Category: Mobile Apps

If there is one thing that this pandemic has taught us than it would be the importance of digitalization. For all those businesses who had managed to continue their operations and grow during these dire times were the ones that had a strong online presence. Whether you talk about the USA or the Middle East, e-commerce saw unprecedented growth all across the globe. For instance, reports found that E-commerce expenditure of the Middle East exceeded the expected figures by approximately $52 billion from March to July!

Also read: COVID-19 Effects: E-commerce and the Change in Consumer Behaviour in the UAE

While many think that these changes are temporary, but studies show that these buying habits will change consumer behaviour completely and that they would rely on online buying platforms more even in the post-pandemic world. But if you are planning for digitalization of your business, there is one platform that you must have and that is a mobile commerce platform or a mobile application for your business! The reason for that is simple; people are literally living-off their phones and if you wish to become a trusted brand amongst your customers, you must be present on their home screens.

However, the Middle East has its own culture and its own set of expectations and if you wish to make a mobile application for the people of the Middle East, you must choose a mobile commerce app builder that understands the Middle East market and your business expectations. To help you make an informed decision, below are a few of the traits of an ideal m-commerce app builder for the Middle East:

Traits of an ideal mobile commerce app builder for the Middle East:

1. Market Understanding:

The Middle East has its own set of protocols and procedures as well as customer expectations. The rules and customer behavior also differ in various regions of the Middle East! For instance, Saudi Arabia and UAE had the highest mobile broadband levels in the year of 2016. At 114 % and 111 % mobile data usage respectively, these Gulf nations were more connected than any other country in the world. On the contrary, Egypt only had a 36 % mobile broadband level in the same year.

Similarly, each governing body of the Middle East has its own set of rules for their regions as well. Thus, when you choose a mobile commerce app builder for your business, they must know about the market and the rules and regulations that they must follow. When the mobile app developers working on your platform have such market understanding, they can save your application from unwanted troubles, banishments or fines and also help you make your mobile app relevant for your target customers.

2. Proven Track record:

To ensure that the Mobile Commerce app builder that you choose for your m-commerce platform has the required technical proficiency to accomplish your m-commerce platform, ask for their portfolio and analyze how the platforms are performing in their respective markets. Also, ask for client contacts and references and go through the company’s reviews on different review platforms. Apart from that, what you can do is personally interview the developers that are going to work on your project and ensure that they have the required market understanding and that they have the required domain knowledge as well.

While each project and business has its own set of requirements, when the developers are experienced and have the required technical proficiency as well as the domain knowledge, they can help you understand the challenges that you might face with your project and can provide you a realistic development timeline.

3. Localization capabilities:

Personalization of a platform is one of the biggest customer winning factors for any mobile commerce platform. Thus, the m commerce app builder that you choose for your platform must provide you with enough personalization and localization options. To deliver personalized experiences to your customers, it is essential that your developers understand the customer expectations well and has a clear picture of the user persona. This knowledge will help you with better customer segmentation and ultimately help you gain deeper customer insights that will help you make informed decisions. Apart from that, the platform must also represent the local culture of the region that you are targeting and thus, the mobile commerce app builder must provide your mobile platform with enough localization factors such as language, font, payment portals and others.

4. Scalability and App Support:

The development of the mobile application is not a one-time project anymore. With constantly changing customer expectations as well as market requirements, appreneurs have to keep evolving their platform with frequent innovations and software updates. While innovations will help you gain a competitive edge in the market, updates will help you align your mobile commerce platform with your customer expectations. Thus, when you choose an app builder for your m-commerce platform, ensure that they provide the required scalability and post-development app support.

Recommended: 10 Top-ten app development companies in the Middle East

Parting Words:

The cost of developing a mobile commerce platform is relatively high no matter what domain or region you belong to. With an ideal m commerce app builder at your corner, you can ensure that the money that you spend on your mobile commerce platform is an investment and not an expense. Make an informed decision and ensure that the eCommerce mobile app builder that you choose for your project contributes towards your application and establishes a value-based partnership that creates a win-win scenario for both.

The more the technologies, the more is the confusion. With a number of cross-platforms rising, it becomes difficult to decide upon which one is the best. Well, sit back and relax as here is a guide that will give you a clear picture. Mobile development was an easy process earlier. People approach the ecommerce mobile app development company, mutually decided the features, developed, launched, it and done. Today, the competition has become fierce, and the technologies have multiplied. The era of cross-platform is here! No, that does not mean native apps are becoming a thing of the past, they are still in demand but many entrepreneurs consider it as an additional expense when they have the website and back out in order to avoid chipping in for both Android and iOS individually. While cross-platform, it is like you can kill two birds with one stone.

The Craze for Cross-Platform

The reason cross-platform is getting too much fan-following is because of the flexibility it gives in developing applications that can run on multiple platforms. It uses a single codebase which is then exported to various smartphone platforms allowing the one “app” to work across multiple habitats. With cross-platform development, the benefits for a business are many like – low development cost, less time consuming as the coding has to be done only once, increased uniformity across different operating systems that provides users with seamless user experience, wide customer reach, quicker deployment, increased exposure, high ROI, etc. Now coming back to the point, today, there are two famous cross-platform frameworks – Flutter and PWA (Progressive Web App), that are winning hearts but simultaneously making people confuse with their similarity, about which, we are going to take a deep look into its features, benefits, and come into a conclusion which one is the best for business but before that let’s understand each individually.

PWA (Progressive Web App)

A progressive web app is like old wine in a new bottle. It is a website that gives the look and feel of a native app while eliminating the drawbacks. It provides a seamless native app experience along with offline functionality and can be opened in a web browser on any device including desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. It has access to the device hardware (push notifications, camera, GPS, etc.), and can be installed on the home screen directly without any need to download and update, unlike a native app. In short, it is an incredible mix of the best of both, the web and native applications.

