Top Mobile Shopping App Features and Why You Need Them

More than 48% of online shoppers base their evaluation of a shopping store's legitimacy on its features and mobile-friendly designs, which have a direct bearing on the possibility that a lead will turn into a customer. Certain shopping app features improve the usability of your company application, streamline the buying process, and provide exceptional user experiences.

On the other hand, you require mobile application development to establish a strong business foundation in the eCommerce industry. This article presents you with some of the top shopping app features of 2023 in case you are undecided about which features to add to your list of eCommerce mobile app features when handing over your requirements to top mobile application development companies in Sri Lanka.

The most desired benefits are discounts and loyalty awards.

Customers want e-commerce apps to offer them specialised, exclusive information and offers that will encourage them to make a purchase. 84% of app users would enable push notifications about any specials, and 85% would make purchases to receive discounts. For a few products, Walgreens provides its consumers with paperless coupons. They can clip them and use them later in a physical store or online.

To attract and keep customers, top e-commerce applications need to add more advanced features like gamification. This is especially important when more new mobile apps come to market. Gamification's fundamental tenet is to promote brand loyalty by rewarding customer engagement. This technique is frequently utilised in online learning to engage and excite students. Gamification is responsible for several of the top apps' successes, like Duolingo.

Reviews and suggestions.

Shopping on a mobile device is much more about surfing than it is about searching. It is a good idea for an app to offer assistance to users when they are unsure about which product or brand they wish to purchase. E-commerce apps that are easy to use look at browsing history and previous orders to suggest related products. Customers responded that they would use advice in proportion to 70%. Their enthusiasm is supported by the statistic that 35% of Amazon purchases result from personalised recommendations.

Audio knowledge.

Recently, a lot of well-known programmes have started including audio experiences as improvements. As an illustration, the well-known dating app Hinge recently added an audio function that allows users to upload a 30-second audio clip to their accounts.

In addition to this, users of the well-known music service Spotify may purchase different packages that include the ability to produce podcasts directly within the app. According to experts, such audio experiences that include eCommerce functions will be very popular in retail apps.

Streaming shopping.

The live broadcast function is one post-pandemic feature that has changed how internet shopping is done. Social media behemoths like Instagram and YouTube were the first to popularise live streaming. Typically, during a live stream, brands present their goods from a variety of profiles and pin a link to them on the screen.

Buy-now-pay-later.

As an alternative payment method, consumers are increasingly expecting a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) feature service like Afterpay. Users can utilise this option to make a purchase and pay for it over time in a number of instalments. In fact, it is anticipated that BNPL transactions will rise by nearly $450 billion through 2026. Consumers and shoppers are reportedly more likely to use BNPL than credit cards when making large instalment payments.

The BNPL eCommerce function known as Apple Pay later has also been effectively deployed by IT behemoths like Apple. Users can choose to divide the whole purchase price into four equal payments, with or without interest, using this option. The pay later feature has also been elevated to the list of advanced eCommerce features by some of the leading eCommerce programmes.

CTV marketing.

One of the emerging developments in the eCommerce sector, CTV, sometimes referred to as "connected TV advertising, is transforming the marketing environment for brands. Following Apple's iOS 14.5 update and Google's devaluation of third-party cookies, eCommerce business platforms are searching for new ways to connect with their target audiences while maintaining privacy standards. They have a new performance channel called CTV Advertising.

Headless business.

In the modern day, digital agility for eCommerce applications is essential to staying competitive. The features of eCommerce apps must adapt to the constantly changing shifts in customer behaviour, which is why business owners have added headless elements to provide a seamless user experience.

Forbes reports that a staggering $1.65 billion in funding has been raised for headless technologies, which shows how popular they have become over the last two years. The eCommerce app's headless architectural feature leverages APIs to transmit data in real time between frontend and backend processes, systems, tools, and the user at the centre. Multiple channels can be easily integrated and managed as a result, without the need for additional systems or tools.

Using augmented reality.

Shopping assistance from AR is nothing new. The AR help function has been the most popular among all the sophisticated features of eCommerce apps. This is supported by the prediction made by a recent poll of retail industry trends that one-third of consumers will use augmented reality (AR) technology when making online purchases.

The AR assistance feature is used by well-known eCommerce apps like Amazon to enable consumers to test things in-app in real time. Amazon Fashion just unveiled its in-app virtual try-on room for shoes and other items. Similar to this, the Sephora app offers a facial recognition-based AR assistance function called Virtual Artist that enables users to try on cosmetics in real time.

It is ideal to start developing your shopping software with web development services with a minimum viable product (MVP) that just contains the essential functions of the application. By doing this, you can market-test your app and get insightful customer input that will guide the path of your product's future development.