According to E-commerce mobile statistics, mobile purchases stood at $2.91 trillion in 2020, which accounted for 70.4% of total E-commerce sales. That number is projected to reach $3.56 trillion by the end of 2021. This means that mobile e-commerce sales will be 72.9% of total sales.
Before the pandemic, most people in developed countries tend to shop offline and online equally. This pandemic has shifted the balance in favor of online businesses as the majority of people now order everything online instead of visiting their nearest brick and mortar store.
If you are inspired by the roaring success Amazon, Walmart and others have achieved during this pandemic and want to follow in their footsteps then, you might be thinking about getting an E-commerce mobile app. Before you do, it is important to know about the essential features an e-commerce mobile app should have, which could make it an instant hit. In this article, you will learn about seven features of every E-commerce mobile app must-have.
- Hassle-Free Onboarding and Checkout Process
Two of the most annoying things that put online shoppers off your e-commerce mobile app are the cumbersome onboarding and checkout process. If you want your e-commerce mobile app an instant success, you need to have a simple onboarding and checkout process. This makes it easy for new users to settle into your e-commerce mobile application, but it also takes the pain out of placing the order completing the purchase. All this goes a long way in increasing your sales and revenue.
If your app users are dropping off your e-commerce mobile app, you need to analyze the heat maps and see what makes users fall off. Iron out those issues and remove any hurdles that might hamper your app users’ online shopping experience. By delivering a frictionless user experience, you can not only generate more sales but can also persuade the existing user base to come back for more. This will help you develop a loyal fanbase that keeps coming back to your e-commerce app for more.
- Stability and Reliability
How many times have you seen an app crash on you? We all have been on the receiving end of this at least once in our lives. As a result, we all know how frustrating this can be. There is nothing worse for the user experience of your e-commerce app than frequent crashes and freezes. That is why it is important to hire a mobile app development company that specializes in developing e-commerce apps.
If your e-commerce app users are reporting any of these issues, you need to act quickly and fix those issues as soon as possible. If these issues prevail, it can have a negative impact on your brand reputation. The more stable and reliable your e-commerce app is, the better experience it will provide to the online shoppers.
- Search and Filters
E-commerce mobile applications feature millions of products from hundreds of different brands. Finding a product you are looking for can be troublesome. That is why it is important to have a search bar that lets users search for the product they are looking for. You can also add categories or filters to make it easier for users to reach the product they are interested in buying.
Users can select a category or apply filters to narrow down the search results. This enhances the overall customer experience and helps you build a long-term relationship with online shoppers. What’s more, it even allows you to collect useful insights about buyer preferences and behavior.
- Reviews and Ratings
Probably the most important feature that your e-commerce mobile app can not do without is a review and rating system. Why do I say that? Because it is the reviews and ratings that have the power to influence buying decisions. More importantly, it removes one of the biggest roadblocks from online shopping, the trust deficit.
These reviews and ratings help new buyers make the right purchase decision and set the right product expectations too. This means that there would be fewer returns and more sales. Apart from adding a review and rating system on your e-commerce app, you can also add a recommendation system that recommends relevant products based on the past purchase and search history of a particular buyer. This adds a level of personalization to the shopping experience, which is exactly what most consumers demand these days.
- Analytics and Data Collection
Unlike e-commerce websites, e-commerce mobile apps tend to stay with the buyer all the time. This allows businesses to collect useful data about the customer. With user insights at your disposal, launching an effective and personalized marketing campaign is not difficult. This allows you to create a marketing strategy that fits user needs perfectly.
- Add to Wishlist Feature
There are instances when the product user is looking for is out of stock. This is when users tend to drop off and visit any other e-commerce store, and it could also be of your competitor. To prevent users from abandoning your e-commerce app and visiting the competitor’s website, it is imperative that you have an add to wishlist feature that allows buyers to add products to the wishlist and place the order as soon as it is restocked.
- Convenient Payment Methods
Despite all the efforts from e-commerce businesses to win customer trust, online shoppers are still reluctant to share their credit card details online, especially in under-developed regions. A majority of online shoppers in those regions only make a purchase if there is a cash-on-delivery option.
Offer multiple payment options and make it easy for shoppers to choose the one they want. The more payment option they have, the more likely they are to complete the purchase, especially if they can find their preferred payment method on the list. This can not only increase your sale size but can also increase the sale frequency.
- Sending Attractive Push Notifications
Ecommerce businesses can use mobile app push notifications to send product updates, personalized offers, reminders, discounts, promo codes, and much more. With push notifications, you can inform your customers about your fresh arrivals, festive deals, and best-selling items. These push notifications persuade customers to open your app and take the desired action. Push notifications, if applied wisely, can have a positive impact on engagement and send your customers back into your app. Mobile push notifications can significantly reduce app churn rate, boost user engagement and enhance overall user experience.
- Loyalty Programs
Being an ecommerce business owner, you want to attract more and more customers and become your loyal customers. If you want to get customers coming back to your store, use a loyalty program. With loyalty programs, you entice people to sign up and encourage them to use your ecommerce app to receive amazing benefits. All you need to do is to offer redeemable digital gift cards, personalized gifts, and earnable reward points on every purchase.
- In-App Chat Feature
In-app chat is a must-have feature that every ecommerce app should possess. It allows two-way, back and forth messaging between a customer and a chatbot or human sales representative. In-app chat is an amazing way to provide online shoppers with efficient and accessible customer support so that they can make a purchase decision. When customers get timely answers to their questions about products, shipping, payments, and other concerns. It will improve the overall shopping experience, boost user engagement and drive more sales.
- Detailed Product Information
If you really want shoppers to purchase products from your online store, give them a reason to shop. Provide your shoppers with all the necessary information they want to read while making a purchase. Focus on creating detailed product descriptions that provide every essential detail about the product. For example, color, size, fabric, and other important points that help customers make a well-informed purchase decision. Offering detailed product information will also reduce product returns and helps you increase a base of satisfied and happy customers. Don’t forget to add professionally captured images of your product on a description page. Adding 360-degree images and a video is a worthwhile strategy to increase chances of conversions.
- Personalized Content
Believe it or not, personalization is one of the most effective marketing strategies that help brands to attract more and more customers and convince them to convert. Adding this strategy to your ecommerce app can make your online store a big hit. You can feature personalized content in a variety of ways, providing customers with an opportunity to interact with your products. For instance, you can provide personalized product recommendations that match their taste and make them complete the purchase decision. Personalized content improves user engagement, drives customer loyalty, and increases your chances of getting more conversions.
- Order Return
The ultimate goal of creating your online store is to keep your customers happy by providing an out-of-the-box shopping experience. If your customer wants to return the product, give them an option of easy return and replace the ordered product. Providing a return tracking feature on your app will make customers choose your ecommerce mobile app over others. This feature provides customers with a memorable shopping experience.
- Order Summary
A short order summary allows users to carefully check each and every detail, such as shipping charges, product color, size, quantity, amount, and shipping address. It will minimize the risk of returns or order mistakes, which will eventually improve the user experience.
Which features every great e-commerce mobile application must have? Let us know in the comments section below.
Irfan Ak
Irfan Ak is an experienced digital & content marketing strategist at Branex. He is a regular contributor on various websites. He has worked with several brands and created value for them.