Also Read: Progressive Web Apps: Shaping the Future of mCommerce 

Flutter

If you shop from Alibaba, run campaigns on Google Ads, book an Ola cab or watch videos on Voot, then guess what? You are already using Flutter apps. Google’s new open-source technology – Flutter is more of a comprehensive SDK i.e. software development kit than a framework because it comes with everything that you need to build the cross-platform application which includes rendering engine, readymade widgets, options to test and integrate APIs etc. Its ability to create fully-featured native Android and iOS apps with the help of a single code base has made it popular on GitHub within a short period of time. Now, although both are Google’s creation and can create mobile apps using a single codebase, it is time to compare them by getting into the details of each.

Flutter vs PWA

Parameters	Flutter	PWA
Creation	Initially released in May 2017 and remained beta for a very long time until on 16th September 2020, when Google released its stable version.	Released in 2015, PWA is gaining the attention of developers and business owners ever since with its abilities that beat native apps but gives the feel of it on a browser.
Installation	Is installed just like native apps on devices.	No need to download and install. Is simply added to the home screen as a shortcut.
Language	Uses the fully object-oriented Dart programming language for coding and has a C-based syntax style which makes it easy to learn and pick up.	PWAs are web apps and hence have no strict rule as to what programming language it must be coded in. Still, the web-based language like JavaScript is used for PWA development.
Development	Fewer development efforts are required for Flutter app development. Single codebase, hot reloading feature, and readymade widgets significantly reduce the development efforts & time.	PWAs take a bit more time compared to Flutter due to its single codebase being converted into Android and iOS-specific.
Performance	Performance-wise Flutter is faster just like native apps as it uses a rendering engine.	There is a very fine line of difference in terms of performance in PWAs. As it uses web DOM and requires a browser to implement, it lacks a bit when compared to Flutter.
Complexity	Since Flutter being new and matured recently, everything from the UI to logic code can appear complicated in Flutter.	While Javascript being older and mature, learning and developing in it becomes easy due to numerous JavaScript frameworks and libraries available to choose from.
Integration	It supports contact integration, read messages but requires manual action to invoke calls.	It needs third-party integration to support contact integration and can neither read nor send messages but can manually invoke calls.

The Good 

• Other than the above comparisons, there are a few things in which each is best. For example, PWAs are good for SEO. Since PWAs have URLs, they can be indexed in Google, and due to their fast loading speed, they rank higher in the search results that means you get greater visibility.
• Flutter is good in debugging because of the tools – Dart Analyzer and Dart Observatory in it which find errors with the help of specific commands. Moreover, being a comprehensive SDK, it comes with an automated testing toolset that allows developers to perform unit testing, widget testing, and integration testing easily.

Don’t miss: PWA for Online Marketplace: A Right Technology Investment? 

The Bad

• Flutter has relatively high app size due to inbuilt widgets. Also, it is difficult to find Flutter developers since it is new, and Flutter has no support offered for TV devices (Android TV, Apple TV).
• PWAs have limited support for device features and have higher battery usage. They can be buggy if the user has the out of date version or some uncommon browser.

Whom to Choose & When?

If you need a fast-performing application to serve iOS users at large, that supports device hardware features, with beautiful app designs, then Flutter is for you. While if you are low on budget and are planning to serve both Android & iOS equally with seamless user experience, then PWAs should be your choice. They may look a lot similar but, ultimately, it depends upon your requirement whether to opt for Flutter or PWA and as far as Flutter PWA is considered, we have to wait and watch. For now, if you need professional progressive web app builder for eCommerce, MobiCommerce is at your service.

There’s hardly any corner left in the world where eCommerce business hasn’t taken over. Due to the ease and convenience of selling and buying in the eCommerce marketplace, the growth of it has been constant all around the world which is inspiring the left-out nations to dive into it one among which is the Middle East.

For the people of the Middle East, the only source of online shopping was the renowned eCommerce giants such as Ali Express, Amazon, and eBay until the domestic eCommerce began to flourish. While at first the big giants like Amazon started off in the Middle East by taking over small scale businesses like the Biggest M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) deal that took place in the Arab world i.e. Amazon’s acquisition of Souq.com, today, many have started to stand up on their own.

The Saudi Arabian economy which is an amalgamation of SMEs, enterprise buyers, B2C businesses, retailers and many other players has now begun to realise the importance of the online presence which has knocked open the opportunities for many domestic businesses to step into the eCommerce marketplace and emerge as the new hub of online shopping.

If we take a peek into the statistics of eCommerce sales in the Middle East, you will be amazed to know how exponentially is the online business growing and capturing the attention of the Middle East consumers. Although both the B2B and B2C eCommerce marketplace sectors are booming, the market size of B2B eCommerce would be higher by 234.78% than B2C eCommerce and the market is expected to reach around $48.8 billion by 2021. Earlier, when almost 90% of online goods bought in the Middle East were shipped from outside countries, today, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are just a few steps behind from eCommerce leading nations like the UK and the US from becoming a full-fledged eCommerce marketplace hub.

As mentioned before, since some players have started their eCommerce game in the Middle East, we have listed out the top 10 multi-vendor eCommerce app development companies in MENA with a proven track record, who are currently ruling the eCommerce market with their outstanding eCommerce software solutions. Let’s take a look at them.

1. Mobicommerce

Known for developing scalable and feature-rich marketplaces, eCommerce websites, mobile apps, and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) built over Magento 2, industry’s most advanced eCommerce platform, Mobicommerce is an Indian Magento app development company that has won millions of hearts around the globe with its bespoke eCommerce solutions. With more than 15 years of relentless service focusing on quality, security, and customer service, Mobicommerce is now helping budding entrepreneurs in the Middle East especially in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar to establish their online presence in both the B2C and B2B channels and thus help the domestic eCommerce to rise above the ground giving tough competition to other international eCommerce giants like Amazon, eBay etc.

