Having a mobile app is worth your time and money because consumers connect with businesses through smartphones if you have an eCommerce business. Mobile apps could generate over $935 billion by 2023. This spending could reach $171 billion by 2024. So, if you are on the app route, you need to be certain if the Magento 2 native app is right for your business.
Mobile apps are invaluable for businesses; however, some businesses may not need them. Hence, understand your goals, target audience, and resources before building a Magento 2 mobile app.
Start by asking the below questions before you start with the app development journey:
- Am I considering an app because of FOMO?
Just because every business around you has a mobile app doesn’t mean you should have one.
2. Will customer experience be different from an optimized website?
You don’t need it if your website can provide a similar experience to an app.
3. Could an app provide a competitive edge?
Do your competitors have mobile apps? Is it helping them expand? Are your target audience mobile users? If yes, go for it.
4. What would the daily interactions be like?
Understand how customers would interact with your brand on a daily basis. If you’re in an industry where interactions are limited, you don’t need one.
5. Would PWAs be better?
If you can’t spend a lot on native app development, PWAs are the viable alternatives.
6. Do customers need frequent interactions with sensitive data?
If customers have to check data like delivery status, having an app would be better. However, if you have a business that requires face-to-face interactions, you can do without an app.
7. Am I already providing a valuable experience?
If you think you can provide valuable services with an app that you’re unable to deliver via a website, then developing an app is beneficial. However, if they are satisfied with your offerings through online channels and websites, an app would be a waste of time and money.
8. Are my customers mobile-oriented?
If your customers prefer large screens like desktops, having a mobile app is not a good decision.
9. How often do customers interact with my business?
If your business requires daily customer interaction apart from the official work hours, having a mobile app is crucial.
Why You Should Invest In a Mobile App
Customers’ behavior, intent, interests, and preferences are changing. So, adapt to the changing preferences and be where customers are.
Investing in mobile apps can increase customer engagement, build endorsement, provide better customer services, attain customer insights, increase revenue, and reach a global audience.
Here are the other benefits that you can attain down this path:
- Mobile Apps Help Build Audience
Customers prefer mobile apps due to the convenience it offers, and this is why businesses are taking benefit of Magento 2 mobile app development. After all, a robust platform provides a stable foundation for the app. Plus, interaction with users is easy. You can digitalize your traditional loyalty programs and allow users to collect their rewards via mobile app. They can purchase and interact efficiently, irrespective of the time and availability. All this creates valuable marketing opportunities that further help with audience gathering.
Insider Tip: Define your goals and target audience. It will help you plan your marketing strategy to get traction.
- Reflect on your customers’ journey and identify the touchpoints to be enhanced.
- Set specific metrics related to your goals and audience.
- Include features that will increase customer engagement and overall experience.
Avoid deploying an app that doesn’t serve a purpose or offer any benefits.
2. Apps Enhance Customer Communication and Loyalty
If you have an app that resides on customers’ mobile phones for long, you can reach out to them with different marketing strategies. You can send push notifications for offers and new products; offer other functionalities like pay later, AR and VR, one-click checkout, etc., to make existing customers invest more in your business.
Integrating simple features like in-app messaging would make a huge difference in how you communicate. For loyalty, consider Uber’s marketing strategy. It offers discounts to its mobile app users which has been proven to be the best strategy to keep your customers loyal to you.
Besides, you can gather feedback and use customer data to provide personalized services like recommending products based on their likes and dislikes, products popular in their region, and so on.
Real-time updates and quick responses also help retain customers. You can gamify a few aspects of your app. This will make your customers feel a real connection to your business and in the end, result in frequent interactions and a sense of loyalty.
3. Mobile Payments are Convenient
Mobile payments were once a niche, but now it’s generally accepted by everyone. According to the 2018 Clutch Small Business Survey, 26 percent of small businesses consider mobile payment a valuable app feature.
With in-app payments, customers can eliminate the need to carry physical wallets. Transactions are a lot quicker. Customers having a mobile phone can make the payments conveniently. As a business owner, you can accept payments online and virtually from anywhere, enhancing your customer service and expanding your business reach. On top of that, mobile payments include dynamic encryption and multiple layers of security. It means your customers can save their account and card details without worrying about security. With PIN biometrics, mobile payments are considered more secure than EMV chip card payments.
Having this feature in your mobile app will also help you reduce expenses. You can eliminate the need for physical devices to reduce bank charges and overhead costs. Customers won’t have to switch to payment apps for transactions, which is more convenient. This will also help you understand customer trends. For example, if you offer multiple payment options, you can analyze what customers prefer the most. You can further look at their purchasing trend and increase their credit limit or something like that.
4. Mobile Apps Contribute to Brand Awareness and Recognition
Customers may or may not remember a website but having a mobile app makes it easy to remember the brand. They can simply install it on their device and come across the logo frequently, increasing visibility and awareness. The more often they come across the app, the sooner they are likely to interact with it and purchase a product/service. Besides, all-time push notifications ensure that your customers don’t forget you.
This is possible only with an app. It can get you recognition faster than a website. According to a study, retailers experienced a 15 percent increase in sales with mobile apps.
Here are some tips to increase brand awareness with a Magento 2 native app:
- Utilize push notifications to promote offers, products, and special deals.
- Implement location-based marketing with customized messages based on location and preferences.
- Fill your app with information about your brand, offerings, services, business solutions, help center, and more.
- Get feedback to improve customer service.
- Make it SEO and ASO friendly.
5. Mobile App Create Direct Marketing Channel
A mobile app provides everything your customers need in one place. They can browse, book, purchase, checkout, pay, request help, earn rewards, etc., right at their fingertips.
You can provide your customers with all the information, remind them about products and services, and interact directly with them through a mobile app. Besides, you can integrate social media with your mobile app, allowing your customers to share your app with their network. This is how it creates a direct marketing channel.
In addition to sharing apps, customers can also share their experiences with the company. You can use your app’s home page to promote and notify customers about upcoming sales and offers. Besides, push notifications can promote offers, special deals, and sales. That’s simply marketing your products and services with the app.
So, Is Having a Magento 2 Mobile App Worth It?
Yes, it is!
Mobile apps are taking center stage because it’s convenient for buyers to interact with the brand.
Plus, younger small business owners are taking over the league. The trend says that small businesses are rising and will be widely accepted in the near future. As millennials prefer convenience and digitalization, the rise in mobile apps is likely to grow. There may come a time when mobile apps will be the face of the brand.
Hence, go for it today if you don’t want to lag.
