6 Things to Consider When Switching Your Shopify Store to an App

eCommerce has evolved. Technology advancements and the changing shopping habits of consumers have made merchandisers adapt to the latest trends to survive and grow in this competitive market. While eCommerce cloud-based platforms like Shopify are aiding retailers in setting up their stores digitally, users are now increasingly embracing mobile apps over online stores for a faster, easier, and more convenient buying solution.  

As a result, brands are increasingly adopting a ‘mobile-first’ strategy to appeal to a larger segment of the population who are increasingly mobile-oriented. Further, businesses that switched to mobile commerce have noticed an increase in revenue, conversion rates, customer engagement, and AOV (Average Order Value).  

So, if you ever thought that your online Shopify store needs a mobile app to thrive in the digital space, then you have come to the right place. Because in this we will walk you through the benefits of having a mobile app in your business and the 6 essential things to keep in mind while making the transition from an online Shopify store to an app.  

The Growth of Mobile Commerce 

The increased use of smartphones has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the number of mobile apps. According to Statista, “the number of smartphone subscriptions worldwide today exceeds six billion and is expected to grow by several hundred million in the coming years.“

(Image source: Statista)  

Humans spend the better half of their time using mobile apps on their smartphones. This has altered our expectations of brands and businesses with which we deal on a regular basis, including online retailers. Consumers expect their favorite brands to create mobile apps for their Shopify stores rather than shopping via mobile-friendly sites. The sole reason is that mobile-based apps make purchasing easier on the go! This solution has proven to be a time and place convenient for not only buying but also to keep track of orders as well as taking advantage of any future promotions. 

What Are The Benefits of Switching Your Shopify Store to an App?  

App development for businesses can offer valuable marketing opportunities and help businesses reach their target audience, as well as other benefits that will help give your business a competitive edge over other contenders in the market. Below listed are some of the best benefits of having a mobile app for your online store.  

• Better brand visibility 

Because most people spend a lot of time on their phones, brand owners can easily engage with their customers by using a mobile app. Leverage the power of notifications every time your customer unlocks their phone or tablet, your logo will appear on the screen. An effective way to boost the visibility of your brand as well as increase your customer base is to advertise through social media. 

• Better interaction 

Customers are increasingly preferring to shop online on their mobile devices. This has certainly helped to improve the way the brand interacts with its customers. Apart from keeping customers engaged, mobile commerce may also be used to more efficiently give customers deals, and discounts. 

• Enhanced Customer Experience  

Customers today want a more personalized and enhanced experience from brands throughout their interactions. With a mobile app, you will be able to gather deeper insights about your customers like what do they enjoy? at what time shop online? and more. With all these useful insights, you will be able to work on better strategies by perfecting your customers’ buying experiences, there increasing your sales. 

• Higher Conversion Rate 

Mobile apps assist in higher conversion rates because apps provide for a smooth purchasing process. Value-added features like push notifications, saving shipping and payment details, using personal features on the users’ device like the camera for placing orders, and integrating mobile wallet applications to make easy one-click payment getaways. 

As a resource-efficient business, one of the challenges many online stores owners face is how to convert their Shopify store into a Shopify mobile app. Developing an app the traditional way will almost certainly take longer and cost more eventually. The only way to gain a competitive advantage over other Shopify stores is to handle things in a smarter way. 

So here are 6 things you should look out for while making the shift of your online Shopify store to a mobile-friendly app.  

6 Things to Consider While Converting Shopify Store into an App 

While building an app for your Shopify business will help you increase income and reach out to your target audience more easily, there are still a few aspects that need to be investigated before making that investment. It is essential to consider certain aspects of the app-builder for your Shopify business that is going to aid in the development of your brand’s identity and enhance your marketing efforts by improving consumer relations.    

1. Making sure your brand’s mobile app is easy for customers 

An ease-of-use app denotes that the programme is simple to use, and that the client can trust the brand and its product. It is best to ensure that your app is simple, and consumers can easily get started with it because complexity isn’t in the user’s best interest. If it’s riddled with flaws and fails to function properly, dependability is critical. So, how exactly can you ensure to make your app user-friendly? 

By making the app all about the user. Keep it simple and functional. User interface (UI) and user experience (UX) are also critical (UI). The term “user experience” refers to how the app was designed bearing in mind the customer’s expectations in mind. The word “user interface” describes how well the app’s interface is customized to the target audience and how easy it is to use. A user-friendly app that is easily navigable helps consumers to search for their desired products and services more easily, thus boosting sales. What’s more, it builds customer loyalty with an enhanced user experience.   

2. The cost of integrating the app 

Before diving into the price, you must first decide the application’s specialty. The general public’s or user’s demands should be thoroughly understood, and this study can provide answers to a variety of questions. The cost of a web and mobile-based application generally depends on the number of features and services you want to include in your app. These usually involve factors like whether your brand’s mobile-based application will have both online and offline applications, how many features it should have, back-end complexity, animation, and so on. Taking these elements into account, any Mobile Application Development Company would present you with a quote for app design and development. 

