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Mobile eCommerce has reached $3.56 billion in 2022, according to Statista. Chances are you consider entering the eCommerce app development sector. The solution is creating an eCommerce app.

Despite the difficulties affecting the retail industry, we have observed that more and more people are turning to their mobile devices to meet their needs, and apps are becoming important to the buying process. To maintain our competitive edge and brand distinctiveness, business owners should continuously improve the user experience on their apps. This will help them stand out from the competition, stay relevant in the worldwide market, and achieve long-term success.

In this article, we’ll outline several processes for creating an eCommerce app similar to the market giants, discuss e-commerce trends, estimate the cost of developing a mobile-commerce app, and list the features your eCommerce app has to have.

E-Commerce App Development Market Overview 

The worldwide e-commerce market’s size, estimated at USD 9.09 trillion in 2019, is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 14.7% from 2020 to 2027. The global population of smartphone users is growing as internet usage becomes more widespread. Among the many eCommerce possibilities available to the client base that uses the internet more frequently are financial services, e-tailing, travel and leisure, digital content, and travel.

Unsurprisingly, the number of internet shoppers is rapidly increasing. Online shoppers increased from 1.32 billion in 2014 to 1.52 billion in 2016 and 2.14 billion in 2021. This trend will continue as more customers use the internet for shopping. Despite accounting for a sizable portion of retail expenditure (27% in 2021), the mobile commerce app development sphere is expanding more slowly than traditional retail sales (32%).

This mismatch may be caused by the fact that many eCommerce businesses have started investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to tailor their content recommendations and suggest comparable products based on historical customer purchasing patterns. As a result, brands that successfully apply AI tactics have higher levels of social media engagement, which helps them draw in new clients and retain existing ones.

Consequently, consumer technical awareness would have a favorable effect on market expansion. In addition, the need for speedier surfing has increased connectivity, which has sped up the development of 4G and 5G technology. So now, let’s talk about other mobile commerce app development trends. 

eCommerce App Development Trends in 2023

New technologies that are introduced into the e-commerce industry have the potential to change the market in less than a year completely. Most e-commerce enterprises regularly follow the digital industry to adopt new solutions on their platforms. This enables companies to remain relevant and offer the finest consumer experiences, enhancing and personalizing them.

Follow (or even get ahead of) the latest e-commerce app development tech trends to ensure you keep up with client expectations and can compete in the market if your main goal is to develop an app offering a fantastic experience. Let’s examine the prevalent tendencies in this market more closely:

• Voice search is increasingly common. In the US, smart speakers are already installed in around 28% of homes, and by 2025, that number is expected to reach 75%. Voice assistants like Alexa or Siri embrace speech recognition, natural language processing, and speech synthesis to engage with users depending on the predefined scenario, in contrast to chatbots that are solely focused on text communication. This trend is primarily seen in voice-activated shopping apps that process complex queries to improve search outcomes and dialog. As a result, customers may browse and purchase goods using only their voices.
• AI-assisted upselling and cross-selling — according to Amazon, cross-selling accounts for 35% of their overall revenue.
• By adding the AR capability to their app at the most appropriate time, IKEA has amassed 8.5 million downloads. Augmented reality is used to visualize purchased goods.
• Due to the widespread in-store restrictions, the omnichannel approach has become another key component of retail practices. Thus, 60 to 70 percent of US shoppers across all categories conduct in-store and online research before making purchases. Therefore, it makes sense that in 2022, the development of mobile commerce apps will be smoothly included in a unified customer experience that combines offline and online channels to engage customers. 
• The prevalence of subscription-based services offers suppliers 65% conversion rates during the global pandemic.
• The majority of B2C organizations rely on big data to evaluate user activity, boost conversion rates, and provide actionable consumer insights. Personalized suggestions, dynamic pricing, demand forecasts, and trend projections are all supported by big data and its analytics. When used together, these strategies provide retailers control over the supply chain and enable them to maximize sales.
• A well-proven marketing strategy called geofencing is anticipated to generate more than $3 billion by 2026. It allows retailers to send in-app notifications based on a customer’s position, powered by radio frequency identification (RFID) or the Global Positioning System (GPS). This technique, also referred to as geo-targeted advertising, encourages more specific marketing messages and increases regional spending.
• Another trend that is expanding quickly is real-time shopping. This trend is anticipated to be worth $35 billion by 2024. Livestream shopping originated in China and is now a widespread phenomenon combining video, influential people, and E-commerce. Since users may remark on and respond to streams in real time, the phenomenon is also predicated on increased engagement.

The State of M-commerce as Predicted of 2023-2026

According to Statista, retail m-commerce sales in the United States are expected to amount to 710 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

Consumers Spent Nearly 110 Billion Hours in Shopping Apps in 2022

Source: data.ai State of Mobile 2023

Creating an effective mobile user experience should be a priority for E-commerce brands. Here’s why you should take mobile commerce seriously:

60% Of E-commerce Purchases Happened on a Mobile Device

This stat alone should prompt you to look at your site’s mobile experience. Shoppers used a mobile device to make more than half of the online E-commerce transactions which happened in 2022. That’s a 1.2% increase from last year. Brands should ensure their mobile websites are on point to take advantage of this.

