For your retail app to be successful, it should have all the features outlined below. These features will make it easier for customers to make purchase decisions. In addition, they also promote great user experience. So, ensure you discuss every one of them with your
app developers.
1. Quick walkthrough
No matter how simple your app is, if you sell a whole lot of different items, it may be difficult for customers to easily find what they are looking for. Secondly, users sometimes realize that they need certain features after the features are introduced to them.
So, app developers can create a walkthrough feature on your retail app. Users will have the option of using it or not. Good store map is a great way to start. The idea is to help customers find what they are looking for quickly before they drop off. Customers are becoming more impatient and smarter. They know they have a lot of options and they make use of them very well.
2. Shopping list
Instead of having to add every item to cart every single time, regular customers should be able to create a regular shopping list. If you run a grocery store, you need this feature for your app. Take the time to discuss it with your app developers.
Every customer has regular items that they purchase from grocery stores. They can include the items in their shopping list. The feature works like the playlist feature in music players. They can create a shopping list and name it. So, once a customer taps on her shopping list. All the items on the list will be added to cart in specified quantities. So, the user gets to check out or add more items to cart. Many app developers have already started implementing it.
3. Customer service
There should also be a customer service feature where a customer can click and chat with a live customer service agent without leaving the app. And if the issue at hand requires putting a call through, customer may just need to tap the phone number to initiate a call. He does not have to leave the app to do that. It is called “click to call” feature. So, make your app development software create a customer service feature and incorporate the click to call technology into it. You could also take it a step further by allowing chat bots to man the customer service section of your app.
App developers can create a database of the answers to the possible questions customers can ask. This database can be linked to your chat bots. However, if a customer comes with an issue that your chat bot cannot answer, a phone number is presented to the customer to call. This is where the click-to-call feature becomes handy.
The idea behind using chat bots is to be able to provide instant response to customers’ queries. As mentioned earlier, customers have become impatient and nothing can impress them more than instant answers to their questions. They can no longer wait for a whole 24 hours before they get a response to their query. Customers have evolved and your mobile app should evolve along with them too.
4. Product counter
Many retail apps still make this serious mistake that gets customers annoyed. Why display what is not in stock. It’s like whetting customers’ appetite and then you tell them that what they want is not available. Every retail app should have a product counter feature that pulls a product out immediately the counter reads “0”. It should work from backend.
If it’s a product that you’re planning to restock, you can have it grayed out. The customer already knows that it is not available before checking its features. Not every user notices the out-of-stock tag you add at the base of unavailable products.
5. Product demo
You already understand the importance of explainer videos. Every product should have an explainer video of how they work. The product demo button can be placed beside every product. Once you click or tap the button, its product demo will come up. Nothing convinces potential customers like short videos. They need to understand how products work.
The video should include situations that make the product beneficial. For instance, the video of a raincoat should show how it can be used in a serious rain. Products demo can boost sales conversion a lot. Some retail apps already have it.
6. Fast loading
According to a reliable report, half of online shoppers will not wait for more than 3 seconds for a retail page to load. If after 3 seconds a page is yet to load, they’ll likely pass it. In fact, some of them would not even wait that long before closing the page. So, you should ensure that every page of your mobile app loads as fast as possible. Your target should be less than a second. Your app developers should employ several technologies to achieve this.
7. Mobile pay technology
The world of payment is gradually titling towards mobile technologies. You must have heard of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay,
Google Pay, and Android Pay. If you are yet to integrate at least one of them into your mobile app, you are not ready for competition yet. You should implement this as soon as yesterday as it is already too late.
8. Voice commands
Is your app ready for
Alexa yet? By the end of 2020, half of searches and shopping will be done by issuing voice commands. So, it is important that you get your app ready for voice commands. Customers are latching on to the technology fast.
Conclusively, implement all the features above in your app and see how your conversion rate will double.