2. IdeatoLife

Standing true to their name, next on our list is IdeatoLife, a top-tier eCommerce development company that offers cutting edge and scalable eCommerce and mobile commerce solutions that are scoring high in the eCommerce market among other biggies. Their collaborative approach by the best-in-class technical team is creating people-centric custom software solutions that can fit business needs today and tomorrow.

3. The NineHertz

One of the top-rated shopping cart and eCommerce mobile app development companies serving in the Middle East, NineHertz gained its popularity due to the impressive plugins and module development solutions that it offers at affordable rates. Having expertise in various frameworks such as Magento, OpenCart, Shopify, WordPress and WooCommerce, the statistics of NineHertz vouch for its performance while its ranking speaks volume about customer satisfaction. Their Agile development methodology and seamless UI/UX implementation are what they are known for.

4. QBurst

The Middle East operations of QBurst from 2010 until today has helped them achieve a glorious portfolio with its custom business apps that have served both world-renowned brands as well as local startups to establish an online presence. From enterprise integration to AI chatbots and personalization among other features, the QBurst team is known for delivering ROI oriented eCommerce solutions which can be re-architected into microservices for an omnichannel experience.

5. Panacea InfoTech Private Limited

The rich and extensive experience in developing state-of-the-art applications for businesses and enterprises has helped Panacea Infotech extend its services in the Middle East which is going strong till today. With their wide range of services and proficiency in Magento, OpenCart, WooCommerce, Joomla and Shopify, Panacea has achieved attention in the Middle East for its remarkable eCommerce solutions that make a difference.

6. AdoxSolutions

An award-winning company with operations in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US and Australia, AdoxSolutions is known for creating online experiences that are designed to last. It is the creative and result-driven 360° solutions of Adox that helped it gain international appeal in no time. The Magento multivendor apps created by them are breaking records in the eCommerce market, the credit of which goes to their ability to tailor perfect strategies for each business.

7. VOCSO

VOCSO, a creative marketing agency is one of the most trusted professional mobile and web development companies having the presence in India, USA and UAE, approached repeatedly for their custom shopping cart development solutions on various platforms such as Magento, Joomla and WordPress. From developing basic eCommerce websites to comprehensive marketplace solutions, VOCSO has helped many businesses and startups around the world to attain the true value of their investment in the digital space.

8. VSOURZ Digital

Offering end to end technology, design and marketing services, VSOURZ Digital is a top-notch eCommerce consultancy and B2B and B2C eCommerce software builder services provider whose Middle East operations are worth praising. Well-versed in the latest technologies and frameworks, the team of VSOURZ Digital are known for creating customer-centric mobile commerce, seamless integrations, engaging marketplace solutions, B2B eCommerce and B2C eCommerce solutions that can beat any competition.

9. EtailerSouq

Offering a complete suite of solutions and services to build up a live store at a stunning speed, EtailrSouq is known for opening untapped channels of business for new eCommerce ventures and startups with its cost-efficient eCommerce solutions. From eCommerce website development, eCommerce software builder development, store management, catalogue management, eCommerce mobile app development to others, EtailrSouq caters all and builds complete future proof store with all rich features of a Magento eCommerce web designing, development and delivery.

10. Indglobal

Known to be one of the best e-commerce app development companies in Dubai, Indglobal with its combination of world-class solutions and services in eCommerce make the digital transformation, simpler, faster and affordable. Their experts in Magento, WooCommerce, Prestashop, Shopify, OpenCart and BigCommerce can develop eCommerce solutions that can withstand any challenges and beat the competition in any form.

In a nutshell

Middle-East is witnessing a shift towards digitization at a fast-pace due to various factors like high-per capita income, internet penetration, young demographic who are spending more time on social media platforms, the readiness of Arab consumers to adopt new technologies, enhanced logistics, the government encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation etc. which proves that soon the Middle East will boom in terms of eCommerce. Therefore, if you have any plans of stepping into the Middle East eCommerce market, now is the time. Hire Mobicommerce who is known as the best Magento multivendor app development company in UAE to get started right away.

We are almost at the second half of the year 2020, and still, there is no sign of the end of the deadly global pandemic, COVID-19. Since we have no surety about when the world will be free from it, moving on is the only option left and which is why people are accepting the new-normal and looking for online business ideas to kick start amidst COVID-19 crisis.

Till today, though eCommerce and online marketplaces are in demand, a majority of them remained loyal to offline business and shopping until Coronavirus made its entrance into our lives. With the fear of the spread it bought along, social distancing has now a part of our life and online business and shopping seem to be the safest way for people which have given a sudden surge to it in the past few months.

The closure of offline shops, lockdown, restrictions, all these highlighted the importance of online business which raised a massive demand in the market when people rushed to get essential products like crazy. People’s panic buying stirred the growth of on-demand apps so much that now many are seeing a major gain in revenue and profit that they never imagined via them and hence are taking interesting in developing one about which we are going to explain you in detail.

What is an On-Demand Multi-niche Delivery App?

Not just because of the pandemic but the conveniences and comfort that these on-demand multi-niche delivery apps bring about is enough to understand why it is getting all the attention. They refer to the mobility solutions that comprises of a collection of services that users can get access to across the business world in real-time at their doorstep or physical location.

In short, the customers on-demand requirement of food delivery, laundry, grocery, rentals services, beauty services, ATM services, and more are met via one single app at their disposal.

How is an On-demand Marketplace Solution Rising to Success? 

in the fast-moving world, people find it time-consuming to navigate between apps and track their orders simultaneously, there, on-demand multi-niche delivery apps are turning out to be the saviour as they are providing multi-niche deliveries in a single app. Apart from that, there are several reasons why it witnessed a surge in this pandemic season which may continue due to the following benefits users are getting from it.