Source: Data Report, January 2023

Insider Intelligence Predicts M-commerce Sales to Hit $534.18 Billion, or 40.4% Of E-commerce Sales, in 2024

The m-commerce revolution is being driven primarily by smartphones and tablets. Seven years ago, conversion rates dropped due to customer annoyance from having to complete an order on a smaller screen, and m-commerce was roughly evenly split between tablets and smartphones. Nowadays, smartphones make up 87.2% of all sales made through mobile commerce; m-commerce trends are essentially smartphone trends. The main distinction is that overall, m-commerce is still growing more slowly than smartphone commerce.

Despite a two-year rebound, tablet commerce will lose share and absolute order value this year. By 2026, tablet m-commerce revenues are projected to drop from $61.08 in 2022 to $54.01 billion. This decrease is probably the result of fewer people using tablets overall and better mobile buying experiences.

29% Of Internet Users Make an E-commerce Transaction on Their Phones at Least Once a Week

In 2023, 29.3% of mobile users shop on their devices at least once a week. This is only expected to grow in the coming years. In some countries, that percentage is actually much higher. Here are the top 10 countries by mobile e-commerce purchases:

• South Korea – 44.3%
• Chile – 37.7.%
• Malaysia – 37.7%
• Taiwan – 37.7%
• Philippines – 37.5%
• Mexico – 37.0%
• Indonesia – 36.8%
• Turkey – 36.8%
• Singapore – 35.3%
• Vietnam – 34.4%

The USA’s mobile E-commerce purchase ratio is on 32.2%, while the UK’s comes in at 29.3%.

Source: Data Report, January 2023

E-commerce App Development: Why Your E-commerce Business Needs an App?

The benefits of e-commerce are difficult to sum up in just two words, but the key one to highlight is providing the finest service to each client individually. The following reasons are to accomplish this objective:

Consumers Choose Apps Over Mobile Browsers

There are currently about 15 billion cell phones in use worldwide. The majority of people turn to their mobile devices to swiftly and conveniently make online purchases anytime they want. Websites cannot offer many entertaining elements, such as scanning QR codes with a camera, using GPS to find nearby businesses, or taking payments over the telephone, which can be done directly by applications. E-commerce app development for your company is no longer a luxury but rather a requirement.

Image source: Compuware

Apps for Mobile E-commerce Increase Consumer Retention

Client loyalty matters. Making mobile applications could aid in increasing your clientele. How? The first step is continuous presence. Your app and logo should be seen whenever users use their phones. 

Reduced Response Time

Measuring response time enables the identification of the application’s slow-moving and optimization-required parts. The app reacts more quickly and offers a better user experience making users more inclined to stick with your business and refer others to it. Mobile users choose m-commerce apps because they load way faster and do not cause user journey obstacles common for websites.

Enhanced UX

E-commerce UX refers to the user’s experience while making a purchase on a website. Every touchpoint influences how a user views your brand, website, and goods or services. Users begin to create an opinion about how simple, practical, and effective your e-commerce experience is as soon as they land on your mobile application. 

Thus, this implies that they start doing so right away. UX is essential to e-commerce as it guarantees that customers can quickly explore your app, find what they need, buy it, and move on. They’ll also buy more frequently if you make it simple for them to do so. Because of this, you need to ensure that your business provides the finest UX possible and implements enhanced UX best practices.

Increased Conversion Rates

Due to clients having access to your application from any device at any time, the business will see a significant rise in conversion. Additionally, smartphone features like push notifications, one-click purchases, and easy payment maximize every potential for a sale.

Applications that store data locally and use frameworks that are much faster than JavaScript on the part of websites allow for operation one and a half times faster than that on mobile sites. The best e-commerce applications also allow for offline basket adding and product viewing, which makes them handier than e-commerce websites and more tempting to customers.

User Behavior Changes After Covid-19

The e-commerce boom was considerably hastened by COVID-19, which greatly impacted how individuals make purchases. As a result, the total amount spent on e-commerce in May 2020 was $82.5 billion, up 77% from the same month in 2019. If we were to use the conventional year-over-year gains, it would have taken 4 to 6 years to reach that figure.

Additionally, there are other reasons to start mobile commerce app development besides only having a decent adaptive web view, such as:

• access to a user quickly;
• the ability to contact users through push notifications;
• improved alternatives for monitoring user behavior;
• effective data collection;
• prototype new features and test hypotheses.

Lower Mobile Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

The user experience is what is causing this significant difference between the cart abandonment rate for mobile apps and sites. The online purchasing experience on apps is typically more user-friendly for customers. Challenges on the websites include trouble seeing text and figuring out where to click, which are a barrier to checkout.

