eCommerce Apps are electronic media for sharing business information, maintaining business relations, and commercial transactions, commonly associated with selling products and services over the internet either directly to the consumers or other businesses.
Since 2015, a 15% global increase has been seen in in-app downloads; according to App Annie, the easy and quick service provided by the applications compared to websites.
Let’s find out the prerequisites and best practices for developing a mobile application for your eCommerce business.
Ecommerce App Development Checklist
1. Select a Platform
Several back-end management platforms like Shopify, Weebly, Magento, etc. Each has many similarities and differences. When choosing a platform, your business size and the features it’s supposed to provide should be kept in mind.
2. Make the right Team
Choosing the right person for your team (people who have good experience in mobile applications and web/iOS development) might sound costly. Still, it will be cost-effective in the long term as it will save your fund on backend, development, or marketing.
3. Application Performance above everything
A 0.1-second lag on your app can reduce your revenue by 1%, and that’s a huge sum on an eCommerce scale. Hence, the native app must be made on both iOS and Android platforms to ensure the smooth running of the app.
4. Market research and analysis
Conducting market research will open doors for understanding and targeting people’s needs. Many eCommerce apps face failure due to a lack of knowledge of the market needs and what will make people more comfortable in using your app in terms of the User Experience.
It is usually recommended to use GDD (Growth-Driven Design) Method for eCommerce mobile app development which allows the creation of an MVP to analyze the market fit.
5. Attractiveness check
The way the app looks, the colors and the fonts used, the easier and less cumbersome it is for the customers to use, and how elegant it is in giving customers a particular opinion about the business make an eCommerce app successful.
Attributes to consider while designing an eCommerce app
The Checkout and Product Pages are the two high-priority divisions of the eCommerce app. Other features to be included are;
-
- Simple design for effortless navigation
- Categories list and Filter Option on each page
- FAQs
- Contacts
- Legal Information
- Privacy Information
- Return and Exchange Policy
- Icons (Sharing, Cart, etc.)
- Support Pages
- Payment methods
Make sure that the Checkout process is not loaded with numerous forms. This might overwhelm the users and push them away.
6. Provide Direct Customer Service
Customers usually lose interest if their queries are not sorted. In a world where one tweet destroys the whole reputation, good customer service that is 24/7 available gives you the strength to keep the customers to yourself, making your app trustworthy and reliable.
7. Augmented Reality (AR)
Augmented Reality helps furnish the customers with all the information they require about the product. This not only creates customer satisfaction but also reduces product returns. Although it’s not necessary for an eCommerce app, statistically proven, more than 60% of users will choose AR included apps rather than non-AR included ones.
8. Good quality products
Not just the UX, interface, and app are essential, but the quality of products offered is of foremost importance. Therefore, in the hustle of making the best eCommerce app, don’t forget to work on the quality of the product.
Best Practices for Ecommerce App Development and Successful Running
-
- Identify Target Audience – It is logical to know the direction you are heading to reach the destination. Therefore, be consistent in doing market research to understand your competitors’ ongoing market trends and the target customers for developing a successful eCommerce app.
- Development Methodology – Although a range of app development methodologies (native-based, hybrid-based, and web-based) are available; each has advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is essential to choose the right one as per the requirements of your app.
- App Data Security – In an eCommerce app, users’ personal and bank account details are usually stored as other vital information. Hence, it becomes a matter of concern to protect the user data because you are held accountable if this data is misused. 2-factor authentication and fingerprint lock are two ways in which app data can be secured.
- Test the Running of Your App Before Deployment – testing the app is not a one-day task. Test running of the app should be done until it is under the development stage to have room for early error rectifications and bug removal, which will become very difficult once the app is deployed.
- Track User Experience and take Feedback – Pay attention to the level of comfort and the type of experience your app is providing to the customers. Besides Beta tests, take regular feedback from other developers and customers to ascertain the success of the app and your commercial growth.
- Stick to the App Store Development Guidelines – otherwise, you might be removed from the App Store. This doesn’t mean you can’t include new codes in your app; it just implies following the basic rules of the Store.
- Updation – To maintain quality with the progression of the trends, updating your eCommerce app is mandated.
- Develop the codes so that it leaves room for the users to Personalize Your App according to their wishes and make sure that the app is not too complicated and Easy to Operate for each class of users.
- Teamwork – Promote team spirit among your team members to make all your efforts fruitful. Also, a team with people with different skill sets working in coordination can bring innovative ideas to the table that will help your app succeed in reaching a variety of customers and impacting lives.
Conclusion
The development and maintenance of an eCommerce app are more complicated than it seems. However, if faced smartly, all the difficulties and challenges can result in an app that has value and touches lives.
It is important to keep the need of users above the personal motive of making money and providing them with the best user experience possible.