1. Contactless payment and deliveries

The scare of the spread of COVID-19 from the physical exchange of money and products is promoting zero contact options in both which people love it. With multiple digital payment options that prevent people from rushing to ATMs to take money out and with contactless deliveries where the delivery executive leaves the parcel at the doorstep which the customers can pick it up a few minutes later, the on-demand multi-niche delivery apps are thus helping in breaking the transmission chain of the disease via human contact.

2. Instant service

It is justifying its name with successfully delivering services very quickly compared with other apps. People began to find it easy and convenient to get all their basic needs and services from one place that too at an instant from on-demand marketplace solution than exploring a number of apps and then waiting for each to get delivered on different days and time.

3. A growth opportunity for local business

We all know very well how social distancing and lockdowns are affecting local offline businesses. Their sales are dipping badly with lack of customers, forcing some to shut down permanently. But, an on-demand marketplace solution can pull them out of it as it comes with a growth opportunity for local business. By connecting with businesses in a particular locality and facilitating deliveries for them, an on-demand multi-niche delivery app can ensure that their and the revenue of local vendors is kept steadily growing. In addition to that, an on-demand marketplace solution saves one from the cost involved in warehousing and supply chain management because most of the job is about picking it up from a local vendor and delivering it to a local address.

In a nutshell, 

On-demand doorstep deliveries are the need of the hour and a quarantined lifestyle has taught people a lot and has become a way of life. Therefore, to meet the demands of customers while adhering to social distancing, developing a multi-niche delivery app during the pandemic is the right time for emerging business owners to step into the market.

Approach the best on-demand delivery app builder – Mobicommerce if you want a multi-niche delivery app built with a comprehensive list of features like tracking, creating a wish list, a suitable payment service, multiple bookings, ability to give reviews, and more to beat the heat and survive in the market now and post-COVID.

The greatest challenge for an ecommerce mobile app builder is to make shopping a pleasant and fun experience for the customers. Now, with the fear of Covid-19 pandemic still hovering on us, online shopping is gaining more momentum than ever before but now, with shifting feature priorities apart from a pleasant shopping experience.

The expectations in the mobile shopping experience in the present times are changing slowly to more value than just happy shopping online, which is why we have listed some must-have features that customers expect in a mobile shopping app during the COVID-19 which an online ecommerce store app builder can expedite for your online business success.

Online payment

With cash-on-delivery disabled due to the fear of the spread of the virus, an in-built secured payment option is a must in your app. Also, with so many online thefts happening, people are more careful in using online payment modes. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that your app has different choices for payment methods like paying by Credit/ Debit cards and Wallets along with the security of trusted payment gateways. By offering a selection of trusted payment methods, you will gain your customer’s trust and encourage repeated visits to your apps.

Push notifications

Transparency can be a great motivator for a customer to trust your app. Due to panic buying amid Covid-19, it is natural that you may run out-of-stock and to maintain the trust of customers in you, it is important to inform them whether a product is available or not while at the shopping page itself, rather than them finding it out-of-stock on the check-out page later. A push notification feature about the product’s non-availability, thus, will enable your customer to decide quickly if he/she wants to wait or look for another product.

Great user experience

Seamless navigation throughout the app is what defines a great and incredible user experience. Now with too many users flocking to online shopping all of a sudden, your app must be designed in such a way that every step right from browsing the store to checkout must be simple yet exciting without any glitches. Choosing a responsive design for your app is the best thing as it will fit whichever screen size customer is using.

Rating and feedback

Customers feel privileged when they are able to rate and review a product they have purchased as well as the service they got. It also gives them the satisfaction of helping other customers in deciding to buy a product. By adding ratings and feedback sections in your app for a product and your service, customers will get to know all aspects of the product and your service before making a decision to go with your app. This also gives room for improvement for you and the vendor to maintain quality.

Emerging technologies

Augmented Reality is the new thing used in the virtual world of online shopping and it can be put to best use in times of Covid crisis as it will give customers a sneak peek of how a product looks before they make a purchase. From groceries, apparels and furniture to everything, this will be one of the most useful technologies to implement in your eCommerce app.

Recommended Blog: PWA for Online Marketplace: A Right Technology Investment?

Easy checkout

This is where the visitor of your app actually becomes your customer. Therefore, you definitely do not want to lose your customer at this stage. A simple checkout is when half of the information is auto-filled based on the profile information of the customer like name and shipping address. Keep it really simple with only the necessary information being asked on the check-out page.

Wishlist

Time restriction, indecisiveness or budget constraints keep a customer from buying a particular product at a given point of time. A wishlist feature enables a customer to come back and make the purchase whenever one is ready.

Checking item availability

It happens that some products might be seen available in the inventory but delivering it to a specific location might have its own restrictions due to lockdown and various other reasons, to avoid that; it is important to include a future that enables the user to check the availability of the product by entering his/her location or pin code. This feature might look insignificant but it is a feature as small as this that gives a customer incredible shopping experience.

Easy registration

Covid-19 has triggered panic buying and stocking of products among customers which might stay for a long time and during such times, no one likes to go through a lengthy registration process. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you don’t have the registration until the checkout page. This makes it convenient for customers as they would be registering only if they are buying the product. Moreover, an easy and simple registration process will ensure you have your customer on-board for check-out. Also, saving user information to cut short the login time in future is recommended.

Conclusion

An eCommerce app has been a saviour in Covid-19 crisis and will continue to be one no matter what the situation is. So if you are looking to create a mobile app for an online store now, you know what features are trending and should be included in your app.

“Necessity is the mother of all inventions”, goes the old saying and life post-COVID-19 pandemic will see the advent of various online businesses.