Having said that, if a large portion of your store’s online traffic comes from mobile devices, you might want to take additional measures to improve your customers’ mobile website experiences in order to increase revenue and benefit from a lower cart abandonment rate. Offering discounts, being open and honest about your fees, and reclaiming abandoned carts are all examples of great tactics.

Higher Average Order Value

Because it represents the typical amount each client spends, average order value (AOV) is a crucial number for any e-commerce company. A greater average order value shows that a company is generating more revenue through cross-selling or pushing more expensive products. Mobile apps offer a better environment for high AOV because of their seamless UX and all other aspects deciding customer loyalty.

Detailed Analytics

The performance measurements are useful in identifying and resolving issues in real-time. E-commerce application development analytics focuses on the most important issues to the business. Analytics for e-commerce are useful for assessing user behavior, performance trends, and ROI. Marketers use analytics to highlight campaigns’ return on investment (ROI) and help them decide how to boost sales, save costs, and enhance their company’s operations.

Tips to Build an E-Commerce App That Your Users Will Definitely Love

An outstanding user experience and assistance in achieving your business objectives are key components of a successful mobile app. The chosen features contribute to your app’s performance the most, so functionality should be of great focus:

MVP Level Features of an E-commerce App

When searching online, people don’t need more filters; they need better results. Therefore, the essential features are determined by the product itself. If you are constructing Shazam, you only need one button to test the concept. If you’re building the next Amazon, you only need features that offer your clients the most value.

• Simple registration 

Creating a simple sign-up and sign-in process is the first step in creating an e-commerce app. The process often starts with logging in using your email address, username, or phone number. A multifactor authentication system, such as fingerprint scanning, may also be helpful.

• Profile management

The second essential component of e-commerce software is profile management, which allows users to view prior purchases, the status of forthcoming orders, stored addresses, and payment information.

• Search and filter

An e-commerce app aims to make filtering things as simple as possible, whether searching for a specific item or looking through the newest products. The items offered in your store should be easy to find, displayed properly, and interactive (complemented by “add to favorites,” “add to cart,” and “buy now” buttons).

• Product details

The product description is examined in this e-commerce mobile app development section. This information includes the product name, specifications, price, cost of delivery, ratings, reviews, and estimated delivery date.

• Add to cart 

Every mobile commerce app must have a shopping cart so users can quickly add products, modify quantities, and place an order. Users can utilize the function to save things they like and purchase them later. The best way to use this facility is to make it omnichannel-friendly, which basically means that no matter what device your users use to access your e-commerce app, the cart details should duplicate without any issues.

• Purchase the Product

This is the point at which browsers convert to customers. Having a simple checkout sequence with remembered payment options, autofill form fields, and transparency on the timescales for product delivery is one method to make sure it goes smoothly.

• Track the order

Order monitoring comes next on the list of features. After the customer purchases the item, the app should provide tracking information with information on how the purchase is moving and an estimated delivery date.

• Push notifications

Push notification is one of the most important features for notifying users about important updates in e-commerce software. A simple reminder can be used to let a client know that the product has been dispatched, there are new sales up, or new product launches going on.

• Customer service

Customers occasionally require assistance navigating an online retailer when making a purchase error, initiating a return, or exchanging an item. However, the process becomes significantly simplified when there is some e-commerce customer care within the mobile app.

• Admin panel 

The admin panel is a component of e-commerce app development that simplifies the management of processes like orders, clients, and stores for the app administrator. In addition to a filtering mechanism, it eases the promotion and award arrangement process. 

Advanced Features E-commerce Mobile App 

You can incorporate phone functionality into your app to make navigation easier and boost user engagement. Additional e-commerce app development features include engaging your clients’ devices or those that are secondary to the main user experience, e.g., more entertaining than necessary.

• GPS

It enables a program to obtain the user’s current location. By adding a feature that geotags the customer’s address, you can do away with the need to input shipping information manually or allow the user to find the nearest offline stores and departments in case your business has one.

• Visual Search

This feature enables customers to use a smartphone camera to shop. They post pictures from any website, mobile photo bank, or social network profile and the inbuilt visual search will find products that are comparable in terms of color, shape, and size on your e-commerce app. As Gen Z and millennials prefer visual search capabilities to construct retail apps, this is an increasing trend in the internet world. 

• Social Media Integration

This feature of e-commerce applications makes it simple for customers to recommend the item they are thinking about purchasing to their friends or acquaintances on social media platforms.

• Voice Search

Encourage the clients to express their search terms verbally, which will speed up the search process. This feature should be added at any stage of the e-commerce app development, for example, during product scaling.

• Several Payment Methods

A simple and seamless checkout procedure is made possible by having a variety of payment alternatives. The option to pay with a credit card, through a service like PayPal, or possibly with a purchase now, pay later company gives clients some further options.

• In-App One-Click Purchases

According to Barilliance, 85.6% of the time, items added to the app’s shopping basket are never bought. A one-click transaction is incredibly helpful for preventing cart abandonment. The first company to incorporate this function into its app was Amazon. Besides, putting this technology into practice is not too difficult. It enables customers to make immediate purchases from product pages without first adding items to carts and then proceeding to checkout.

