Understanding App Conversion Lift

August 14, 2024 , , , ,

 

App Conversion Rates Are Far-Higher Than Mobile Websites. Here’s Why:

The impact of launching a mobile app on e-commerce conversion rates can vary based on industry, app quality, and user engagement strategies. However, studies and industry reports consistently suggest that commerce-enabled apps generate notable increases in conversion rates. This metric, more than any other, is key to calculating app project ROI.

On average, retail and wholesale businesses that launch a mobile app see a 20% to 30% increase in conversion rates compared to their browser-accessed commerce-enabled mobile websites.

Here are some factors that contribute to this conversion lift:

  1. Faster Load Times: Apps cache data on-device, so they are optimized for speed and efficiency. This means snappy load times compared to mobile (browser-based) websites. Faster performance can reduce bounce rates and increase the likelihood of a user completing a purchase.
  2. Stronger Intent-To-Buy: When a user opens an app, they are not typically discovering a brand or shopping for a product they might or might not purchase. They are “buying” and this intent to buy translates to far-higher average sales conversion rates for apps.
  3. Better, Smoother Checkout Process: Apps offer a more streamlined and user-friendly checkout experience. Features like saved payment information, one-click purchasing, and easy access to previous orders make the checkout process smoother and faster.
  4. Personalization: E-commerce-enabled apps deliver a more-personalized shopping experience by leveraging user data to provide tailored product recommendations, customized promotions, and targeted content based on browsing history and preferences. Wish lists and other features can mean pre-set orders are “fed” to app users. Order guides are very popular, especially for B2B apps.
  5. Push Messaging: Apps enable businesses to send push notifications directly to users who are pre-qualified to be interested (since they have voluntarily downloaded the app for that business). Push notifications are inherently opt-in and are opened are very high rates because they inform customers about special offers, reminders for abandoned carts, new arrivals, coupons, special deals and more, driving engagement and subsequent conversions.
  6. Better User Experience: Apps offer a more controlled and consistent user experience. They are designed specifically for mobile and to fit the device’s screen and capabilities – which often results in a more intuitive and pleasant browsing experience compared to the web-based variability of browser-based websites.
  7. Offline Access and “Order Stacking”: Some functionalities in apps can work offline or with intermittent connectivity. This means users can browse products, access previously viewed content, and even complete transactions without needing a constant internet connection. Then, when connectivity is reestablished, the app can be programmed to send the “stacked” orders that have been cached on-device. For B2B sales reps, this can be a game changer.
  8. Enhanced Engagement: Apps tend to foster higher user engagement through features like in-app games, loyalty programs, and social sharing options. Increased engagement can lead to more frequent visits and higher chances of making a purchase.
  9. Easy Reordering: Apps can simplify the reordering process by allowing users to quickly purchase items they’ve bought previously, saving time and reducing friction in the purchasing process. Apps are really good at 1-click checkout.
  10. Integration with Device Features: Apps can leverage device-specific features such as the camera for scanning barcodes or QR codes, GPS for location-based offers, and biometric authentication for secure logins, all of which can enhance the shopping experience and make it easier to complete transactions.
  11. Customer Loyalty: Apps often integrate loyalty programs and exclusive offers that can reward frequent shoppers, creating a sense of value and incentivizing repeat app-based purchases.

These factors combine to create a more efficient, engaging, and personalized shopping experience, which can significantly boost conversion rates compared to mobile websites. Retailers that invest in high-quality, feature-rich apps tailored to their current operations are likely to see more significant improvements in conversion rates.

At Unbound Commerce, we specialize in leveraging and extending existing wholesale or retail eCommerce website features and functionality into an app. We build two apps at once, and offer custom coding to ensure all 3rd party features work.

Unlike “click to create” so-called “no-code” options (the usually charge extra for any and all custom work), we build apps once, the right way, and the conversion rate increase results speak for themselves.

The Smartphone Impulse

May 21, 2013 , , , ,

candystuff

Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat: impulse buying has sort of become a dirty term. It needn’t be. That is because impulse buying, a neutral term, is often associated with feelings of regret when an unplanned purchase tends to not live up to the value that was immediately associated with it upon purchase. We also tend to think of negative impulse purchases with far more clarity than positive ones. That time you bought an awesome bracelet on the fly and wore it for a full summer? Positive buy. The time you bought an animal shaped hat at a theme-park and relegated it to the back of your closet a week later? Not so much.

Interestingly, it seems that impulse purchases in physical retail stores are actually down in recent years. While it would be nice to think that we are just getting more careful as consumers overall, some have posited that in reality the reason for this decrease is due to a phenomena known as “mobile blinders.” This refers to those situations where consumers pay attention to their smartphones rather than the tasty treats and knick-knacks that surround them when they aren’t in an active buy mode.

However, while smartphones are decreasing the number of physical impulse purchases, they may actually be increasing impulse purchases overall. According to a study conducted by PayPal, smartphones lead to something that I’ll describe as an intelligent impulse purchase. Essentially, rather than simply buying an object on the fly, a smartphone enables a user to go through the desire > research > purchase cycle in minutes rather than hours or days. That way, a user is both more likely to buy a product that find interesting while simultaneously increasing the likelihood that they will be satisfied with the purchase overall.

So what does this mean for small business or ecommerce owners with a mobile app? With creative messaging and communication channels, you have the ability to directly target products to customers with a high likelihood that they will buy on the spot. It also means that cultivating both an engaged and happy customer base (they will likely try and see what others have said about your stuff, after all) will provide exponential returns.

If you own an app already, what is your strategy for triggering the impulse buy? If you don’t how would you use it to make that happen?