Mobile app for retail stores as well as an online store Even a small business today cannot do without it. There are at least 10 reasons why your business needs a mobile app. People are used to the fact that everything can be bought without leaving home. Internet trading is convenient, fast and profitable. But e-commerce will not replace traditional shopping: people love to shop.
We buy on whim: sometimes it’s more convenient to buy online, and sometimes it’s more convenient to touch things with your hands. Retailers need to remember that retail and e-commerce are interconnected. Give buyers two of these tools at once and you’ll see sales skyrocket.
See how the Mobile app for retail stores is selling offline:
1. Product preview in the app
In the store, the buyer may encounter a situation where the product he wants to buy does not have a display sample. The seller cannot break the packaging of the unpaid product, so the buyer is forced to either leave empty-handed or buy at his own risk.
The product preview in the retail store mobile app is an alternative route that the customer will take if you give them the opportunity. The product card and reviews from other buyers help him to make an informed purchase decision and not be disappointed.
Previews are not limited to photos and promotional videos – developers can implement augmented reality technology in a mobile application so the buyer can see what the product will look like in the physical world.
2. Scan codes for more information
The online store application helps the buyer to learn more details about the product without having to contact an advisor. The user only needs to point the camera at a barcode or QR code, and the application will show him additional information about the product: a map, price, colors, the remaining amount of goods, reviews – in general, everything that does not fit on the price tag.
Thanks to this function, the seller relieves the consultants. The use of scan codes is especially convenient in large shopping centers and hypermarkets, where it is difficult to find freelance workers. Using the Mobile app for retail stores is great for having codes for more information about a product or service.
3. Payment for goods in a mobile application
With the Mobile app for retail stores, you can place and pay for an order online – the shopper just has to come to the store to pick it up. But if the buyer is already in the store and the goods he put in the shopping cart have not yet been paid for, you can replay everything: make the mobile application an “online checkout” so that buyers do not have to wait in long queues .
The customer can scan the items in their shopping cart, pay with Google or Apple Pay, and then move on to other stores. This feature saves you time (and nerves).
4. Loyalty program for app users
We have already written that it is more expensive to acquire new customers than to keep old ones. A loyalty program is a tool you can use to build strong relationships with customers, and one that your store likely already has.
But the main question is the question of format. Ordinary discount and collection cards have already become a habit – only their absence can surprise the buyer. Replace a card with a mobile app and your customer gets more offers, which means more reasons to spend.
The functionality of the Mobile app for retail stores isn’t just limited to earning points and a fixed discount that allows you to control customer behavior. How – depends on your imagination.
5. Beacons and geo-pushes as prompts to buy
With the help of geolocation and beacons, the application can influence the user’s purchase decision.
Geolocation literally shortens the distance between buyer and seller. The application sends push notifications about special offers and discounts when the user is near the store, thus inviting them to leave. As a rule, such promotions are limited in time: “Today only” or “Product of the day”. The user understands that if he does not buy now, he will forever miss a profitable offer.
If a user is in a shop, beacons – small sensors hidden in the room – send various signals to the application. If the shopper stands by a product for a long time and cannot decide, the beacon prompts the application to display additional information about the product or to offer a discount on it.
6. Collect feedback
It often happens that a buyer who is not satisfied with the seller’s product or service writes reviews in stores (App Store, Google Play, HUAWEI AppGallery). People complain about the quality of service in the store and about products that don’t suit them. But reviews in stores are a place where you can gather feedback about the application, so developers monitor them first. This means that “product” comments addressed to the seller will reach them with a delay and they will have less time to rectify the situation.
In the application you can quickly get feedback from customers. To do this, just add the “Chat with the seller” function or the possibility of a call back (if the user leaves the number, and the store will call you back). Feedback increases customer loyalty to the store because it shows that you want to work on the bugs. Using the Mobile app for retail stores is ideal for getting feedback on a product or service as it is so easy to do with a smartphone.
7. Studying User Habits
You can offer users any useful application of your brand to explore their habits, likes and interests – not necessarily a “mobile shop”. Many brands use this tactic. So Nike created the Nike Training Club and Nike Run Club workout apps. Applications receive information about the user and in return provide free personal training programs – this binds the user to the brand: If he likes the Nike application, then there is a high probability that he will choose clothing for his training in the store of the same name.
But remember that people only use Mobile app for retail stores that fit their needs. Jodadeveloping team has been in mobile development for 10 years and we have a lot of experience in this business. If you’ve been wanting a mobile application for a long time but didn’t know what would suit your business, write to us. We help formulate the tasks and goals of the application and take care of all development issues.
8. Billing of Customer Traffic
GPS can be used not only to attract customers, but also to track how many people walk through the store on a daily basis. The customer flow indicator shows the seller how advantageous the location of his store is. Based on this data, retailers can adjust their business strategy.
Incoming customers are taken into account by store employees who enter data in a notebook, make notes on the phone or fix them with a special counter. You can facilitate the task of consultants and count the number of people by recording the DVR. Both methods place an additional burden on employees and do not guarantee high accuracy.
You can use hardware accounting methods – special sensors that react to movements. But they often count the same customer multiple times when they’re near the device, or “let people through” when multiple people enter the store at the same time.
The Mobile app for retail stores eliminates these difficulties and gives you a more accurate result. In addition, you do not need to spend a budget on the technical equipment of the store – it is enough if the buyer turned on GPS.
9. Delivery
In order to survive the pandemic, retail chains that did not have their own online shop used delivery apps that deliver goods to the end consumer. Customers have the opportunity to order the necessary goods and products from home. With this solution, retailers identified their sales and survived the crisis, and the Mobile app for retail stores helped them to do so.
10. Mobile sales assistant
The retailer not only has to think about the needs of the customers, but also about how to make the work of their employees more enjoyable. Salespeople are on their feet all day, expending physical, cognitive, and emotional energy to help the customer find the product they want. And they need help too.
We have developed an application for the employees of a monobrand clothing store to simplify their daily tasks. The application can:
Scan the label and provide full information about the product – we analyzed a similar functionality in the first part of the article: the application shows available colors, sizes and the amount of goods in stock.
Show product list via search query – the function helps the consultant not to keep the entire range in mind. If a customer wants a white t-shirt or blue jeans, the app will display models that match that request.
Report the availability of goods in neighboring stores – if the buyer asks to show a size M sweater, but only XS, S, L and XL are available, the consultant does not give up – he will tell the customer the nearest network store the right size.
Show how many goods are on the way – the advisor can track how many positions of a certain product are already on the way and will soon arrive in the store.
Ordering goods in the hall – the application simplifies communication between sellers in the hall and employees in the warehouse. When a product runs out in the hall, the consultant creates an order in the application, the warehouse receives a push notification about a new order and puts the missing product on the store shelves.
Create reports about the hall – through the application you can take pictures of the hall, determine the location of things, configure reports and send them to the server.
Receive Product Popularity Reports – The Mobile app for retail stores receives information about the most popular products and based on this data, merchandisers rank products in a way that attracts customers.
Conclusions
In this way, the Mobile app for retail stores aims to help bring shopping joy to customers and increase retail store sales. With data from mobile devices, retailers can personalize offers and predict when a customer will need that final nudge to complete a purchase. With the help of the application, buyers can learn more about each product (price, features, reviews) and buy it, avoiding long queues.
If your store does not yet have the Mobile app for retail stores but your competitors do, then call us on +491758533660 or write to us, we will select a flexible cooperation option for your project and work on it from the first conversation. We also encourage you to understand why it is better to turn to professional mobile application developers than to use the services of unknown companies.