We have seen many financial recessions in the current and past centuries; however, few budding entrepreneurs took the tide on their side and emerged as great businessmen during those crises. HP was started soon after the recession of 1937-38, Fed-Ex overcame the challenges of promoting a new and unheard concept of that time and became the pioneers of courier services right after the recession of 1969-70, whereas Hyatt was launched during the recession of 1958 when travel was at its lowest due to tough economic times. These and many other companies across the globe are inspiring examples of entrepreneurship that started during acute crisis.

Similarly, COVID crisis appears to be staying for long and has also transformed the way we live our life, our habits, our thinking and so on. Hence, if you too have a business plan and are waiting for COVID to end or fear to take the step at all then you are simply wasting your time because online is today’s way and is going to be the future too.

The emergence of online businesses amidst pandemics

The current pandemic has also triggered a global recession but one cannot forget that while China was fighting the SARS Pandemic of 2002-04. Ali Baba group which was a small eCommerce store at that time emerged as the biggest retailer in Asia. Its growth was accelerated by the fear of human contact, quite similar to the situation we are facing today.

The world is expecting to see technology replacing the physical movement of people in the upcoming months or maybe years until the spread of the virus is contained fully. Therefore, companies that choose to capitalize on the inevitable changes post lockdown will be the ones climbing the ladder of success. Taking a shift from brick and mortar business system to online business will be the key factor of staying relevant in these changing times.

Why shift to the online business model?

A lot of IT and non-IT companies have started giving work from home guidelines to employees as they do not want to take risks with their lives. Many fun activities like playing board games and even visiting a bar have been developed as apps to minimize boredom in this isolation period. Shopping online for everything under the sun has also risen in the past decade. All these apps have been well received by people, especially the millennial. A reasonably good section of the older population also has started using social media and shopping apps. This trend will catch pace in the post lockdown phase as people prefer to stay at home as much as possible.

With most of the businesses trying to reach their customers amid this challenging situation, new ways of functioning will start. It may be possible that we see online appointments being made for almost every service so that crowding can be avoided or services being delivered at the customer’s homes itself. Either way, technology will play an integral role in the future of business. So, we have made a list of top business ideas that are most likely to catch up in the online market post lockdown phase.

Online grocery shopping app– Groceries is a part of our daily essentials. Most of us buy our groceries from super and hypermarkets which have the maximum number of people at any given point of time. It is where you are likely to get in touch with a lot of people, which is why; people are showing more interest in getting home delivery of groceries, veggies, dairy products and all other daily usage items.

With a supermarket app, you can turn out to be a life-saviour by providing them with features like doorstep contactless deliveries of groceries, digital payments etc. Therefore, grocery shopping app development for supermarket or even single shop owners is one and top-most business that you may see a boost very soon.

Recommended Blog: COVID-19 Effects: Time to Switch to Grocery eCommerce from Offline Grocery Business?

Online pharmacy app– With a sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy food choices, health problems have increased amongst the people. Medicines, therefore, have become a necessity for all age groups, not just elderly people. If access to medicines is not made available to people on time, it could be life-threatening for many. Therefore, if you are a medical shop owner, online pharmacy app development can make you have a wider reach of customers. You will be able to deliver medicines and other essentials to your customers right at their doorstep or even take orders online so that they don’t have to stand for a long time with other customers in front of your shop.

Online automotive ecommerce solution- This is a great option adopted by the automotive industry for its customers. Features like finding parts of the vehicle, VIN search, wholesale order tracking and garage management have now become online services which can be accessed by customers without coming physically to the shop. A robust online automotive ecommerce solution will be the thing customers will be looking forward to and which can bring in more benefits for all as well.

On-demand professionals– Be it doctors, nurses, plumbers, electricians or even salon experts- getting their services at your home will be a common thing in the future to avoid unnecessary human contact. A common app can be built to book any of these professionals or for a particular industry like a beauty salon mobile app solution to provide the professional service safely at home.

Online food delivery– With restaurants being one of the hardest-hit sectors by the coronavirus pandemic, shifting to online food delivery will be the wisest way to sustain and gradually progress too. Even after upliftment of the lockdown, places, where major crowds gather like restaurants, will take time to start functioning fully. People might be not coming to your restaurant but they are definitely craving for that unique and favourite dish of your eatery. So why not start delivering your dishes to their homes by developing an on-demand food delivery app and satisfy their taste buds?

Wrapping up 

We all know how badly this global pandemic has taken a toll on our lives but, this doesn’t mean things won’t change and you have to give up on all hope. Getting an online business developed can be done easily while you are at home and hence; you make use of this time to prepare for the future. So, whether you are running a business already or have plans to invest for better tomorrow, the above-mentioned business ideas can work great for you in the future whose development you can leave at the hands of the experts like Mobicommerce.

Europeans are skipping the trek to a supermarket which requires pushing a shopping cart down an aisle after aisle and then waiting in the long checkout line to finally bring home their groceries and love the idea of saving time by shopping at the convenience of their home. Why? The reasons are many let’s take a look at it all.

No sooner did the trend of online grocery shopping hit the market, Europe witnessed a sharp rise in grocery mobile app downloads and its usage in the past few years. The reasons are many like inflationary price rises, convenience, time-saving, more premium and fresh goods all under one roof etc., which grocery shopping mobile apps are making it possible and easier for customers to get their groceries on-time without any hassle.

But it is not just because of any random grocery mobile app, the European market has risen up, it is in fact, due to the compelling reasons the European retailers have given consumers to switch from their neighbourhood grocers to the web or mobile app like;

1. An entire supermarket squeezed into an app

Browsing a supermarket in search of a product with a shopping stroller is something which nobody enjoys. European retailers gave their customers freedom from it by allowing them to browse an entire supermarket on their mobile screen and add products to their shopping cart the instant, save them for later, wishlist or even book out of stock products in advance all via a grocery mobile app.

