Several trends in the marketplace have made it evident that businesses of all types need to adjust their strategies to accommodate the growing popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices. But let’s take a closer look at this phenomenon to see how retail outlets can be successful in the world of web-enabled devices.
The advent of the mobile revolution has facilitated several new methods for retailers to interact with their customers. They no longer need to rely on printed materials or billboards to advertise discounts and special offers, as these can be communicated more efficiently via apps.
In addition, mobile growth has had a significant impact on the buying habits of purchasers. They research prices, products, sellers, and other buyers’ reviews via their smartphones. Today mobile commerce is growing like a weed, surpassing all other forms of e-commerce.
But some industry stakeholders have been hesitant to invest in retail mobile apps. This hesitation is similar to the initial reaction to e-commerce websites in the early 2000s: At first, there was resistance to this idea, but eventually, they were embraced.
Geolocation (GPS) identifies the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a mobile device or Wi-Fi-enabled computer. Geolocation is achieved by first identifying the longitude and latitude coordinates. Once the coordinates are determined, they can be presented on a map. The Android operating system and iOS have different APIs for implementing geolocation features in mobile applications.
Android Location Services allows developers to develop apps that need to show maps. Google Maps provide means to overlay data on maps. An application is sent to Google Maps some parameters that should be displayed. Google Maps interpret these parameters and performs the required operations. Therefore, the app does not implement or even see creating a map, drawing objects, or finding locations. It just uses a 3rd party service.
iOS applications on the iOS platform use the iOS Location service to integrate geolocation features. The iOS Maps features are leveraged to facilitate map viewing, including standard, street, 3D views, programmatic panning, zooming, and pitch option. Thus the application interacts with the maps services to implement the above options. By doing so, development time is reduced, and reliable solutions are provided for business owners.
Dynamic Beacon technology is another way to increase spending for your business. Active Beacons identify consumers near retail locations and deliver ads based on the consumer’s area. For example, you might offer special coupons when customers visit your store or offer printable coupons to customers near your store as they leave.
Beacon technology based on Bluetooth allows apps on iOS and Android devices to send push notifications to users’ devices when they are within range of a beacon, whether or not they have the app installed.
Retailers offer loyalty programs to entice repeat customers and increase sales of their products. To learn about the types of rewards their customers prefer, retailers use surveys. By tracking their buying habits, retailers can discount individual customers’ items. They can also offer birthday coupons to create and maintain a lasting relationship with their customers.
Mobile payments provide customers convenience in shopping more than ever. With the integration of credit card information directly into the app and the ability to pay with built-in technology, mobile payments make purchases more convenient than ever.
Your mobile application can integrate payment options in two ways:
The app can provide the user with relevant information based on their interests. For example, if the user is interested in a specific product, the app can send alerts about price changes, discount deals, and other information without the customer’s request. In this way, you will keep in touch with your customers easily. Moreover, you can offer them special deals through push notifications that remind them of your events and news: new arrivals, sales beginning, presentations, etc.
In today’s consumer-driven market, insights have become the new currency. Understanding your customers’ non-obvious needs and delivering a personalized experience to them requires data analysis and analytical skills. Mobile apps collect the data that drive sales, both in-store and out-of-store.
Advanced analytics techniques and mobile technologies help brands understand their customers better. The analytical platform helps retailers make real-time, personalized adjustments to the shopping experience by providing them with new types of data that allow them to predict customer behavior, drive sales in-store and out of the store and analyze the effectiveness of their media campaigns.
To get the most out of analytics in your app, it is highly recommended that you consider integrating analytics tools at the development stage. It’s also important to monitor things before publishing your app on mobile stores. If you need to improve your app or add additional features, make sure you implement them promptly so as not to delay the release of a new version of your app. Moreover, you have the option of using standard dashboards or creating custom ones. The standard panel provides key metrics: number of users, active devices, session duration, etc.
To get a more sophisticated view of your app, use custom metrics. Custom parameters are available in event-based analytics tools and allow you to track user behavior more precisely, including bounce rate (how likely users are to bounce after visiting one page), retention rate (the ratio of retained clients to lost customers), sharing, and purchases. Developers define events and their properties for your app. Event-based analytics tools allow developers to track these events separately or create a series of events (funnels).
Do you know what type of communication your customers prefer? The rise of social media has led to a strong preference for text-based messaging.
If you genuinely want to meet your customers’ diverse needs, the best way to do so is to keep them in the know via your app. Your customers will be able to reach you whenever and wherever using their smartphones. People need to have easy access to your company’s goods. Remember that customers need a quick way of contacting you at all times. With a rapidly-changing marketplace, it’s best to respond quickly to customer demands.
A mobile app has to provide users with more than just a way to buy things to be successful. It also has to give users the option to have a personalized customer experience and respond to their interests by providing them with the app features they want most.
But developing an app is not as simple as it would seem. It takes skill and a team of talented developers actually to do it. Squash Apps has both. Our expertise in mobile commerce is hard to match. Reach out to us to get your customized app solutions.
Retail businesses sell services or items to consumers; these businesses sell in-person, over the phone, online, and sometimes by mail order. Companies usually allow customers to purchase various entities under one roof. Examples of retail businesses include clothing, drug, online grocery retailer, the food retail industry, and convenience stores.