• Livestream Shopping

The live broadcast function is one post-pandemic feature that has changed the way internet purchasing is done. Social media giants like Instagram and YouTube were the first to popularize 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 option, consumers are increasingly expecting a buy-now-pay-later feature service like Afterpay. Users can apply this option to make a purchase and pay for it over time in a number of installments. 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 installment payments.

• Great User Experience

Because there are so many clear-cut, user-friendly apps available, users won’t hesitate to uninstall an app if it doesn’t meet their needs. You can only imagine how crucial UI/UX is for your app’s user retention. Make a unique and superior user experience your main advantage. Your app should be worthwhile for anyone to invest their time and money in.

E-Commerce App Development Best Practices

Mobile e-commerce best practices are key to increasing user retention, and websites and apps that ignore them risk being left behind and losing out on billions of dollars. Adhering to these mobile e-commerce UX design best practices will make your e-commerce development experience more professional and easier:

Create a Sales Funnel

When creating a sales funnel for an e-commerce app, you are essentially guiding a user through the app to the last stage, which is a purchase. The typical actions a user would do are listed below:

• Discovering a product;
• Providing details on the goods;
• Evaluating the item in comparison to similar ones;
• Possibly providing a promotion or discount code;
• Activating the “Save for later” option in their purchasing cart;
• Checking-out;
• Payment;
• Receiving a message of congratulations and shipping information.

Painless Onboarding

The onboarding process for e-commerce apps can make or break a user’s expectations. Be sure to hold the attention of consumers, but avoid terrifying them with excessive commitment! Maintain a clean, straightforward design. 

Quick Checkout

A seamless customer experience starts with the checkout process. Users should have the freedom to navigate as they like, but the experience should be as straightforward and uncluttered as possible. Users are more likely to leave your checkout process if it is too lengthy and complicated. 

Keep the User Interface Smooth

On a small screen of a mobile phone, things might quickly appear cluttered by having too many user interface components. Users must maintain attention on certain CTAs, such as “Add to Cart,” on each screen. The number of items on each screen should be minimal to keep the interface simple and focused solely on the most important buttons.

Consider the Visual Hierarchy

The term “visual hierarchy” also applies to a content arrangement. On the mobile app interface, a certain hierarchy appears when the elements, headings, buttons, etc. are arranged in accordance with their level of importance.

For e-commerce apps, a visual hierarchy is employed to emphasize the key components on each screen. For instance, you may highlight the image of an item and enlarge the CTA button relative to other elements on the display.

The names and descriptions of products should be structured to make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for, whether it’s a product description, additional information, or shipping details.

Substantial Branding Components

Brand recognition is important in e-commerce apps. To effectively communicate a brand identity, colors, fonts, images, and language should all tie together in a unified way. Your e-commerce app should have each of these components shown on all screens to give it a unique appearance and feel.

Social Media Integration

For e-commerce apps, social media integration is a requirement! And this is something more than just one-tap user login made possible by this. If businesses appear on users’ Pinterest, Instagram, or TikTok feeds, it helps to keep them top of mind. They will get the chance to learn about sales, promotions, and new products at this time. Additionally, it’s an opportunity to develop user-generated content, which can greatly expand the brand’s visibility!

Put a Progress Bar There

Daniel Engber made the observation that a progress bar transforms the experience of waiting into this fascinating tale that you’re watching unfold in front of you in his TED talk titled How the progress bar keeps you sane.

An e-commerce app may benefit greatly from this functionality. Users want to know where they are in the purchasing process and how much is still required of them before they finish. A progress bar makes it simple to understand these specifics.

Maintain Consistency

For an e-commerce app to be consistent, identical elements must appear, operate, and feel the same. Because of this, users won’t have to figure out how to use or navigate your app each time, making it more predictable (in a positive way, of course).

The three key levels of visual consistency are as follows.

• Consistent buttons, fonts, and color schemes provide visual coherence.
• Functional consistency: On each screen, interactive features (such as buttons or navigation elements) should function consistently.
• External harmony: Whether it’s a website, social media feed, or advertisements, try to keep the mobile app experience consistent with any other external assets or products.

Add a Wishlist Feature

A wishlist is a fantastic feature, but a shopping cart is a need! The major goal is to enable customers to save products they intend to buy in the future. This is a low-pressure alternative because most consumers dislike being pressured into making hasty purchasing decisions.

Allow people to add items to their wishlists so they can buy them later if they find something they want but are hesitant to buy. It’s nice because wishlist items might give you information about your customers’ preferences so you can send them reminders or exclusive offers.

Reviews and Ratings

Reviews significantly increase credibility and customer loyalty. Create a section where customers may comment on and rate the goods they’ve previously purchased. This part can be structured simply using stars, a review headline, and a description. Along with assisting new customers, existing customers are made to feel valued, which increases the likelihood that they will continue to support the business.

