Top 5 Incredible Features of Retail Mobile Apps to Help Your Business

Technologies have led to the evolution of the retail business. Many challenges retailers use to face before are now under the IT domain. This aspect holds for the business’s customers as well. Now, your retail store clients do not have to seek specific items in different city stores or be concerned about payment modalities. Mobile app development is now focused on crafting exceptional mobile retail store apps.

Such mobile retail store apps are no longer the privilege of massive retail conglomerates or huge malls. Nowadays, it is difficult to imagine small private firms running a business without an online website. There is almost no one who misses out on mobility, when it comes to retail mobile apps, either. Whether a retail store opts for Android or iOS app development, a fully functional, feature-rich app is a must for a business to thrive. Mobility is the next evolution retail stores are moving towards. While shopping apps account for 3% of all app store categories, they are gaining popularity among retail businesses and clients already.

Retail Store App Industry: Fast Facts

The PriceWaterhouseCooper survey in 2016 reported 45% of customers regularly use mobile retail apps for reviews and feedback on items. While 44% use it for checking special offers, 30% deploy it for viewing ads. Nearly 16 percent of customers indicated they were purchasing products through retail mobile store applications.

In 2017, PwC reported 25% of users were deploying smartphones to make purchases. Global retail figures from mobile sales have advanced from USD 429 billion in 2016 to USD 549 billion in 2017. The research consultancy firm predicts that by 2020, almost 80% of purchases are to be made through mobile apps. M-commerce is poised for considerable growth.

Top 5 Incredible Retail Mobile App Features

As such devices are more compact, smartphones still offer more features than regular e-commerce stores. A significant advantage is that customers can deploy mobile apps for shopping in-store as well as remotely.

Product Evaluation Capabilities

Although previews are standard for online stores, they can be useful for brick and mortar shops too. A smartphone retail app shows how the item may look when unpacked. The store cannot permit package damage and comes with no on-site live models. So, mobile app development can focus on retail mobile apps that offer numerous types of product preview, from the static visual one to video, 3D, AR, and even VR. Apps can also display customer impressions of products. While shopping in a store, a client looks at the preview of the product and also studies the reviews and comments of customers who have made the purchase.

Code Scanning

An additional service offered by a retail mobile app is through the use of a camera lens to scan a bar or QR code of store products. Once the system is recognized, and the item is located in the database, the app displays more product information, including customer impressions, prices, reviews, current special offers, and the quantity available. Through such features, retailers and customers can reduce pre-sale consulting attempts.

Mobile Payment & Use of E-Wallets

A customer can also use a smartphone retail app for mobile payments. Purchasing products from virtual stores becomes easier. Customers can even use a smartphone payment as a checkout after placing desired items in carts in brick and mortar stores. This feature serves to help retailers and customers save time and avoid long queues.

Online Promotions

Retail store applications offer convenience for creating and using coupons. These coupons can be individually tailored to users in association with the purchase or if the user opts for sharing mobile search history personal data. With personalization, crafting, or implementing the mobile app, special offers take very little time. Users need mobile applications to activate coupons, showing it on the screen to checkout cashiers or pushing the button to activate mobile payment discounts.

GPS and Beacon Technology

GPS and beacon technology make retail service apps even more personal. Beacon tags are small store sensors that trigger actions within the app when the customer is located at a certain point in the store. Pre-established rules or conditions regulate the activities. If the customer is next to a product for a long while, the beacon can make the app show additional data on the product, or offer a discount coupon. The range of store-customer communication is more extensive in the store interior, using GPS. Retailers can locate the customers nearby and alert them with notifications about special offers or discounts. There is a fine distinction between being helpful and disruptive. Setting strict limits and keeping it unobtrusive is the key here. When customers receive unnecessary notifications, they don’t appreciate this despite usefulness and may uninstall the app.

Retail Mobile App Development

Whether it is a retail store app or any other kind of mobile software, development costs depend on the functionality. Significant features and essential features like login, registration, social integration, or sharing, must be considered. Regardless of the functionality, projects include different apps or interfaces, one which is retail facing and the other, which is customer-facing. To get the best of both worlds, opt for a retail mobile app development company you can rely on.

Conclusion

Retail store apps improve store shopping and selling in different ways. By aggregating data from customer mobile devices, GPS, beacons, or more, retailers can personalize special discounts and customize what the client needs to make that final purchase. Sankalp, an ISO-certified mobile app development company, can offer stellar apps that let your retail customers get information about items in terms of price, reviews, and previews. Allowing them to pay sans long queues transform the business into practical, pleasant experiences for shoppers and retail store owners. Experienced mobile app development teams at Sankalp can create your app from scratch and offer exceptional value for cash.