A golden age of eCommerce mobile applications has arrived, and the number of mobile applications is growing like a weed. This is especially because of the business value they bring to businesses. Mobile apps help companies build strong relationships with their customers, allowing users to hunt for products on tap and keep all information in one place.
But there's a challenge: there are thousands of mobile apps and customers feel confused about what product to use and which one suits their needs best. That’s why you need to build a great eCommerce mobile application and sprinkle it with cool features to stand out from competitors. In this article, we'll talk about the key features of eCommerce platforms that can help make your app outstanding, and we'll discuss what's happening in the global eCommerce market.
Global eCommerce Market Overview and the Rise of mCommerce
Online shopping has been trendy over the last few years. Today, more and more people prefer to shop online because of the convenience and ease. The pandemic also motivated more consumers to shop online, including categories of products that they usually would buy in person. Next year, the global eCommerce market revenue is expected to total about 5.4 trillion US dollars, compared to 4.89 trillion in 2021. Insider Intelligence from eMarketer predicts US consumers will spend more than $933 billion on eCommerce this year — 15% of total retail sales — and that eCommerce sales will reach nearly 24% of total retail sales by 2025. Sounds impressiveб doesn't it?
The mCommerce world is scaling up at an unprecedented level too. Because 87% of shoppers do online product research before buying, marketers expect mCommerce to become the primary source for online shopping soon. Here are some shocking statistics about the mCommerce market:
- 71% of in-store shoppers who use smartphones for online research say their device has become more important to their in-store experience.
- 67% of consumers have downloaded a retailer app.
- 67% of customers who window-shop online do it just for fun, with 77% of those making impulse purchases in the end.
Mobile shopping is taking over the online shopping industry and is becoming the most popular eCommerce trend. So now is a good time for businesses to reinvent their eCommerce mobile apps as more and more customers are shopping from their smartphones.
Key Players
The eCommerce market is fragmented and likely characterized by extreme competition in the next few years. Many companies are implementing new strategies and eCommerce mobile app features to improve their presence in the competitive environment. Today, some of the prominent players in the global eCommerce market include:
- Amazon.com, Inc.
- JD.com, Inc.
- Apple, Inc.
- Alibaba Group Holding Limited
- Flipkart Private Limited
- Walmart, Inc.
- eBay, Inc.
- Best Buy
- The Home Depot
Currently, Amazon tops the list. As of January 2021, its market value stands at a whopping $1.634 trillion. This marks an impressive 73.6 percent growth from the previous year, attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns across the world. The second-biggest eCommerce company is China's Alibaba, with a market value of $648.32 billion. Ma's company has more than doubled its net revenue in the two years spanning 2018 to 2020, from approximately $36 billion to $74 billion. As the two biggest online retailers, Amazon and Alibaba have a combined market value of over $2.2 trillion. This makes up more than 40 percent of the total market value of the top 10 eCommerce companies globally.
As you can see, the competition in the eCommerce ring is fierce, so to engage more customers, eCommerce players should focus their resources on mobile app development. In particular, eCommerce mobile apps must have sufficient functionality so that customers feel satisfied and supported.
Let's proceed to our best eCommerce mobile app features that you can implement now to stand out from your competitors.
Top 10 eCommerce Mobile App Features
If you want to launch an eCommerce application or have already done it but want to spice it up, let's look at the eCommerce mobile app features list to make your app more attractive.
Easy onboarding
The first impression can ruin the reputation of your business — but a user-friendly interface and smooth navigation keep users connected. As a rule, users do not like complicated sign-ups, and many applications require much information for registration. The whole process should be simple, like the most popular eCommerce app builders. Make sure you streamline the registration and the login and logout processes by allowing users to log in via their Google accounts or Facebook or by using an email address as a login. The easier access is, the more likely users will continue interacting with your mobile application. The eCommerce mobile app should also save user information for further interaction and redirect users to the main page with product and service information.
Secure payment methods
This feature is standard in modern eCommerce mobile applications. Your eCommerce application should have a stable and secure payment process to drive revenue. By providing your customers with secure payment methods, you facilitate finalizing a purchase. However, implementing this feature is not an easy task.
New research on the digital payment industry in 2021 shows that electronic payments continue to accelerate. Top P2P providers saw double-digit growth in monthly app downloads in April and May 2020. By September 2020, 76% of consumers reported increased use of mobile wallets payment methods, with 43% of that group doing so "significantly." Given that, it's a good idea to provide your customers with multiple options of payment methods to use their preferences. If you want to increase your conversion rates and sales, think about adding some of the following payment methods:
- Apple Pay
- Paypal
- Google Pay
- Stripe
- Masterpass
- Amazon Pay
- American Express
Of course, you don't need to implement all of these methods, but providing multiple options is a good idea. Remember to include options like credit card payment or online transfer so that your customers can proceed to the order securely and quickly.
App customization
Every eCommerce mobile application should boast a superb user experience to promote its business. This means that it's crucial to provide customization in your eCommerce mobile application. Customization increases the chances of getting more and more users to your product: the more preferences and needs your app can cover, the more likely you are to stand out among your competitors. Users are always looking for an app that they can manage according to their requirements, and when a person downloads an application, they usually look for flexible navigation. So by providing mobile application customization options, you enhance the user experience and establish strong relationships with your customers.
Smart filtering and sorting
Generally, eCommerce applications have thousands of goods listed across different categories. Suppose you offer a wide range of products. In that case, you will need to implement user-friendly filtering and sorting features to reduce the number of steps for a customer to find a specific item. Thanks to advanced sorting options, users will quickly find the products they are looking for without scrolling through the whole page (or pages!). This quick access can help build a kind of brand loyalty in users and provide a positive user experience. Additionally, new visitors can land at desired products quickly, without stress and wasted time. To improve your buying experience and make it even more pleasant, you can add a barcode search that allows users to access the product by scanning the code directly.