Things To Consider for A Successful E-commerce App Development

There are always limitations in developing an app that requires specific consideration. E-commerce app development is no different. Thus, Devlight recommends keeping the following in mind:

Data Protection

As consumers sign in to your mobile e-commerce app, the first thing they do is provide you with personal information, such as their home address, credit card number, phone number, etc. You can’t let your audience down. Take precautions to prevent unwanted access to their data:

• Employ a personal cloud. Ensure your provider offers a personal cloud regime and establish access controls if you store user data in the cloud. For instance, some services are only accessible to those with premium subscriptions.
• Set a strong security system. Then, even in an emergency, you should be immediately aware of the danger and have time to take action to reduce the harmful effects.

Scalability

Proper mobile commerce app development aims to make your business scalable to accommodate a constantly increasing user base. Of course, you can skip the app’s scalability prospects. However, the reality is that you must design the architecture to predict the growth of your app at different stages of its development.

Will your application be able to support 1,000 users at once? What about ten or a hundred thousand? Will it function well and not crash immediately? You must thoroughly test the mobile application before releasing it by responding to these inquiries. You should take great care in this in case you plan to scale the app one day.

Stability

Other factors dramatically reducing your app’s performance include instability and frequent crashes. Users would want to use something other than an unreliable and unbalanced app. To get performance stability for your app, you should conduct QA tests, create many product versions, obtain customer input, and publish updated fixes.

How to Build а Successful E-commerce Mobile App in 8 Steps?

Providing a good mobile experience is not only beneficial. If you wish to conduct business online, it is crucial. Retailers must prioritize and maximize shopping applications or risk losing money. But how can you develop a successful mobile e-commerce app that attracts more customers, sales, and one-time buyers? Discover the precise actions Devlight took in our collaboration with e-commerce firms by continuing to read.

Step 1. Create the E-commerce Project Requirements and Plan

You should first write a plan and the specifications for your product before you can begin developing a relevant e-commerce mobile application. To keep the entire process detailed and coordinated, you must follow a certain procedure. Accomplish the project more quickly and effectively by adhering to the plan.

In order for your design and development team to know exactly what they need to work on, the requirements for your product also need to be thoroughly documented. The following items are typically included in the project requirements:

• A detailed project overview;
• Main goals and needs;
• Target market and audience analysis;
• Functional specifications and the intended feature set;
• Design features;
• Details that aren’t functional;
• Prohibitions and recommendations;
• Questions.

Step 2. Select Your Development Partner

After you have finished all the stages involved in gathering and creating the necessary data, you now need to choose a reputable eCommerce app development firm that can offer you a qualified team to assist you in developing the best application for your project. Here are a few ways to find such a company:

• Browse sites like LinkedIn;
• Compare teams using rating websites like Clutch.co;
• Consult with friends and coworkers to receive their recommendations on whom to choose;
• Choose Devlight for a Productive Team Collaboration Experience!

Step 3. Carry out Product Discovery 

If you want to understand the target market for which the product is being developed, carrying out the discovery phase of the product development process is a must. Customer feedback is gathered in this stage, and the product’s end-user pain areas are researched. Product discovery typically consists of

• discussing expectations and wants concerning timeframes for current company processes or a potential startup concept;
• analysis of the target audience; 
• examining your market’s competitors (direct and indirect);
• providing pain point solutions;
• determining the work’s scope;
• defining priorities and timelines based on the complexity of the project and market trends;
• role allocation in a diagram.

Step 4. UX/UI Design

Because the visual data will drive your sales, quality UI/UX design is essential. If you want to realize your app’s all aesthetic potential, these design principles work well:

• Simplicity. By UI/UX design simplicity, we refer to content optimization for mobile devices and a structural model that enables the simplest possible purchasing experience. It must be done following the visual hierarchy’s rules so that a significant object catches the user’s attention immediately.
• Convenience. The most user-friendly user interface, which won’t divert attention but will stimulate purchases, is what you need to offer to optimize sales. 
• Attention to sales. This rule applies to e-commerce app development, heavily emphasizing internal product sales rather than brand building and communication. These apps are a substitute for actual stores, and their design is centered on underhanded ways to encourage users to make purchases.

Step 5. Get Down to Software Development

Core, back-end, and front-end developers should work with UX/UI designers to create engaging services and interfaces. The Project Manager must correctly coordinate this concurrent process. The excellent quality of the code is ensured by compiling the documentation, building and running a foundation of automated tests, and using code-coverage techniques.

Step 6. Hold Product’s QA (Pre-release Stage)

The life cycle of product development has always included critical software product testing. Product testing is crucial for both finding and fixing bugs in the product as well as ensuring that the development process is organized and effective.

The only method to identify flaws and faults ahead and ensure that a successful and trustworthy product is introduced to the market is to carry out software product testing effectively. The QA role includes the next responsibilities:

• Guarantiing the software product’s predictability and dependability;
• Addressing any product bugs by updating packages to fix flaws and errors in the system;
• Technically, testing and documentation standards are enforced by quality analysis in the product development environment. This aids in system-level testing as well as other testing requirements for any software product, including functional testing and environmental testing.

