Mobile apps for retail business

With the number of mobile users increasing every day, mobile technology holds great opportunities for businesses. The users of smartphones are increasing day by day and it does not matter whether you have a small, medium or big business, it is necessary to get a customized app for business growth. 

Today, mobile apps have gained so much fame because every individual is using a smartphone. There are many businesses that are making huge profits with their apps and it is also true that mobile apps for retail businesses are filling the gap between physical and digital commerce. When it comes to the retail industry, a mobile app has proven to be the most profitable investment. 

Mobile Apps not only make the user experience impeccable but also help retail companies like Walmart manage their business operations. Let’s see how these retail mobile apps work and how much it will cost to develop an app like Walmart.

How Retail Mobile Apps Like Walmart Work?

There are two types of purchases which can be made via an online retailer app:

1. Online order

This option means the purchase is being made from an online store and the products will be delivered to the location of the customer’s choice. 

2. Retail Order

With this option, customers can purchase products from the store and can make a payment online using the app. It helps the customers to avoid the long queues and saves a lot of time. 

Must-Have Features of an App Like Walmart 

The main motive of these online retailer apps is to enhance the shopping experience of the users. The apps also establish innovative ways to enrich the purchase process. Customers these days are looking for the easy and fast methods of buying things. 

However, this is only possible when you can make an app that is not overloaded with features at an initial stage. The app can become complicated for users to use and no customer would want to use an app which makes their smartphone slow. 

So, it is recommended to include the basic features in the app to keep things simple and easy to utilize. Here are a few must-have features to include in your app like Walmart:

Product Details

With this feature, customers can have access to all the information related to a particular product. The information could be related to the size of a garment, customer reviews, and other significant information which may be of interest for customers. 

Available Stock

This feature can inform a customer whether a product is available for purchase or not. If it’s available, it will show the quantity available. If the product is out of stock, the customer is going to get an alert when it will be available. 

Check price

The feature is to let customers compare the price of your product with prices on other websites. It helps them get the best deal at the best prices. 

Product Preview

To optimize the customer purchasing process, using the 3D model or an augmented reality preview within the online retailer app is a wise choice. The product can be seen with the perfect view and not just a 2D picture. It helps them decide whether they want to buy the product or move to the next. 

Product customization

This feature is providing customers with a wider range of products which helps them to select the best among the available options. This means there is a lesser rate of exchanging and returning of the products. 

Geo-Location

This feature is helpful in navigating the customers to the store. A customer is also able to integrate the app with in-store mapping. This feature also informs the customer about the latest offers, programs, deals, and the events that are on-going nearby. 

Product Finder

Add a smart search option if your store is offering a humongous amount of products. Put filters with the color, size, category, brand, etc. to make it convenient for the customers to find the right product, instead of wasting time in searching.    

Payments Methods

Integrating various payment platforms in mobile shopping apps will assist the customer to make instant payments. Different brands can use different gateways like apple pay, PayPal, stripe, and many more. 

Barcode reader

When a customer is scanning a barcode or a QR code, it is going to save a lot of time for customers and staff. The app users are going to get the product information, the reviews, the shopping trends, and all the related information related to any particular product. 

Push Notifications 

You would want to keep your customers updated about the latest news, offers, deals, and promotions. Push notifications are very engaging, interactive and help in provoking the customers to take action. It is a very efficient way of connecting to the customers as they can target the customers based on their choices, buying behavior and preferences. 

Social Share

This feature encourages customers to share their shopping experience socially with friends or ask them about the purchases. 

Also Read: 3 Retail Mobile App Trends For 2019 That You Can’t Miss

Advantages of Retail Mobile Apps For a Business

1. Global Audience

Introducing a mobile app for the business is a smart way to reach a global audience in a short span of time. Wider the audience, wider is going to be the demand. You can target a bigger market with a dedicated mobile app and reach out to the audience in the most personalized way. 

2. Improves Brand Visibility

There are approximately 4.4 billion people who are using mobile apps and that’s a really big worldwide market. The main thing to notice is that the smartphone is always going to remain in hand or the pocket of the individual. An app can become a marketing tool that can attract huge ROI and the increased visibility also means increased sales which will lead to increased profits. 

According to Statista, Walmart is one of the best and popular retail apps as of March 2019.

3. Stay Connected with Customers

If the customers are always connected with your brand, it enhances brand loyalty. The customers can get information regarding sales, discounts, offers, and promotions. You are always connected with your customers in the most meaningful way. 

4. Study the Buying Patterns

One main benefit of having a mobile app for retail business is that you can track the buying behavior of your customers. This data is very significant in providing useful insight for any business. With having to know the interests of your customers, you can make a business strategy and can satisfy them with a great shopping experience.

 Other Retail Apps like Walmart in the Market

Here are a few examples of retail shopping apps that are quite famous in the market. 

1. Sephora

Sephora launched its own retail app that provides customers with genuine product reviews. The brand is a cosmetic retailer that went through a thorough market research and found out that the customers are mostly searching for product reviews and recommendations. Thus, Sephora launched a retail app that provides users with genuine customer reviews.

Sephora’s mobile app also offers various beauty tips, virtual makeup products for eye, lips, and cheeks. 

2. IKEA

IKEA app is a platform which allows the customers to place the furniture products in their house virtually like tables, sofas, chairs, etc. This is the most effective way for the user to check how a particular product matches with their house interiors. They can make a purchase if the product looks perfect for their house. 

3. Starbucks

Starbucks is one of the most famous examples of best retail apps in 2019. The app alone makes one-fifth of the total profit for the company and it very simple to use. The app is very straightforward and helps the customers pay for their coffee even before visiting the store. This feature helps the customers to avoid the long queue for making an order. This feature also increased the number of customers visits to Starbucks Cafe around the globe. 

One thing which is common in all the three brands mentioned above is they all have retail apps and saw overall business growth because of the same

Factors Affecting the Cost of Mobile Apps for Retail Business

There are some key factors that play a huge role in mobile apps development.

1. Size of the App

The bigger amount of features you are going to add, or more devices and platforms your app is designed on, the higher is going to be the cost. More advanced features like third-party integrations can up the cost of your app. 

2. Design

The other thing that is going to increase the cost of your app is the design of the app. The more complex and unique design, the more is going to be the cost. 

3. Development Rates

Development rates differ as different amount of time is required to create different apps. Some may be ready in days and some may take as long as a month. These factors may sound little but have a huge impact on the price of an app. Also, the rates of developers or app development company differ according to experience, talent, and geography. 

Conclusion

These vital factors are very significant for getting an estimate for the cost of a retail app. On average, the cost to build a retail app like Walmart ranges between $30k – $40k. If you want to include more advanced features and platforms, the cost can go up accordingly.  

• 

Tags: Cost of Retail Mobile App Development Like Walmart, Mobile apps for retail business, Online retail mobile app development cost