Nearly 12 years ago, online retailing was a myth that conventional stores were trying to break. Uncertain about the future of ecommerce they often posed the following questions to themselves:
- Will my physical store be needing an online outlet to grow its operations?
- Will the benefits be enough to compensate for the expenses incurred and the time spent?
- What are the most significant benefits of having an online store?
Now these questions have become meaningless. If you are determined to grow your business, then you can’t consider operating without a good online sales portal.
In fact, the online shopping is no longer limited to webs, it has taken another form of mobile apps. Now the retailers find themselves occupied with the worry whether it’s going to benefit their business if they get mobile apps. Usually retailers consider it enough having a website; they think that complimenting it with a mobile app is more than what the business needs.
To answer this question, you should consider the top retailers in the industry. In UK alone 40 out of 50 top retailers have their own mobile apps while the remaining are either in the phase of developing their own apps or are considering the idea.
Now let’s consider the success factor of these apps. Usually retailers are not too eager to share success of their business; however, in the e-commerce there has been a great exchange of views for what works or not. This is particularly true for mobile apps, as retailers have been very open about what has worked for them.
According to Amazon, 50% of their users were using their mobile apps, reflecting that the apps were clearly addressing their needs.
According to ASOS’s Chairman Brian McBride, most of the company’s customers prefer using the app rather than the mobile website. He also quoted the success rate of transactions through the app was 50% higher than the mobile website.
The customers of the above two cited companies are probably quite alike your customers. In fact most of your purchasers might be aware of the convenience these apps bring for them and they are looking to get the same experience while shopping from your company.
This brings you to a simple conclusion, “Yes you do need a mobile app for your business.”
Though you might think that this is an overrated statement, the below-mentioned advantages of mobile apps will make your realize how important they are for your business.
Apps Create An Improved User Experience
When it comes to conducting online sales, user experience is the most significant factor that can make or break your business.
Online purchasers are presented with a variety of choices. According to a research conducted in 2017 there are currently 200,000 shopify stores and 250,000 Magneto. This gives the purchasers a wide spectrum of choice, allowing them to discard their relationship with e-retailers who make shopping difficult for them.
The constant influx of websites and a multitude of choices is the reason why 40% of consumers leave the website, if it takes longer than 2 seconds to load. A page that doesn’t load quickly not only diverts traffic but also leads to a drop in conversion rate by 7%.
Though a delayed page load is often related to desktop e-commerce, the issue exists in mobile e-commerce as every 3 in 4 purchasers have reported a delay in site loading.
It is imperative that retailers overcome this issue, as it can lead to a lower conversion rates and significant loss in revenue.
Getting a suitable mobile app can help businesses in improving their customer base up to 85%. So if you really want your business to flourish while retaining your existing customers and obtaining new ones, then you should invest in getting your own mobile app.
Apps Increase Conversion Rates
You are now already aware that why mobile apps are integral for your business in a digitally concentrated world. They improve the user experience and improve customer retention.
However, in terms of statistics, how do apps contribute to your business?
Apps give a whopping figure of 189% more conversions than mobile sites and 50% more sales than desktop e-portals. This simply conveys to you how you can drastically improve your sales by just developing an app and making it a purchasing medium for your customers.
In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, mobile apps also help deal with the biggest issue online retailers face i.e. cart abandonment. 97% of carts do not make it to purchases. Some customers try completing the process via desktop but usually some of the sales are lost during the switching of medium.
With the help of apps, cart abandonment is reduced up to 20%, which plays a significant role in improving your conversion rates.
Apps Improve Your Sites SEO
Many retailers are still not aware of this but Google now doesn’t rank a site on the basis of its website content only. It also takes into account its app content, a process which is done with the help of search engine robots that dig deeper into your apps using deep links.
So if you plan on topping Google search results, then a mobile app can significantly help with your SEO, leading to a huge chunk of organic traffic.
