The m-commerce trend has gained steady advantage over the years as more and more people prefer to use smartphone for shopping. Such is the popularity of mobile selling that e-commerce brands cannot ignore this channel at any cost. This fact itself brings the biggest challenge for merchants as they have to face massive competition in the app domain. Just having a presence on the App Store will not guarantee success for your business. In this scenario, it becomes essential to stand apart with your mobile commerce app. There are certain features that your app must have to make it a successful selling channel for your business. Here are a few features that you should ideally have for the app.
1. Compelling product images
E-commerce selling is not just about telling the customers what you sell but also showing them your wares. Ensure that the app is enriched with clear, high-quality images that are responsive as well. Poor quality images are a turn-off because customers will use them to judge your products and make a purchase decision. Multiple images with zoom-in feature will make an added advantage and so will product videos. You can take the customer experience a notch higher by investing in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality app development which gives them lifelike, product trial experiences.
2. Simplified and intuitive navigation
An app that is too complex for an average user to navigate will never bring you expected results. Well organized product and category pages make the key, while the app should also come with a robust search functionality. Similarly, it should be conversion-focused so that the customer is easily able to complete the entire steps that are involved in a typical conversion cycle. Functionalities like image search and voice search can give a futuristic appeal to the app and users will be inclined to choosing it over the competitors.
3. In-app analytics
It is extremely important to know how your app is performing, identify the potential bottlenecks, and address them to ensure the shopping experiences it delivers. This is where in-app analytics can help you in making the required improvements. The best way is to have in-app analytic tools that enable you to analyze things such as bugs, errors, and crashes and take the requisite steps to fix them. Further, continuous improvement and maintenance is essential to minimize mistakes.
4. A personalized shopping experience
Rendering personalized shopping experience is another factor that brings success for m-commerce apps. Work on collecting data related to the user’s gender, location, age, and shopping preferences. You can get all the information as a part of the registration process. Based on this information, you can send them push notifications and in-app messages comprising contextual offers and product recommendations. It is a smart idea to invest in beacon app development if you want to leverage location-based technology to target customers.
5. Social media integration
A powerful feature that you can include in your m-commerce app is social media integration. Primarily, it can be used to facilitate easy registration and login for your app, which greatly improves the user experience as they need not enter long details as a part of the onboarding process. Further, this feature is a value-addition for the business as well because it gives ample data about the user demographics and preferences, which can be used for personalized targeting. Also, it presents as an effective opportunity for brand exposure and propagation.
6. Strong security features
A business is obligated to protect the customers’ information, all the more if they are sharing it on the web or mobile channels. Ensure that your m-commerce app has robust security features and let the users know that the entire personal and financial information they share is secure on the app. For example, the checkout process should be clearly labeled and the card details should display only the last four digits. This will assure that there is no risk of losing the critical details even of the device is lost or stolen.
7. Multiple payment options
While strong security is a key feature that determines the app’s success, the presence of multiple payment options is equally important. Make sure that a majority of popular options are there for the customers so that they have all the alternatives to shop from your app. From all the popular credit cards to mobile wallets, cash on delivery, and even cryptocurrencies, you can have a variety of payment options to maximize the user base for our shopping app.
8. Live chat for customer support
Live chat for customer support is another feature that can be added to the app for taking it to the next level. This feature not only smoothens their shopping experiences but also build their trust in your brand. While you can also have support via email or phone calls, nothing matches the value of Live Chat. The best way to implement this feature is to invest in a chatbot, a software program that replicates human support without requiring an executive to address the customer queries 24 by 7.
Conclusion
A smart e-commerce seller is the one who prioritizes the quality of user experiences in his mobile app and the inclusion of the aforementioned features in it assures the same. If you want to win over your customers with an amazing app experience, get it developed by a reputed mobile app development company that has relevant expertise and experience. Mobibiz is a name that you can trust for rendering high-quality shopping apps for businesses. Connect with us to share your requirements and we will craft a mobile commerce solution to match.