2. Personal recommendations & customizations

Not all products a customer is looking for is available in a supermarket, hence, European grocery mobile app development cracked a way to it by giving personal recommendations to their customers based on their purchase behaviour to further ease their shopping of daily grocery needs. This made customers fall in love with grocery mobile apps even more. Moreover, the supermarket app development took a step further ahead with customization feature which helps customers to modify the packaging, weight, size, etc. of their products.

3. Escape from long queues

Who doesn’t love a grocery shopping where checkouts take seconds and payments can be done without taking out a wallet for the purchased groceries? The grocery app development in European market won hearts by allowing customers to shop groceries without the need to wait in long queues with heavy shopping bags.

4. Daily offers & special treatments

Compared to offline grocery shopping, grocery mobile apps began to give daily offers and discounts on products which attracted customers towards it like a magnet. Apart from that, when European customers started getting special treatments like membership and referral benefits, they look the jump to grocery mobile apps right away without giving a second thought which spiced up the online grocery app market in Europe like never before.

5. Service that appeals to customers

For any shopper, how a particular brand treats a customer matters the most because once they like it, they become loyal to them forever. Today, Amazon, BigBasket and other such major grocery deliveries have come into action which is having good and regular traffic of customers due to the convenience they are providing in getting fresh daily essentials at the doorstep, eliminating the need – to wait in long queues, carry heavy grocery bags, move from one grocery shop to another in search of products, etc.

The grocery app development in Europe took it very seriously and developed grocery mobile apps with all necessary features for customer service like feedback section, rating & reviews, delivery slot selection, chats and support to solve customer queries, order tracking, multiple payment options, free delivery, and much more to serve customers at its best.

6. Boon for busiest customers 

Half of the European population has no time for going grocery shopping personally due to their busy lifestyle which is the main reason why grocery delivery app development gained momentum in Europe suddenly and swiftly. People loved the concept of getting groceries at their doorstep more than wandering multiple shops with giant shopping bags struggling to find time from their hectic schedule.

Bottom Line

Consumers of today love their smartphones, which explains why 91% of them are always on them 24/7. Therefore, it should not be surprising for industries to understand why grocery mobile app development is the need of the hour.

Looking at the rise of online grocery shopping, more and more European retailers have now begun to develop on-demand grocery delivery apps equipped with all necessary features that benefit both retailers and customers. Since a grocery mobile app is helping businesses achieve their objectives and gain higher returns within a less period of time. So, it is in this way, the grocery app market gained popularity and become a sensation in Europe within a blink of an eye which is not going to disappear anytime near soon.

You can find related articles here:

1. Know Why a Mobile App is Good for The Health of Your Grocery Business
2. On Demand Online Grocery eCommerce Software Solution

Ever since shopping through a mobile device has garnered popularity, eCommerce businesses across domains are going through their websites on mobile to see if the experience their customers have on desktops is similar to that on mobile.

Yes, it is 2020; however, the shopping experience on mobile is still not where it needs to be. There are still many eCommerce stores that deploy poor UI/UX design tricks (e.g., pop-ups) on their mobile sites to repel their potential customers.

Statista reports 3.8bn smartphone users by 2021, out of which 49% shop on mobile. Despite that, only 12% of consumers find mobile shopping convenient. That is a lot of room for improvement for eCommerce businesses.

When it comes to mobile, there are two options that they can explore, namely: Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and native apps. Interestingly, consumers spend 3X-to-4X longer on native apps as compared to the time spent on mobile sites and desktops.

Similarly, PWAs achieve 50% higher conversions in the eCommerce sector. The benefits of both options are in front of you. But what is most apt for your business? To help you decide, let’s do a comparative analysis between a PWA and a native app.

1. Look and feel

Native apps offer the best UI/UX experience through the right amount of animations and effects, efficient gesture control, appealing layouts. Users can instantly browse through the app.

Meaning, the design, and settings of a PWA are similar to those of native apps. It combines the look and feel of mobile apps and the best UX website elements.

2. Functionality

PWAs are responsive and load promptly, thereby eliminating any jerky transition that can hamper the user experience. They can be used offline. Native apps can take time to load and/or not load at all if there is no internet.

PWAs and websites share the same speed and responsiveness capabilities, complete with database access and automatic data. A native app functions separately.

3. Installation and updation

Users will have to visit the app store, search for your app, and download it. However, a native app is easily discoverable on the internet and also gets automatically updated.

A PWA eliminates the issue of app fatigue. It doesn’t need to be discovered, downloaded, or updated. Users can go to the browser on mobile and search for you.

4. Security and compliance

PWAs offer faster access to built-in device features such as camera, phone book, biometric sensors, a recent location, microphone, and more, which could be troubling.

A native app, on the other hand, makes use of device functionality and hardware responsibly and asks for the users’ permission before accessing anything on mobile.

5. Optimized for search

Since PWAs are web-based, each page on the web app is indexable. That means, PWAs enjoy a high searchability rate on search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. Further, users can share the PWA with just a brief URL.

A native app needs to be optimized for app stores, which includes using descriptive meta titles, using the right keywords, uploading high-quality app screenshots, encouraging positive reviews.

6. Learning and development

To develop a native app, one must know different languages such as Swift and Objective-C for iOS, C# for Windows, Kotlin, and Java for Android. This is time-consuming and expensive unless you opt for a Magento eCommerce development company to build you a customizable solution

PWAs save time and money because it needs to be developed once – irrespective of the operating system or web browser.

Successful PWAs in the market

PWAs sound feasible from all aspects – financially, discoverability, usability. Many eCommerce brands have deployed the technology, two of which are:

1. OLX

PWA of global online marketplace OLX allows users to avail of a chat option for negotiating product prices, along with features such as Add to Cart, push notifications, and offline functionality. OLX managed to improve CTR by 146% and reduce bounce rates by 80%.