Product gallery
Product images with a product gallery are essential for a product page. A product page should include at least several images of your item. It's best to capture it from different angles and, if possible, make a 360-degree image. Your customers will appreciate it! The goal of the product gallery is to convince the customer to buy the product if they are still hesitating. By adding high-quality pictures, customers will be able to see the item in different contexts and make their choice. It's also a good idea to make the pictures zoomable. The users can play with them a bit and look at every detail.
Make sure that the content on product pages is engaging and informative. Try to include the size, color, ingredients, material, usage information, etc. Also, include a call to action on your product page. There can be a few different ones, but make sure your customers engage with them. Examples of such CTAs include "Contact Us," "Add to cart," "Add a coupon," "Add to wishlist," and "Buy now."
Product suggestions
Product recommendations are essential sections on a product page. According to CMSC Media, 35% of what customers buy on Amazon and 75% of what they watch on Netflix results from product recommendations. Product recommendation is a great way to sell new products, do upsells and downsells, cross-sell, etc. In many cases, product recommendations can prevent you from losing a customer: even if they don't like a product, they are immediately provided with a similar alternative they may be interested in. Ideally, the customer doesn't leave your website but spends more time on it, running through the product suggestions. A personalized set of recommended products can be a good alternative as well.
Shopping cart
One of the best eCommerce app features is a shopping cart. By adding a shopping cart to your eCommerce store, you will positively impact your customers and allow them to purchase flawlessly. A shopping cart also helps users realize that it's one of the last steps in their shopping journey and that they must make their final decision. Ensure that the shopping cart is simple and no distractions when the user opens and closes the shopping cart. Your goal is to focus their attention on the selected items. To optimize your shopping cart for sales, it's essential to add some of the following features:
- Color and size picker
- Add to cart/remove to the cart feature
- Consistent shopping cart across multiple sessions
Sometimes, customers can leave their shopping cart unattended and log out. The best practice is to save the products in the shopping cart and welcome customers when they get back. This also allows you to add a CTA to make your instructions understandable.
Shipping options
Allow your users to choose from different shipping options and add a shipping address within a few minutes. This feature informs the user about available shipping options and shows how much each of them costs or what is the delivery time for each option. Note that if you are going to build an MVP of your application, you can start with the simple option of ordering goods from one of your traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Once your product gets successful results, you can implement this feature further and add new shipping options for every iteration.
Push notifications
Another excellent eCommerce mobile application feature is push notifications. They are often confused with simple messages, but push notifications are usually shorter. There are different types of push notifications. Let's look at five of the most popular:
Geolocation push notifications
As a rule, these are triggered when a customer reaches a specific location. To receive geolocation notifications, users should enable location on their mobile phones. Geolocation notifications are usually used to offer location-based services. For example, a food ordering app can remind users to make their first order by suggesting the nearest restaurant they can eat at and offering a 10% discount. Another example is the campaign launched by Sephora. Users received push notifications when they came within a certain radius of the Sephora shop. This push offered them a free service, which motivated them to visit a store and increased their chance of buying something.
Informative push notifications
This type of notification keeps customers informed about the latest news, coupons, discounts in your application, new mobile application updates, etc. This is the primary type of push notification used by many global companies.
Promotional push notifications
Promotional push notifications are one of the most important for you as an eCommerce retailer. With the help of promotional pushes, you can provide your customers with personalized content and products. Here's a list of practical ways where you can use promotional push notifications:
- Send discount coupons
- Inform users about a current offer on your eCommerce mobile app
- Notify users about offers at your physical store
- Inform your customers about personalized and exclusive offers
Re-engagement push notifications
You can use this type of notification to remind your customers about your application. Inform them about your newest collections of products and other hot news. Everything depends on what goal you're trying to achieve: even if your customers don't read the news or are not interested in new products now, your eCommerce application still provides useful information.
Survey push notifications
This is the simplest way to reach your customers. Offer a survey to your customers and encourage them to participate by giving a small bonus (for example, a 5% discount after answering all the questions). Even if they don't want to buy something, you'll get feedback and information about their preferences. However, don't be too spammy! You don't want to create a negative impact on your customers and lose them after all. Five to ten questions every month will be enough.
Recommendations and reviews
The mobile shopping experience is not limited to browsing and searching through numerous pages. When users can't see the item or brand they would like to buy, it's time to add one more feature. Users should be able to review and score the features of your application. They should be allowed to provide negative feedback about your products and services because it will help your business grow and change. Recommendations are also important: 70% of customers say they would use recommendations while purchasing. That's why it's a good idea to allow users to rate items and add comments to share their feedback about products.
Wrapping it Up
With the advent of smartphones, the eCommerce landscape has changed significantly. Today, mobile applications for eCommerce businesses are becoming more a necessity than a nice perk. To make sure you're moving in the right direction, it's good to have a detailed plan. Shoppers' requirements and preferences are constantly changing, so you need to have your finger on the pulse and implement new eCommerce mobile app features and functions accordingly to ensure that your customers' shopping experience is smooth and pleasant. Take advantage of our eCommerce mobile app features list and amaze your customers!
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With our expertise in ecommerce mobile app development, we can help you stay ahead of the competition and provide your customers with a seamless shopping experience. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and let us help you bring your ecommerce mobile app.
With our expertise in ecommerce mobile app development, we can help you stay ahead of the competition and provide your customers with a seamless shopping experience. Contact us today to discuss your requirements and let us help you bring your ecommerce mobile app.