You have built a great e-commerce store. You offer incredible products, enjoy good traffic to your website and, overall, you would say things are going well. The thing is, they could be going great.
You may wonder how you can take a step further and be a part of the future of retail, transforming your business and staying ahead of the competition. The answer is quite simple: having your own mobile app. Mobile apps provide an engaging, convenient shopping experience that's tailored specifically for smartphones.
The time to launch your app is now. The market has shifted, and consumer behaviour has changed. It's no secret that people use mobile devices more than ever. Statistics show that overall we spend over 3 hours a day glued to our phones. In the US, it is even more: 4 hours and 31 minutes daily. That's over 60 days a year!!!
So, with that many hours scrolling through the phone, it doesn't come as a surprise that 73% of e-commerce sales happen on mobile. This percentage is set to increase as the number of smartphone users grows year after year. According to Statista, 85% of American adults use smartphones. In the UK, the number of monthly active smartphone users is projected to grow steadily and reach 64.89 million in 2025, a sharp jump from 55.22 million in 2018.
Purchases on mobile devices are becoming the norm, and if you don't have an app, you're missing out on a lot of potential business. You already know all that, but is your e-commerce store ready to have a mobile app? Another simple answer: Yes. And we will tell you why.
Until a couple of years ago, even thinking about having a native mobile app looked more like a dream than a project. It was not only pricey but also required a lot of time and effort. Hiring a developer, designing the app from scratch, and learning all about technology... undoubtedly daunting.
Nowadays, it is possible to create your own app without any coding knowledge or previous experience in the tech industry. This is what "no code app development" stands for: anyone can design and launch native mobile apps through specialised platforms.
All you need to do is to sign up for an app builder service. Some of them, like StoreLab, offer free trials and a step-by-step guide on how to launch the application. All this in a short amount of time, usually with a wide range of customisable templates to choose from.
It's true; some of your competitors might already have an app - one more piece of proof that mobile apps are great for your industry. But that doesn't mean it's too late for you to launch your own. In fact, many brands are still not taking advantage of this powerful tool. According to the 2021 European E-commerce Report, around half of the big retailers count on a proprietary mobile application, which is expected. The number we need to focus on is: only 12% of the analysed online stores with annual visitor numbers below 500,000 ran a mobile app in 2021!
There is still a lot of room to grow and compete. Besides, as we mentioned before, launching an app is no longer as expensive or complicated as it used to be. You can easily get started and see results quickly.
Knowing your target audience is fundamental. Are your potential customers big on smartphone usage? If so, they are probably already using their devices to browse the internet, read reviews and compare prices before making a purchase.
Launching an app is a no-brainer in this case. If your brand has a relevant social media following, even more! Sprout Social discovered that 70% of Gen X customers, 60% of millennials and 51% of baby boomers would likely purchase from a brand they already follow. Social media is also the #1 way Gen Z prefers to discover new products, according to 38% of those aged 18-24.
So if you have a mobile app, you are tapping into this massive market of potential customers who are already using their phones for shopping.
A well-designed app will allow customers to browse through your products quickly and make purchases in just a few clicks. Creating a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience should be one of your primary business goals.
The loading time significantly differs between a mobile site and an app, and delays can be pretty frustrating for potential shoppers. On average, a mobile page takes 15.3 seconds to load, whilst an app loads instantly, as the data has already been downloaded to the phone.
"Web pages don't have loading bars. So when the page is slow, the visitor doesn't know if the delay will be another 500 milliseconds or 15 seconds. Maybe it will never load. And the back button is right there," says Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media CEO.
Result: potential shoppers simply leave the page, directly impacting your bottom line. Website conversion rates drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time (between seconds 0-5).
By no means should you not have a website. On the contrary, having a mobile site is essential - you want to be anywhere your customers are, whether on the phone, tablet, or desktop.
You have the capacity to fulfil more orders and broaden your target audience. Your current success suggests that there is demand in your industry, that you are capable of delivering a high-quality product, and that you have the means to do so. Launching a mobile app can tap into a larger market of potential customers and increase sales.
A well-designed app makes it easier for customers to find and buy your products, making it perfect for crossing and upselling items. Not to mention that digital marketing campaigns no longer drive the traffic you need to achieve more growth. A mobile app provides your own private market channel: push notifications, which are messages sent directly to a user's phone. With push notifications, for example, you can offer exclusive deals and rewards to your customers, bringing them back to the app and making new purchases.
You'll be able to connect with your customers in new ways, strengthening the relationship you have with them.
The trend is clear: people are using their phones more and more to shop online. Launching a mobile app should be one of your top priorities if you want to keep up with the competition and grow your business.
From increased convenience to reaching a wider audience, mobile apps offer numerous benefits that can lead to more traffic and sales for your business. If you have the resources necessary to develop and launch an app, it is time to move forward and be at the forefront of the mobile revolution.
When you launch a mobile app, you are not only joining the future of retail but also setting your business apart from the competition. At StoreLab allow anyone to create a professional and fully optimised app without writing a single line of code. Contact us today to develop and launch a high-quality app that will let customers buy your products with just a few taps on their phone screen.
