Mobile applications are gradually penetrating the retail market. Retailers are finding new ways to sell and connect with consumers, and app development and mobile versions of sites is a usual thing. It is commonly believed that a resource that allows easy access to a web page through a smartphone or tablet is ideal for retailers looking to get caught in the mobile world. In fact, it’s not quite like that: sites have limitations. Often, mobile apps provide the opportunity to achieve great results. In this article, we will tell about mobile app development, and the most important thing, about their use for retailers.
Mobile Resource Restrictions
The main reason is that users are unhappy with the long page load, extra information, and lack of “advanced” options. Researches have shown that the duration of loading of a site with adaptive design on a phone considerably differs: experience on 12 sites has shown that on the average the version for the PC loads in 3.15 seconds, for a tablet – 2.8 seconds, and on a smartphone 18.24 seconds. Will users be able to wait that long? Probably not.
Most often, the download speed affects the decision to buy, which is why sellers want to reduce the obstacles to buyers on the way to purchase, in some cases, a mobile site with adaptive design makes it difficult.
Mobile and app development provides that the adaptive website on a smartphone will display the same content as the main version. But the mobile Internet has its own specifics: low download speed (compared to the usual), small screen size, often not quite comfortable conditions for the user (most often it’s a queue, a trip on public transport and other crowded places) – slow in such cases, annoying.
70% of all information on a standard web page is just superfluous.
Marketers` research shows that up to 70% of the content of standard online pages is unnecessary for a user who visits the site via smartphone. Dynamic output or a special version for devices with their URL partially solves this problem, but users depend on the speed of the connection, which often leaves much to be desired.
The main advantage of mobile sites in retail is a simple and cheap app development combined with easy support. They are perfectly suited to provide users with quick access to contacts, brief information on goods, services, and order. Mobile marketing has great potential: by implementing more advanced features, it will be possible to attract attention to business and generate more income.
What to do?
What should retailers do if they want to use all communication channels to the full extent and get the loyalty to mobile customers? Certainly, it is not necessary to refuse a mobile website – it is necessary in any case, however, mobile app developers at the expense of the ready project will lead marketing in the mobile sphere on an essentially new level.
Retail mobile applications
The first time you think about creating your own application, the business owners are faced with the question: Do they need to spend extra money when there is a website through which the customer can make a purchase?
The main difference between a site and an application is that the second one is a program that you need to download once to your phone or tablet. This means that the application is always at the client’s fingertips: you don’t have to go to the browser, fill in the search bar – you just have to click on the icon that always reminds of your company.
The application allows you to save traffic because, although many require an Internet connection, the basic components are already on the device – the user does not need to wait long until the animation, graphics, pictures are loaded, which makes them much more colorful and realistic. The product can be considered in detail – it is a big plus for consumers.
Mobile application developers create their own product for popular platforms: Android, Windows Phone, IOS – taking into account their properties, which allows getting a perfect result. Application development company creates the design of the program according to the device manufacturers’ headlines and makes it as user-friendly as possible. You can create a separate program for each platform or application developers can create a cross-platform program that fits any device.
It is possible to significantly expand the functionality of the applications:
- easy shop navigation;
- online payment;
- package tracking;
- discount programs and promotions;
- games;
- virtual fitting;
- 3D-graphics;
- Augmented reality and so on.
Mobile applications can do almost anything, and most importantly – by adapting to a particular device and increasing autonomy – they do everything quickly and better, compared to sites.
Any mobile app development company will tell that creation of a mobile app needs rather big investments, for this reason before the beginning of the project it is necessary to weigh all pluses and minuses, accurately to make marketing tasks. Earlier we mentioned the popular apps, due to which popular trends sell their products and increase audience loyalty. Explore the experience of predecessors – this will help to define the optimal application concept. Also don’t forget to specify a link for downloading the program on the site: 2 channels of interaction with consumers will work better together.
