Call
them Fashionista or Shopaholic or whatever! People love to shop on-the-go!
Irrespective of the time and place! At the very comfort of their homes or
during the office breaks or while traveling back to their home from office! And
that’s why eCommerce apps have been one of their favorites. Amazon, Flipkart,
Shopify, eBay, Walmart, Groupon, Aliexpress, just name them! They have already created their success
stories.
ECommerce solutions have
literally been the game-changer for both, customers as well as the business
owners. It’s no surprise that businesses are increasingly investing in eCommerce mobile
app development. But the question is how to go about it?
In
this blog, we have outlined essential steps needed to architect an alluring
eCommerce app, along with the development mistakes that can badly affect the
app.
Essential Steps to Create an Amazing eCommerce
App
Before
knowing these steps, it is of utmost importance for the business owners to do
thorough research on multiple factors that are mentioned below. Market research
will help you to set better business goals, lower business risks, boost
customer satisfaction, improve decision-making, outsell competitors, and
ultimately make more sales.
Now, let us have a look at
the crucial steps that must be followed to create an impeccable app.
Come up with an idea
The
first step in this process is to decide the idea and the goals for the app. What
do you want your eCommerce app to look like, what should be the overall concept
of the app? How will you measure the progress of the app? What are your KPIs?
Do you first want to develop a Minimum Viable Product? Using a Business Model
Canvas (BMC) can help you understand some important aspects like value
prepositions, revenue, customer segments, etc. So having a well thought out
idea in place is very important to avoid unnecessary expenses later.
Decide your target audience
·
For whom are you creating this app?
·
What is their average age?
·
What are their interests and preferences?
·
Which products do they like and have already bought?
·
How will they find us?
·
Is your service B2B or B2C? Accordingly, the choices of the
target audience will change.
·
Look at which mobile
and web eCommerce platforms are being used by your target audience.
Answers
to such questions will help you to streamline your development process, shape
your eCommerce app correctly and even improve the app marketing.
Also,
studying the buyer persona is essential to know your ideal customers. It
includes needs and preferences of the potential customers, their motivations
and similar data which will influence every factor in the eCommerce mobile app
development journey.
Know your Competitors
List
out your competitors and do a thorough analysis. Look at their products and
services and see what attracts the buyers. Study their business model. However,
don’t duplicate their features, business models, etc. Competitor analysis will
help you to enhance your research, navigate different challenges in the market,
improve your products and services and stand out amongst them, giving a
competitive advantage.
Must-have app features
The
next step for an eCommerce app development company
is to determine the feature requirement of your app. A few of the must-have
features that you should include in your app are:
·
Product List and categorization
·
Search Bar and Filters
·
Push Notifications
·
Multiple Payment Options
·
Wishlist
·
Look-books
·
Easy Checkout
·
Social Media Integration
·
Review and Ratings
·
Business Intelligence Tool
·
Ratings and Reviews
·
Synchronization across apps and websites
Decide technology based on budget
To
determine the process and the budget, ask yourself the following questions:
·
How much time and resources are you willing to invest in?
·
Do you want to create an MVP model with the least features or
want a feature-packed full-fledged eCommerce mobile app?
·
Do you want to develop native apps for both Android and iOS
platforms? Or want cross-platform development? Do you also want a PWA?
·
Do you want an expensive backend development with low
maintenance or high maintenance third-party APIs having a comparatively low
budget?
·
Are you looking for hybrid app development for better
time-to-market or native app development for better sustainability?
·
Do you want to make a bespoke app by hiring a brand new team
or go for a SAAS solution?
Once
you decide on the above questions, there are different pricing models available
to choose from. They are scope based, time-based, fixed price models, or you
can opt for dedicated resource hiring.
App development
After
doing the thorough research on the above enlisted points, you can now finally
start the design and development of your dream eCommerce app.
Follow
these tips for a good end result and unparalleled experiences to the users:
·
Ensure that the app has user-friendly navigation
·
Remove the excess clutter from the app
·
Incorporate app templates to speed up and streamline
processes
·
Focus on personalizing the customer experience
·
Give a personal touch to the app with Live Chat support.
·
Use alluring images and animations for better impact
·
Avoid using contrast color combinations, fonts, layouts, etc.
Market your app
Marketing
the app is equally important as its development is. After all, getting more
downloads, views, purchases is the final aim of the app development. One can
create buzz about the app even before the release of the app. Some of the
strategies used for successful marketing of the apps are content marketing, SEO
optimization, social media marketing, email marketing, paid advertisement, app
marketing, etc.
Publish the app
Finally,
you are all set to publish the app on different mobile app stores like AppStore
and Play Store. You can go on the app stores and sign up on their accounts, pay
their registration fees, write the description and privacy policy for the app,
upload the screenshots of the app interface, upload the app, specify the
pricing of the app and your app will be published after it meets the set
standards.
Final Words
Architecting
a fully functional eCommerce app out of an idea is quite challenging. It
requires considerable planning, time, efforts, finances and most important of
all, commitment. In the complete development journey, greater focus must be
given to the target audience. Along with the incorporation of interesting
features, optimal design, exhaustive testing, powerful marketing, etc. are the
factors that can lead to a roaring success.
Was this blog helpful in your venture
to develop your perfect eCommerce app?
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