Consumers increasingly want and expect higher-tech, more personalized experiences on e-commerce apps, according a new survey from B2B ratings and reviews firm Clutch.
At least 80 percent of the 505 consumers surveyed want app features that allow them to purchase directly through the app, sync loyalty rewards, and receive discounts. Many would also opt-in for product recommendations, personalized experiences, augmented reality features, and social media integration.
“An app provides those features and that level of personalization and experience that makes your users much happier and more satisfied,” said Dan Healy, CEO of Prolific Interactive, a mobile-focused product agency with a client list that includes Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, Jet.com, and Lilly Pulitzer, in a news release. “It tends to drive higher return from your most loyal users.”
Features, such as in-app purchasing, social media integration, and syncing with loyalty rewards, have become commonplace among e-commerce apps. Other features, however, are just breaking into the market, and some apps are taking the lead in this technology.
Wayfair and Nordstrom, for example, offer augmented reality features. Wayfair customers can view how furnishing and décor would look in a room via a phone’s camera; Nordstrom app users can snap a picture of a product of interest and be matched to products with similar features.
As app technology advances, consumers will continue to prefer apps to websites, according to app development experts.
“Users prefer native mobile apps over mobile sites because of the user experience, the loading speed, and the fact that apps offer frictionless shopping,” said Nik Sanghvi, head of U.S. sales and business development at Robosoft Technologies, a mobile firm that provides services to Walmart, Target, and JCPenney, in the release.
Consumers use e-commerce apps that make it easy and convenient to purchase products and services.
The study also identifies four reasons why consumers use e-commerce apps: to find deals, buy anytime and anywhere, compare products and prices, and save time.
Clutch’s 2017 E-Commerce App Survey included 505 consumers in the United States who use e-commerce apps on their smartphones at least two to three times per month; 37percent use these apps daily.