Step 7. Release Your E-commerce App Into the Market 

Designers should confirm that the visual adheres to the style standard again. Errors that have been fixed or appeared due to these fixes are checked in the previously tested code. In addition, you may now share a list of each sprint’s code changes with the QA team. If an application passes the testing, it is prepared to be published on the market.

Step 8. Ensure Product Post-Launch and Scale the App

E-commerce app development continues even after the app is released in stores. You’ll be able to continue working on your business by regularly monitoring the many trendy mobile app business ideas. Libraries that record information about the user’s actions at the time of the crash, the device on which it occurred, and other information will help track down app bugs. Sending a crash notification can be integrated into the application’s design or added later.

A mobile application must adhere to current software standards, receive fast updates, and include bug patches. In addition, support monitoring is done to determine future e-commerce app development scaling. To fix the errors, iterate changes using analytics and customer feedback. Later on, this will aid in increasing app revenue and retention while fostering brand loyalty and recognition. The process of creating a mobile app is very dynamic. Therefore, constant work is required to stay afloat.

The Technical Stack Needed for an E-commerce App Development:

The mobile world’s digital arena has been split between iOS and Android. To construct an e-commerce app rapidly, you should be aware of the variations in development since each has advantages and downsides of its own. We have noted the principal ones:

• Programming Languages

The code terms represent the key distinction between iOS and Android. Use Java or Kotlin to create an Android app for online shopping. Choose Swift if you want to design iPhone apps for online shopping. These collections of programming languages have a vibrant development community and rich ecosystem. Depending on your e-commerce app development goals, you may create an e-commerce app utilizing any of the few remaining mobile languages and the wide range of server-side languages used for m-commerce apps. 

• Development Complexity and Speed 

The gap in speed and complexity of development between iOS and Android is due to the proliferation of smartphones. In addition, Android has a huge range of supported devices, whereas iOS is happy with the iPhone/iPad/iPod trio. Thus, developing an Android app for e-commerce will take longer.

• Deploying Method

Android apps can be published on Google Play far more quickly and easily than their Apple counterparts, in contrast to how quickly they can be developed. The verification tenets of both platforms account for this. While the AppStore review team exhaustively checks for flaws, which typically take a week to fix, Google Play runs apps automatically for a few hours. 

Besides, Apple’s policy is much stricter and this is also one of the reasons why it takes longer to deploy an application on iOS — there are simply more requirements. Luckily, iOS has more in-app purchases revenue than Google Play, surpassing it by as much as 80%.

The Team Needed to Develop an E-commerce App

A full-stack development team is necessary for an e-commerce app development from scratch. Depending on the project’s type, budget, and other elements, its size and cast may change. The project needs the proper people with the right expertise to succeed:

• Project Manager

The development process is coordinated by a project manager, who keeps it on course. The best practices for developing e-commerce software are widely known to an e-commerce project manager.

• Technical Lead

A professional software engineer with in-depth knowledge of industry-specific technology is called a tech lead. Instead of being managers, tech leads are mentors. These experts don’t focus on something other than coding as their main task.

• IT Business Analyst

Typically, a specialist with extensive experience in the e-commerce industry shapes the project’s vision. These professionals help to establish the fundamental KPIs and establish major product benchmarks. The business analyst should check the technical task from the client to see if it is possible to implement it at all, and not just assign the task to the developers. In other words, he not only translates the requirements into a language understandable for developers but also writes a clear TOR. BA keeps in touch with stakeholders throughout the development process and ensures their feedback is considered.

• Account Managers

This person oversees effective communication between the client and the team developing the outsourced e-commerce software. Such an expert frequently updates internal and external stakeholders on the project’s status.

• Developers

To quickly produce a high-quality product, the developers you hire should be well-versed in e-commerce systems. Experienced programmers know the best practices for designing all crucial components of an online store, including different product pages, user accounts, shopping cart systems, and more.

• Designer of UI/UX

Your storefront in e-commerce is your mobile app’s design. The top e-commerce UI/UX designers know the ins and outs of e-commerce app development. They can create an interface that is easy to use, has strong branding, and supports the offer rather than obscures it.

• QA Engineers

Although contemporary e-commerce frameworks include automatic tests for some fundamental features, they don’t account for all the subtleties. QA experts create software testing scripts to expedite the quality assurance process.

E-commerce Mobile App Development Cost

Everything depends on the app’s work scope and the chosen software services provider. It comes down to who you are investing in and how much you are investing in the end. The budget is, without a doubt, the primary concern for developing the app. Here are some reminders for you to keep in mind as you move forward with app development in order to spare you from this budgetary predicament:

• You can choose to launch your e-Commerce app with the minimum viable product (MVP), a mixed bag of MVP and advanced features, or a fully functional mobile e-commerce app with advanced features.
• iOS or Android? Because iOS is more expensive than other operating systems, choose which device will serve as your main business tool. You can always grow your company later.
• The low-budget, high-maintenance third-party APIs or the low-maintenance, pricey backend development?
• Hybrid app development offers a better time to market, but native app development offers better sustainability. You’re in the business game for the long haul, so choose wisely!

