe with pure satisfaction.
3- Smart Filters
By adding multiple filters according to different categories of products and relevant aspects, you enable the user to make the right choice with instant search. When a user looks for a specific product the smart filters allow them to check it right away and that’s where you can increase the potential of sales.
4- Chatbots
The inclusion of a chatbot can take experience to the next level. You can integrate different queries with the specific result that the user intends to look out for. It’s like the regular assistance of a virtual salesman who is assisting the customers with their relevant questions regarding the product they want.
5- Reminders and Notifications
Several products are in daily use and when they get short the consumer becomes anxious. So, you can let them know instantly with notifications when it is restocked. Further, some reminders are based on the user’s interest in a specific product category.
6- Offers and Discounts
To keep the users engaged, you can introduce multiple offers and discounts according to different product categories. Here, you can also use the notifications to alert the users as it may intrigue them to buy.
7- Visualization with AR/VR
It is a trend and a requirement now to enhance the user experience by utilizing augmented and virtual reality. This technology allows you to display the product with a fulfilling visual experience. So, the customer will be able to view the real appearance of any item, and if it is according to the expectation, they can make a purchase instantly.
The Bottom Line
A retail app is undoubtedly an essential requirement for any retailer. It has become a prior medium to operate your business as customers are becoming more inclined to online shopping. So, you can initiate by hire android developers to consider the procedure and features for building a retail app that we have discussed in this blog. As a result, the productivity of your retail business will improve with the scalability of your business.
