Back in the year 2005, online stores were a hot topic for retailers. If you were a retailer back then, you must have asked yourself questions like:
Do I need an online store?
Will my business gain any benefit?
Will the benefits be worth the time and money spent by me?
However, things have obviously changed since then. Retail market has undergone so many changes that nowadays succeeding in retail without an online channel is impossible.
Prior to the invention of the internet, success in retail market was dependant on just location. Nowadays, the Internet is regarded as a global marketplace. Stores that have inaccessible locations now have websites and now new companies sell products that were unimaginable before the internet exist. It is hard to measure the scope of eCommerce marketplace. In this era, the eCommerce market has become such an important part of the economy that it is hard to pinpoint exactly where eCommerce starts and the economy of old-world ends.
With more than 235 million people in India access the Internet via mobile, eCommerce will very soon become “app commerce”. Mobile websites play a vital role, but apps are more important as they provide personalization and help the eCommerce players understand their customers better; communicate with them in a frequent manner; and target them with relevant items with the help of their browsing history.
One of the biggest names in eCommerce industry, Amazon reported that half of their customers use the Amazon app, concluding with the fact that apps are more customer-friendly.
Current Trends in eCommerce
The share of eCommerce market in 2018, as a percentage of all the retail sales, is expected to rise to 11.9%- 3.5% more from a decade ago! To continue this trend, companies should focus on optimizing their in-store experiences in association with their eCommerce expressions to provide their customers a satisfying shopping experience.
Why you need an eCommerce website?
In today’s mobile world, you might be thinking “what benefit can a website do for me?”. Well, it can do a lot. By providing your customers right information to build a relationship with your eCommerce business, a well-designed eCommerce website can help your business reach new heights. However, a website cannot replace an app and vice-versa. They both provide unique benefits and can work together. You can enjoy more benefits if you have a website and an app that works together. Let us have a look at some of the major advantages of having an eCommerce website:
Increase trust of customers:
A well-designed eCommerce website helps in generating trust for customers. If customers enjoy an efficient and shopping experience, you will not only gain a customer, but also retain one. Imagine it as a preview to the relation you establish with them. If the customer has a good experience in the first instance, there are maximum chances that they will come back again. But, how will those customers, who are not accustomed with your brand name know about you and build a trust upon you? Having testimonials from client, a well-written “About Us” page, regular blog updates in your website and updating social media pages will help you create brand awareness and trust of customers.
Attract new customers:
App stores are improving the search functionality making it easy to discover new apps, but app stores are not as easily accessible as the web. Websites can offer smaller eCommerce firms a better opportunity to be found when compared to a mobile app. Developing a website is cheaper and takes less time than developing an app, making it an economical choice.
Analytics of the consumers:
ECommerce businesses can easily keep an eye on the buying habits and preferences of the customers with the help of websites as they collect a lot of data from the customer which they later use for growing their business. By understanding what the customers want, when is the time they make a purchase, what is their likings, eCommerce business makes sure that they meet the demand of their customers. By fulfilling all their demands, you can build a long-term relationship with the customers.
Sell products worldwide:
With an eCommerce business, you can sell your products all around the world. Having an online store means you can receive orders from different parts of the world. This not only helps in increasing the overall sales, but also ensures that your business establishes a global presence.
Emergence of Mobile App
While a website is important, a mobile app will help you to be ahead of your competitors. Developing a mobile app for your business will improve your reach in the market and at the same time act as a unique channel for attracting new clients or engage with the existing customers. With large numbers of mobile apps in the market, online shoppers prefer buying online through this medium. Are you thinking how can a mobile app help your eCommerce business? Then, read on...
Preference for mobile apps:
The benefits of mobile apps when compared to mobile responsive websites have been discussed on various occasions. Nowadays, most of the people prefer using a mobile app than accessing an online store through a mobile browser. Why more and more people are preferring mobile app is not surprising as there are many reasons behind this. ECommerce applications are much easier to use while shopping online, especially when you are not making a one-off visit to an online store.
Apps boost sales:
People who install your app have the mindset to buy your products, whereas website visitors mostly access the website to check details or to get your contact information. In addition, studies have proved that customers spend more time on apps than on websites. It is noted that mobile app users are twice as likely to return to your online store compared to shoppers who buy through website. Let us have a look at some of the ways using which an app can help you improve your Commerce business:
Personalization:
Use the information that you customers offer in the app to your maximum benefit. You can allow your customers customize their experience of shopping in your eCommerce store, for instance through prioritized features and important suggestions depending on the previous purchases.
Push notifications:
Push notifications can be utilized for communicating with your customers; inform them about any type of special offers or discounts or inform customers about the arrival of new products.
Exclusive offers:
Implement special offers that are available through your mobile application only- for instance, special prices or limited deals only for the mobile app users.
Reward/ point system:
You can encourage your customers to keep visiting your online store by offering them some rewards or points.
Advanced support:
Providing a good customer support goes a long way in business. An advanced customer support service can help in establishing solid communication between your customers and your store. Customers should have the facility to solve their problems through the app with the help of a chatbot or live chat facility instead of switching to the desktop version.
Less response time:
The time needed for a mobile app to complete an action is lesser when compared to a website as applications store their data partially on a mobile device. Although the mobile apps also connect to servers similarly like websites do, there is ten times less data transferred between a mobile app and a server than between a browser and server. Thus, mobile apps retrieve data in a much faster way.
High conversion rates:
A perfect combination of user-friendly design and simple navigation leads to high conversion rates. Several researches have proved that mobile apps raise the percentage of users who complete a desired action when compared to mobile responsive websites.
As developing an app is easier and can be maintained easily, many businesses nowadays have both a mobile-friendly website and a mobile app. A combination of mobile app and a responsive website for your eCommerce business can give you the best chance to expand your reach to new clients, deliver a unique experience, deals and right information to the customers. If you too are thinking of developing an app and a website for your eCommerce business,reach us. We assure you that you don’t have to choose between a mobile app and a website as we will make both your website and app work together!
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