The approximate cost can be determined by multiplying the number of person-hours needed to implement all essential features of the app by the fees charged by your preferred supplier. So, a fundamental e-commerce app would include:

• Implementing a user profile, which requires 35–45 person-hours;
• 30-45 person-hours are needed to complete the main screen;
• Product screens – implementing thorough sections with a slider would take 30 to 40 hours;
• A shopping cart’s implementation could take 80–110 hours, depending on the extra features.

Devlight wants to remind you once again: all the prices and hours estimates are approximate. You must consider the functionality and labor hours required to implement the app’s functionality when calculating the cost of developing a mobile e-commerce app. There is a direct interdependence between the product cost and the number of features (product complexity), release dates (speed to market), team composition (backend development, analytics), and selected technology (cross or native). The essential features you will find in mobile e-commerce apps are

• Registration;
• Profile management;
• Search and filter;
• Product details;
• Add to cart;
• Payment;
• Order tracking;
• Push notifications;
• Customer support;
• Admin panel.

This list is good for MVP and full e-commerce app development – they almost do not differ in basic function sets. Including features like social network integration, push alerts, wishlists, and similar goods can help you create an e-commerce application that not only functions well and completes the intended goal but also lives up to the high standards set by the sector. Here are the approximate rates for app development in Ukraine in terms of hiring rate breakdowns:

Since our full-cycle development strategy is adaptable and can be set up following each customer’s specific needs, Devlight’s team will support you regardless of whether you want to start from scratch with a mobile e-commerce app, establish a website, or continue developing at any point. Finally, we cannot provide you with a specific development price without knowing the details. In case of any questions, contact us, and we will help evaluate your application cost individually, taking into account all the parameters above.

Main Pacesetters of the E-commerce App Development

Here are a few e-commerce apps that are nothing short of outstanding, from personalization to enhancing user experience:

Sephora

A sizable cosmetics retailer, Sephora offers both online and offline sales. The business’s mobile app is visually appealing, slick, and clear — aspects highly vital for the e-commerce app development success. The app includes easy loyalty program connection, tailored product suggestions, list saving, in-store stock checking, and product scanning for search and review. In addition, users may view an augmented reality representation of makeup on their faces using the Virtual Artist function. 

H&M

H&M is a clothing brand that gives you access to the newest trends at a low cost. Their smartphone app allows you to explore and purchase individual clothing items and complete ensembles. Discounts, notifications, intuitive product navigation, and an in-app store finder are all available on the H&M app. The ability to scan an item in-store and buy it right away online is a nice feature for omnichannel customers.

Home Depot

The Home Depot app combines cutting-edge technology with practical tools and is a great example of a successful e-commerce application development. Users may browse through products on the app or scan the product barcode if they’re in-store to learn more about it. A toolbox with a unit measurement converter and even a DIY measuring trick, depending on the user’s shoe size, are also included in the app.

ASOS

A large selection of apparel is available inside the ASOS virtual shop. Customers can access over 850 distinct brands with more than 85,000 products. The app has the Apple Pay feature integrated, sale alerts, wearable product videos, and 360-degree product views. Customers benefit from free shipping and returns, tailored outfit suggestions, and a simple buying process. In addition, the convenient Style Match function allows you to quickly browse for clothing or upload a photo to get clothing advice. 

Devlight Experience (Case Studies)

ELDO.UA

About the client

ELDORADO is a Ukrainian retail group of online/offline household appliances and electronics stores. It was founded in 1999. The network has more than 120 stores in 57 cities of Ukraine. ELDORADO has a wide range of more than 60,000 models of modern electronics of the top world brands.

The key goal

To develop the #1 e-commerce application and to satisfy all user needs with necessary features

Project scope (iOS and Android apps)

– New features development

– Promotion of the app to the TOP App stores Ranks

– Sales increase through apps

– Enlargement in cross-selling (accessorises, services, etc)

– UI/UX app constant improvement

– Boosting user’s personalization

App’s state before us

ELDO’s app needed a full reboot because of the number of critical issues we had to solve using the next approaches:

– Fix all critical errors and crashes in the shortest possible time

– Reconstruct all the application architecture

– Reorganise the code base for further development

– Solve the critical user experience problems

– Return and increase user loyalty and number to the application

– Enlarge the communication interactions with users in the app

– Boost the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

– Setting up correct analytics from the app

Our solution

• Code Review phase+project documentation audit. Code and documentation review is necessary for a complete understanding of their structure, quality, and technology.
• UI/IX Audit phase. UI/UX analysis of the current application for the planning stage of the development scope and redesign
• Acceptance QA Testing phase. Current bugs documentation.  Forming the description report on the testing results. Photos and videos are also provided.
• Code refactoring phase. Updating and correcting the project code step by step
• UI design + product phase. Visual component design and detailing. Finalization of product and functional requirements collection.
• Development phase. Features development and bug fixing according to the approved documentation, design, and selected implementation methods.