2. Trivago

The Germany-based hotel booking marketplace app launched a PWA a few years ago that comes with multilingual support and features like offline functionality, push, speed. With their PWA, Trivago increased user engagement and CTR by 150% and 97%, respectively.

PWA vs. native app – the choice is yours

When choosing between the two, you must decide what purpose you are planning to serve for your potential customers. Sure, a PWA can offer an app-like experience to consumers on mobile. If you just want that, then it makes no sense to invest resources in developing a native app.

However, if a PWA can’t add anything to your existing mobile app experience, or if you want a specific feature to be available on mobile and PWAs don’t support it, partner with a mobile commerce development company.

Do your research and see how having either of the two apps will impact your eCommerce store.

It’s really important today to integrate technology with a Salon to embrace changes and innovation in the industry. Customers are now quite a tech-savvy to make your salon services easily accessible to them a beauty salon mobile app is extremely crucial. One cannot ignore the fact that today your salon must possess a beauty salon app as consumers today would first google your salon before paying a visit like in the day of old. Having a decent online presence would definitely work in building prestige for your brand. Next comes in the convenience of interacting with your salon and mobile apps cannot be beaten in their portability as well as versatility with minimum clutter but an immersive experience. Additionally, it has become essential for Beauty Salons to provide an enterprise mobility solution to their Admin and Staff to even out the everyday working and Salon appointments.

1. Mobile Reservation

Image Source: https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com

It’s a very well known discomfort to the salon owners, to handle appointments via calls. Add to it the added hassle of keeping a separate caller to manage the bookings, fixing stylists, and so on. Mobile reservation gives you.

• the facility to implement an upfront commitment fee when booking an appointment
• Manage your appointments efficiently with a beautiful built in calendar.
• Provide your customers with email alerts, notification informing them of their scheduled appointments
• Offer the customers a convenient way of managing the appointments booked by them, i.e canceling one or rescheduling one, etc.
• Save time as compared to traditional over the call bookings and thus handle more customers and also increasing the likelihood of repeat customers manifold.

2. Loyalty Cards

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Rewards are coveted by everyone, irrespective of any criteria. and that could be the tool of difference in successful repeating of customers. A simple reward program of membership points that offers them points on their regular visits which they can use to avail free salon sessions. You can implement your own mobile version of a traditional stamp card for building brand. Your app can have a separate section where users can maintain their coupon activities. Develop several levels of perks to better reward your customers and also keep them engaged in regular appointments. Have increased consumer loyalty on account of constant incentive increments.

Recommended blog Impact of Online Reviews on Business Branding and Sales

3. Push Notification

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“Out of sight, out of mind” isn’t a saying without base. To be relevant and constantly in your customers active thought process, you need to stay in touch with them. This is where push notification comes into play. You can target specific users and locations with radial and geofencing technologies just from the lock screen of your customer’s smartphone without them even needing to log on to the app. In addition to this you can also provide the customers with updates easily and relevant information regarding the salon or their appointments. You can engage clients far more frequently with push notifications as compared to any other means of promotion.

4.Mobile Payments

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There are quite a few benefits of offering your customers the option of mobile payments. You save the hassle of a separate book keeping for client appointments. Not only does it bring convenience to you but also your customers have the option of a simple and fast way of payment. Some beauty salon app builders also provide the salon owners with a convenient app extension to simplistically handle their consumer transactions. The amount can be easily transacted to your business account via integrated payment services like Paypal. Increased convenience of payment leads to rise in customer loyalty and builds customer faith. It also leads to increase in sales

5) To Accumulate Rich Data on Customers

Every consumer today is looking for a more and more personalized experience. The beauty industry is strictly governed by personalization. Consumers look for beauty service providers who know and understand their preferences and their needs. They seek beauty salons that provide personalized grooming crafted specifically for them. For a salon this can be done only if it has a database holding the psychographic data of a rich demographic that helps them grasp customer preferences and behavior. With the help of enterprise mobility solutions, you can collect Customers information, and subsequently use it to offer them better services and products in accordance with their requirements, also push deals of promotional value and discounts which might be of their interest.

6) To Increase your Bottom Line and Profits

Your salon’s presence on a mobile or even any web platform can boost your revenue. You can witness increase customer influx on account of easy and convenient access to salon services. Your salon’s bottom line profits are bound to surge with increased brand loyalty, customer retention, awareness, more personalized beauty services and a free flowing communication with your consumer.

Summary

Women spend about $3,756 a year on their beautification and enhancing their appearance in salons with products, states a study by Groupon. And this poses a potentially huge market to target. For the owners of the beauty salons it’s time to make the most of the opportunity, get your own salon app via a salon app builder. Nothing beats going live in your own app. As of now, apps contribute over $40 billion to the industry – that’s a staggering figure. App based businesses are expanding with a remarkable success!

The holiday shopping season 2017 has just begun. In addition, the US eCommerce sales are expected to rise by 16.6% in the 2017 holiday shopping season. By now, all should have started their promotions and marketing strategies. However, if you are a little late for the promotions there are few strategies that you can use to attract more shoppers this holiday season. If you want to increase your sales for the 2017 holiday season, you ought to change your strategies and use some upgraded ones.

#1. Offer a Coupon to your Email Subscribers

If you want to increase your sales and your email database then offering them a Coupon for a verified email id. You can offer a discount or any other offer on the coupon that will entice the user to give their verified email address. This way you can attract more customers to your offers and your store.

• 97% of consumers look for deals when they shop and 92% said they are always looking.
• 315 billion coupons were issued in the U.S. in 2013, 2.8 billion were redeemed.
• 54% of ecommerce shoppers expected to receive discounts through email around key shopping holidays.
• 54% of marketers say increasing engagement rate is their top email marketing priority.

#2. Collect Content Generated by your Users

Content that is created by the users ranks higher than any other content. Their product reviews, pictures, and videos uploaded by them, and testimonials make it easier to attract more customers. In case your existing products don’t have enough feedback then you can try the below activities.

