With the arrival of new technologies, eCommerce has transformed itself to cater to the needs of its users. However, in order to make these new additions work for your online business, embracing them is a must. One such example of technology trends transition is the arrival of mCommerce and its rising popularity. To make an eStore mobile-friendly, either merchant can integrate different third-party apps or adapt to Shopify Custom development process. The Custom development process opens up the scope of creating a personalized app to represent your brand’s products and services.
However, numerous merchants still shy away from adapting to proper practices that could make their websites available on mobile devices. This is because either they lack funds or are unaware of the effects a mobile application can bring for their eStore. If you are wondering how your eStore can reap the benefits of mCommerce with limited resources, this blog might have all your answers. Here we will discuss how you can change your Shopify store into a mobile app with Shopify development agency. Further, we will also explore other alternatives for creating as well. But before we dive into that let’s first get a brief view of why your business needs mobile applications.
Why are Mobile Apps Important?
With the arrival of advanced Android and iOS devices, it has become an essential aspect of everyday life. For the majority of the world population, the mobile application acts as an important element that helps them throughout their day. Instead of desktops, compact mobile devices can be used almost anywhere for day-to-day task management.
This dependency on mobile devices has made it crucial for eStores to make their products and services accessible to Mobile users. For this, platforms such as Shopify offer multiple ways to make your eStore mobile-friendly. We will delve into these further in the article after understanding the importance of mCommerce via the stats mentioned below.
Stats showcasing the importance of mCommerce for eStores:
Mobile availability can impact eStores in numerous positive ways. Here are a few stats that signifies the potential mCommerce have for online merchants:
- In 2021 mCommerce sales are expected to make up for 53.9% of total online sales
- We can expect mCommerce to share 72.9% of eCommerce shares globally by the end of 2021.
- In the US 187 million shoppers use mobile devices for making online purchases.
- Further 67% of window shoppers exploring through their mobile devices tend to make quick impulse purchases.
How to Convert Shopify stores in Mobile Applications?
From the discussion, we can conclude that mCommerce can easily improve a store’s potential to achieve higher profits and sales. However, starting the process of mobile app development from scratch can be tricky for most Shopify store owners. With limited knowledge of the development process and scarce guidance, store merchants tend to become prone to making poor choices. To prevent this, Shopify provides its merchants multiple options for converting their Shopify store into a mobile app. Below is a list of ways for merchants to create scalable and unique mobile apps for their online business:
3rd Party Shopify App for Mobile App Development
For merchants with small-scale businesses and limited resources, third-party apps for mobile app development can be a great option. As it does not require merchants to hire developers for their business and is quite affordable. All merchants have to do for running their mobile application smoothly is pay a small monthly fee. This would add up for maintenance and updates of the mobile applications. In the Shopify App store merchants can spot a number of affordable and amazing 3rd party solutions for mobile app development.
Shopify App builder for App Development
Although the 3rd party Shopify apps are affordable they seldom leave scopes for customization. This rigidity can be a root cause of multiple problems for merchants with unique products and out-of-the-box business requirements.
In such situations, merchants can adapt to the Shopify app builder. Shopify App builders are basically third-party SAAS platforms that allow online businesses to create customized apps. With Shopify app builders merchants can easily perform minute customizations without writing any code. Further, it allows merchants to launch their app within just a few days as well.
Custom eCommerce App Development
For Shopify merchants in need of a highly personalized mobile application, the above-mentioned options won’t suffice to their business needs. As the scope of personalization stays limited and restrained in the above alternatives.
In such cases, merchants can alternatively choose to hire developers and create custom eCommerce apps for their eStore. A custom eCommerce app helps them to control every aspect of their brand’s representation. Further, it allows merchants to enhance their security and scale their applications according to their business needs in the future.
Making the Right Choice
From the list of options mentioned above choosing the right alternative mostly depends on the needs of the online business. Further, merchants should consider the overall budget they have as well.
For businesses with customization requirements and enough budget to suffice their needs adapting to custom development would be a great choice. Whereas for businesses who need a bit of personalization but don’t want to invest in custom development choosing a Shopify app or 3rd party solution will easily do the trick.
Hence, while making a choice between the above-mentioned options for creating an eCommerce mobile app merchants must understand their business. This includes figuring out the following details:
- Features your application needs
- Development Budget for implementing them
- Researching every business alternative
To Wrap Up
mCommerce plays a crucial role in bringing higher conversions and sales. However, to fully reach out to mobile users, application development is a must for online merchants. For this, they can either choose to create a custom app or use plugins for application development to cater to their business needs.
So, adapt to the right alternative from the list mentioned above today to reach out to a wider range of target audiences. This will help your business to attract more buyers, conversions, and improve your brand’s image as well.