Novus

About the client

NOVUS is a Ukrainian chain of supermarkets founded in 2008. In July 2020, the Novus chain had 80 stores in Kyiv, Kyiv region, Rivne, Cherkasy, Ternopil, and Mykolaiv. From April 2022, online sales and delivery of products were successfully launched. 

The key goal

Develop easy and powerful e-commerce application to satisfy clients needs and solve their pains.

Project scope (iOS and Android apps)

Create the first MVP version of the product and then spice it up with the E-commerce part by using the following steps:

Full and rich project Discovery to define main functionality and key features

Detailed Design phase to create application appearance

Materials preparation to enhance the app with unique and self illustrations and descriptions

Base application Development

Further Discovery phases and Designing for next application versions

Continuous application support and improvement

App’s state before us

Before our cooperation, NOVUS had one more Discovery experience with another company. But the results of that Discovery did not meet the expectations. The results were not enough to start a development or even to estimate preliminary works in the project.

So with that artifacts, NOVUS reached Devlight and asked for our expertise. Here is where our cooperation began.

Our solution

Based on our own experience and the improvements we bring into each project, we’ve prepared and presented a solid plan for NOVUS so we could proceed with the project implementation:

• Initiation phase. The starting point for all from-scratch projects is to gather general information and base features planned. Here we prepare the project’s Backlog describing key User Epics and User Stories, defining our clients and their needs.
• Requirements phase. Deep business analysis session to gather all the needed requirements and understand the overall project scope. Based on the Backlog, the detailed PRD is created. Our Business Analyst proceeds with subject area research, as well as with investigation of current client’s solutions. After collecting information, they describe Acceptance Criteria for each Epic and Story. So-called Q&A sessions with our clients are held so we can dig deeper and understand better the main functionality and what they expect from the product.
• Design phase. Requirements visualization as UI/UX Design based on the existing brand book. With the completed PRD, we can now proceed and create rich visuals of our product. Similar to the Requirements phase, our designer specialist does their own research to investigate similar solutions and understands main patterns. Then they develop a full UI/UX Design of the product relying on the existing client’s brand book.
• Development phase. The Development itself. Creating dream applications based on gathered Requirements and Visuals. Having a precise description of the work that needs to be done, we can now continue with the project development phase.
• Iterative process. Repeat the plan above for each version to achieve the best results in the next releases. Now, if we want to proceed with further versions, we can just stick to the plan and iterate through the steps to enrich our existing product with new features.

Choose a Reliable Business Partner — Work with Devlight

We are prepared to help you if you consider updating your online store to take advantage of the most recent developments or creating a brand-new business solution from scratch. Our experts in software development have a lot of practice integrating the newest digital technologies into e-commerce software and are passionate about constructing it.

What makes Devlight one of Ukraine’s most experienced app development companies?

• Our mobile app engineering company, which has been operating since 2016, creates excellent apps for well-known brands in the market. We presently collaborate with the Forbes top 100 companies to establish digital category leaders;
• We have cases of working with e-commerce app development giants; our portfolio of 100+ projects includes collaboration with Nova Poshta, Eldo, and Epicentr; 
• We know how to work with large volumes of data and scale products. We serve more than 450,000 active user sessions every month;
• Our team launches digital leaders — our application for new mail is #1 in the Business category in the Ukrainian app store and Google Play;
• Devlight has its own Mobile App Development School; we launched a project where we taught people how to code on Android. 

Finally, Devlight has more than 6 years of experience developing mobile apps, 35 million installs, and more than 100 completed projects. We do sound like a great option for your next development company, don’t we?

The application is an effective digital tool that will promote client loyalty, boost revenue, and make your company more competitive. We raised in-app purchases for one of our retail clients by 313% on iOS and 244.5% on Android. We can ensure the quality and durability of our products with the basis of a professional development strategy. Feel intrigued? Contact us to set up a time to discuss the ideal option for your company.

The post The Ultimate Guide to a Successful eCommerce App Development appeared first on Devlight.

We admire companies that, despite all the difficulties caused by the war, continue to find ways to be more useful for their customers and stay on course for digital business transformation.

Eldorado.ua, a company with 23-year history and one of the largest retailers in Ukraine, has become our new partner a few months ago. Our teams consolidated efforts to develop the Eldorado.ua mobile application and transform it into a convenient personal tool for choosing and purchasing modern equipment and electronics.

It is great news that we can finally tell you that we have launched the first updated release of the Eldorado.ua application.

The post Devlight has become a partner of Eldorado.ua appeared first on Devlight.

Novus is one of the best grocery supermarket chains, serving the needs of thousands of customers every day. Despite the war, Novus has always kept its doors open to those looking for healthy and delicious products.

Together with Novus, we collaborate our efforts to create a mobile application to make the purchase process more accessible, transparent and personalized. Over the past few months, we have been working daily to find and understand customers’ needs, their motivation for interacting with online services, and create the best user experience in the mobile application.

The post Devlight has become a partner of Novus appeared first on Devlight.