Ask for a review: You can ask your customers to review your products and services. For best results target the ones who made a purchase in the last 3 months. You can offer them a coupon code or a discount for their review. This will definitely tempt them.

Related: 5 Foolproof Ways to Increase Your Mobile App Reviews

Run a contest of customer photos or videos on Social Media: This is a unique way to promote your product and see how your customers use your products. Once you receive them, you can use them to be displayed on your website.

#3. Offer Discount on Bulk Purchase

Offering discounts on bulk or on purchasing more than one will help you sell more. This way you can mix and match products. Offering discounts for buying more than one product of the same or almost a similar one can help to increase your total sale. You can create combos that will be more interesting and can be good gifting ideas for this holiday 2017. When asked in a survey the promotional activities they want to do, 78.6% said they plan on offering holiday discount this season along with free shipping.

• 71% of US internet users’ purchase decisions were influenced by coupons and discounts.

#4. Go for E-commerce Website and Mobile Application Development

E-commerce mobile apps are in demand these days. With more than 80% of the population using a mobile phone, hence the apps are most in demand. If your store has an app then sales are sure to scale up. Websites are also used the most. In a study, it showed where do retailers expect to earn most of their holiday sales?

Online holiday purchase has increased over the years. The graph below explains better.

• 51% of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product when conducting a search on their smartphone.
• 26% of consumers start mobile research with a branded app.

Now that you know the online purchases are increasing you, need to make sure that your website is in order. Last minute shoppers will always check the website for the offers and discounts. They will also want to see the list of products and services offered. Hence, you need to make sure your website and e-commerce mobile app are in proper shape and up-to-date. You should also create some holiday-themed pages and content on the website to attract more users to your website.

• 81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big purchases.
• Mobile commerce makes up 30% of all U.S. e-commerce.

Related: 7 Reasons Business Needs eCommerce Website with Mobile App

#5. Use Social Media

Tell everyone through social that your sale has begun. You can have a variety of offers to attract your users. Accordingly, you must post it on different social media platforms. Right from the time your offer begins until it is about to end your promotions should keep going on social media. You can different tagline and subject lines to attract their attention. Something like “24-hour sale only”, “Flat 40% off on everything”, “Buy 2 Get 2 Free”. These are some messages that will give you great sales.

• Facebook has 1.13 billion daily active users. Similarly, Instagram has 500 million active users monthly.

Related: Power of Social Commerce

#6. Text Messages

If your customers have added their numbers to the message list then you can send them last minute reminders through messages. This has been very effective in the past and will be a hit now too. You send small messages or offers to remind them about the sale about the end.

Conclusion

Marketing you eCommerce business is the best way to get results for the holiday season 2017. These days people do their holiday shopping only if they think there is a requirement. Therefore, you need to tell your customers that you have all they are looking for at pocket-friendly prices. It is easy to promote your business this Holiday if you are willing to be creative and adapt to new ideas.

Happy Shopping! Happy Holiday 2017!

Having a strong mobile strategy is very crucial for an eCommerce business to win in this tough & competitive market. Retaining, gaining, winning customers and improving its cost efficiency is another crucial point for the growth of the business. By 2018, the mobile app market will grow $61 Billion. Many companies have still not been able to establish what kind of an app they want for their business. So the most important question you need to ask is what kind of an app they are looking for – a customized mobile app or an off the shelf app (SaaS).

Custom apps are more in demand for many reasons such as it is personalized as per your business requirements. These are targeted towards a specific group or audience whom you wish to sell your products or services. You must have features are directly available. Check a few reasons why custom apps are preferred over off-the-shelf apps (SaaS).

Customized Apps

Not all companies will give you the privilege to customize your apps. If you want to target a particular kind of audience then only customized apps will give you this feature. There may be a possibility you might want changes in the apps as per your customer’s and business requirements, this is not possible in the off-the-shelf apps. There may be instances when you want some different customization that all will not provide, at that time you will need to move to another mobile commerce app builder software. Instead of choosing off the shelf app (SaaS) builder choose customized ones.

Ownership of the Product

Opting for custom apps gives you the ownership of the product. This one benefit is not given to the off-the-shelf app owners. This gives you the liberty to update your app as per the market’s current needs. This can be a bigger reason for the success of your app.

Personalized Experience

User Interface (UI) of an app is of great importance as it affects the app experience of the user or the user experience (UX). You can ask for customization in the UI of the app as per your business needs when you choose the custom app development company. You can also build your app either on Magento Plugin or PrestaShop Module. You can tailor the UI, test it, and then authenticate it to ensure it meets your customer’s expectations. It also helps in enhancing user engagement and retention programs. This also ensures that your users are going to use this for a longer period. If provide your customers with a consistent and flawless experience with personalization then customized apps are your answer.

Long-Term Future Development

It is a challenge to develop an app keeping in mind that it will work for long term. All successful apps need some changes depending on the demands and customer behavior. While investing in an app make sure it addresses all your current and future needs, and this feature will not be available with the off-the-shelf apps. If your app does not allow extensibility then there is no use of investing in such a big thing. Technology has been invented to ease your work not make it difficult. Choosing a custom app ensures long-term stability in the market.

Compatibility

Your app has to be compatible with different devices. If your app is not compatible then you will lose the customers who are on different devices. You can choose which devices you want your app to be compatible with when you plan to develop it. Hopping devices has become the new trend hence have a multiple device compatible app will ensure your users stay loyal to you.

Conclusion

Developing app does require an investment and lot of time. If you want your app and business to be a success then you must ensure that you opt for a custom mobile app development company with best prices and features. Though there are many still using the off-the-shelf app, the demand for custom apps is more. They meet the needs and requirement of the business and the customers giving profitable results.