How App Development Helps to Grow Retail Businesses

When expanding your retail business, have you ever thought of omnichannel retail?

Establishing an online presence through the development of an eCommerce app promises just as large a market as an offline store.

Not only that, but an online store is easier, quicker, and less costly to set up.

This means more returns on your investments.

So, how can app development help grow your retail business?

Keep reading to find out.

Key Benefits of App Development for Retail Business

Retail technology promises a bright future for your business:

• Promising market share. The global retail sales are projected to reach 30.1 trillion euro by 2026. eCommerce is taking the lead in the shares of global retail sales.
• Fast user growth potential. The number of mobile users worldwide is 7.49 billion. As more people are increasingly using and spending time on smartphones, developing mobile commerce apps will give your business access to this huge pool of customers.
• Streamlined operations. From manufacturing to selling, the customer journey process for retail business is non-stop. Technologies such as stock and inventory management and retail analytics will not only streamline operations but also help optimise slow-performing areas.

Specific Use Cases of Retail Applications

A range of features in retail applications can do wonders for your business:

• Point of Sale. This all-in-one retail app enables you to input orders, process payments, swipe cards, and generate receipts in both online and offline settings, making transactions seamless. Other solutions offered by a POS include a barcode scanner, cash drawer, and high-accuracy card reader.
• Customer loyalty apps. Increase customer retention by giving rewards to your customers for any follow-up purchase they make, such as redeem points or exclusive discounts, and make them feel valued.
• In-store experience. Enhance the customer journey by helping them navigate through your offline store in your personalised app—with features such as personalised offers for specific products, real-time try-ons, or integrated online check-outs to increase engagement.
• Best-in-class customer service. Solve customer queries faster so they’ll have more trust and a stronger relationship with your retail business. Using an in-app customer service feature, make it simple for them to directly chat with your CS, track complaints, and gain quick updates.
• Accounting app. Cash flow is the life of your business. As it’s important to manage your financials, enhance your bookkeeping with an accounting app. From generating invoices to managing accounts and taxes, an accounting app will help strengthen transparency in your revenue.

Future Trends of Retail App Development

Perhaps, you’re thinking of partnering with an app development company and developing your retail app.

As this will be a considerable investment, make sure to incorporate the following trends when evaluating your eCommerce app development cost to future-proof your business:

• Mobile responsiveness. Remember, mobile contributes to 58.21% of worldwide internet traffic. So, if you’re not making your app fast-performing on mobile, you’re risking high exit rates in your checkouts.
• Robust security. Since customers are dealing with payments, ensure that this procedure is 100% secured with encryption. Unsecured payments can cause huge financial losses for your business due to repeated refunds.
• Marketing and analytics. Marketing is your business’s growth engine, and with technology, you can boost your business potential. From tracking user behaviour to scheduling campaigns, marketing technology (Martech) will help increase your return on investment.
• Fraud detection. Fraudulent activities are inevitable, but thankfully, artificial intelligence (AI) is here to solve such issues. A machine learning algorithm will identify suspicious patterns and warn you when there’s a threat so you can take prompt actions before more serious problems arise.