Understanding the criteria can be used to summarize a variety of aspects, each of which plays a unique role in developing a mobile application. The typical cost of developing an app is decided by the sort of app you want to create. 

 3. Understanding the factors involved in the process 

The process to convert your online store into a functional mobile app includes several attributes. Fundamental aspects like identifying the eCommerce platform to understand its foundation and the complexities involved while converting it into an application, wireframing, exchanging data within the application by integrating API, creating an ease-of-use UX design, back-end, conducting trial runs, and finally the process of deployment. 

While each step serves a specific purpose, all are intended to save you money and maximize your investment as quickly as possible. 

4. What will change when you switch your store to an app?  

An E-Commerce site benefits greatly from a mobile app-only environment. Think of your mobile app as a direct marketing channel for your company. A brand-exclusive app does not cause a rift because you are the exclusive owner of your audience’s attention. There are no outside influences that could drive him away from the sales funnel. Data is consolidated when you create an app for your brand. You can easily keep track of sales on both the desktop and mobile platforms. Efforts are more targeted with a mobile app, and the user experience is consistent throughout. There is no need to consider other common elements that contradict desktop usage. You can gain a better understanding of your customers’ shopping habits by studying their apps rather than mobile websites. 

5. Will this improve performance/conversion rates?  

It’s critical to meet your users where they are to get your brand noticed. And today’s smartphone consumers prefer applications because of their customizable features, which encourage people to interact with and return to the app. According to research, smartphone users devote 88 percent of their internet time to mobile applications, leaving only 12 percent for mobile websites. Mobile apps drive better rates of conversion by offering customized features that are tailored to serve consumers based on user experience. Added benefits like push notifications allow brands to communicate with their target audience more intrusively.  

For Brands and organizations, mobile apps have proven to be a superior form of marketing and communication to websites. 

6. How will an app change your customers’ experience?  

From creating personalized user experiences, branding, and analytics, to promoting growth in sales and customer loyalty, owning mobile applications for online stores has helped brand owners in more than one way. Apps enable consumers to empower themselves to find what they are looking for. Ensuring a comprehensible platform to help your customers find their desired products/services is the first rule of the game for organizations with a mobile-first approach. 

What’s more, the app can be used to gather valuable marketing data from customers based on their location and shopping habits. This allows them to target their marketing more strategically to improve customer experience. 

Apps even provide better support as they do not have opening hours and are available 24/7. Your app enables you to offer a chatbot and a self-service section even if you don’t always have a customer service department.  

The above information may help you understand the benefits of converting your store into an app, but it leaves us with the million-dollar question- what is the proper way to make that transition? 

 While directly investing in an app may turn out to be an expensive proposition, converting your existing eCommerce store to an app will be hassle-free and easy on the pocket for those brand owners, who are just starting out.  

 With so many options up and coming in the market, it is more likely to lead to confusion for online store owners. Shopify alone provides over 3800 apps to help them improve their performance. All of them claim to boost sales and help businesses expand, but not all of them work. So, how can you know which apps will help you increase conversions?    

 If it is an easy and effective solution you are looking for, you may consider one of the following options 

• Develop an app yourself, provided you have the necessary expertise to build one. 
• or simply use ‘Webuters’ Shopify Store to App service’   

With Webuters it is a quick and effortless way to convert Your Shopify Store to an app. Webuters Shopify store to app service gives the power of mobile to your business. We offers tailor made solutions to give your business the unique presence and thereby increasing sales and effectively showcasing your catalogue. 

If you’re looking to create an app for your Shopify store, and you don’t have the time or manpower to do it yourself, check out our Shopify development services. We help you convert your shop to an app quickly, which results into better conversion rates and an overall better use experience. Our team has skills to customize the app  to create a unique app for your store, whether you need an ecommerce platform, an inventory management system, or something completely different. So, give it a go today and see how much better your life can become!  

Bottom Line 

It is estimated that over 70% of sales are generated through apps, and drive conversion rates that are three times higher compared to a website. Mobile applications provide a faster, simpler, and more interactive user experience than web pages. Furthermore, mobile devices include a variety of features, such as GPS, cameras, and other apps, such as payments and social media. That is why, in addition to the behemoths, small businesses from all over the world have begun selling their wares and services on many eCommerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, and others.  

While building an application that works across platforms might attract a lot of money, and a lot of money means a lot of risks. This challenge can be solved by either producing an app for a single platform or then reinvesting the earnings in creating another app for different platforms. 

So why wait any longer? Boost your sales and drive better conversions by creating a unique app for your brand! Talk to our Shopify experts today!!