As they say, word-of-mouth is a powerful tool any business can have. To enable this tool, all you need to create is an exceptional user experience for your end users. This is the principle many startup as well as successful ecommerce companies have adopted for their mobile apps. As nearly 85% of consumers rely on mobile applications to conduct online transactions, businesses must understand the potential of delivering pleasant user experience in their marketplace apps.

Mobile technologies provide heroic help in creating a clean and custom infrastructure for cutting-edge mobile apps for online marketplaces. The biggest challenge is to use technology to build a responsive and interactive app feature that engages customers completely. So what are the features for typical online marketplace apps that boost revenue?

15 Must Have Features For Online Marketplace Apps-ad banner

Based on our experience and insight, we have presented the 15 must-have essential features to be noted while marketplace app development:

1. Spectacular Brand Logo

Logo symbolizes trust and brand commitment for online stores. A clear and outstanding logo can also be used to define business promises and identity for online marketplace brands. Built perfectly, it has reassuring qualities and trust value that help attract more users.

Popular brands can create a sleek and fashionable homepage with minimalist features, logo and a captivating image and video that can also persuade visitors to tap on ‘Buy’ button.

2. Simplified and Straightforward on-boarding

Not every customer loves the concept of filling long forms for registration or sign up process that demands a lot of information. Amazon is a typical example of globally celebrated ecommerce app that keeps things simple and easy from sign up to checkout.

 Like Amazon, you can allow users to explore and sign up only at the checkout. They can sign up using their email or mobile number with provision to save information for future use. The simplicity and straightforwardness of user onboarding helps keep buyers hooked and get them through checkout process.

3. Effortless Navigation

Nobody likes to see their space cluttered with uninteresting or useless elements. Your marketplace app should also be deprived of unnecessary distractions that may obstruct user’s journey. To enable smooth and neat navigation, the content of the app has to be optimized for the screen size of mobile screen (which is always limited). Hence, don’t cram mass of content on a small device. Make the app design responsive to automatically adjust to any given screen. Instead, emphasize on having an uncluttered design that encourages seamless navigation. Display your brand products in a clean layout.

4. Use Rich Customization

Users download a mobile app with an intent to take action and achieve the target in minimum time with minimum hassle. Online ecommerce customers also expect an excellent personalized experience while finding the best deals possible.

Customization is key to enabling rich user experience with engaging elements tailored only for specific users. Make sure your app has unique customizable features that complement user preferences and attitude to build a lasting relationship.

5. Search Box For Easy-to-Find Convenience

If your online marketplace app is really huge and showcases a wide variety of products and items, it is vital to have a search box option that helps customers seek and discover the desired item in little time. Customers who especially prefer your store to a specific product, should be able to find what they need without juggling much with keywords.

6. Latest Attractions and Trending Products

In the time of sales spree or exciting events, make it easy for buyers to know about it right there on the home page. When buyers enter your app, they must be presented with the best  offers immediately so that they won’t have to struggle to get to the exclusive deals.

7. Payment System Icons

Now that we are living in a highly dynamic, globally connected world, ecommerce apps can get orders from customers located in any part of the world. And users prefer an effortless payment system including credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, PayPal or COD. These are primary options for online transactions whose icons can be displayed clearly at the top corners or somewhere near landing page banners or alternatively in a menu section.

8. Online Chat

Customers tend to rush to a customer support at the moment of need. This is why it becomes essential to include the feature of live chat or 24/7 hotline for your online store. Customers appreciate online shops that provide value-added customer service for pre-sale and after-sale problems. People usually go online and explore marketplace apps after workhours, so they expect their inquiry to be handled round the clock.

9. Irresistible Deals and Alluring Temptations

You have only a few seconds to please and coax users who are always quick to judge your app the moment they enter. To beat the competition and capture their interest, make a deal they can’t resist. People feel excited about lower prices and discount offers or even free gifts. you can make they buy under ‘Sale’ tag during peak shopping seasons

10. Reviews and Ratings

It is impossible to go forego this feature for online marketplace app. Reviews and ratings are meant to help customers understand the market scenario. It develops certain clarity and trust between a publisher and customers. With this feature in place, customers are able to express and see their views on listings and sellers can implement a strategy based on user comments.

Read also : Why You Need Mobile App For an E-Commerce Business

11. Push Notifications

Push notifications feature is crucial to making the ecommerce mobile app business successful and profitable. This is one of the undeniable features incorporated by today’s many established online marketplaces.

Push notifications instill instant interest in users and have subtle ability to inspire quick action by psychologically tempting them. You may include time-sensitive offers like hourly promotions, coupons, bank-related discounts or new product launches.

12. Social Media Buttons

After on-site reviews and ratings, online s made by users are often attributed to social media visits. Approximately, 20% of ecommerce s are fulfilled based on what people have to share about d products.

Facebook and Twitter are a few reliable sources for honest general public opinions on everything online. Apart from this, online community on social platforms can drive lead generation based on active prospects. This is why online shops must integrate social buttons.

13. Accurate Product list Management

The way your products are listed and managed on marketplace app matters to a great extent. Sellers must be able to publish and manage the items effortlessly. More accurate the product list is, more there is a chance for visitors to easily locate what they need as they enter your app.

Today, ecommerce mobile app developers have evolved enough to implement superior functionality for product listing (add, view, publish, edit) on marketplace apps which helps customers search, use filters and view detailed info.

14. Security

Security has become a top concern for all digitally powered online solutions. No wonder why GDPR for EU clients came into existence. With personal data being at risk of loss, customers and vendors will not feel confident about joining your online marketplace.

For modern ecommerce marketplaces that process payment details of customers must comply with encryption practices such as SSL digital certificates and PCI compliance. Application of both in your online platform ensures strict data protection and inviolable connections with server.

15. Analytics

From seller’s perspective, having an online business presence is not just about delivering superior user experience, but also about generating constant revenue and keeping customers clung to their business. Analytics assist online shop owners satisfy this motive by offering the clear insight into behavior pattern, buying tendencies, session time, click-through rate, page views and more. This buying scenario displayed by powerful analytics helps make better decisions.

Read also : How Apps Are Changing the World

 Conclusion

While building a marketplace app, you should always keep customers in focus as they are the ultimate drivers of growth. Your online store app, therefore, needs to deliver immersive and interactive user experience with features that stand out from other niche apps in similar market.

Make every attempt to enable simple, intuitive and seamless shopping journey for customers, which eventually pays off in form of increased sales and revenue.

The business models have changed substantially from the old barter system to direct selling and to e commerce platforms with the advent of technological innovations. With more and more applications being integrated into the smart phones, their popularity has been ever rising. E-commerce applications now no longer need a computer to perform and the ease of shopping has paved way to development of dedicated mobile apps for business.

Why You Need Mobile App For an E-Commerce Business-ad banner

Mobile apps serve more than just business for e-commerce industry. Undoubtedly, the M-commerce is going to change the way the world shops in future. Most firms have found it beneficial to have a dedicated app for mobile platform for customer satisfaction as well as increased business. Well, the benefits can go beyond mere shopping ease.

1. Creating a brand consciousness

What you see gets into your brain unconsciously. Mobile apps serve as constant ad for the prospective customer. Some prefer window shopping and it’s easier on a mobile platforms. Seeing the app icon on a regular basis can make their choices biased to your favour too in a subtle way. Once customers experience the ease and comfort of shopping through mobile apps, they are sure to turn into loyal customers of your brand, thus indirectly contributing towards creating brand recognition in the virtual market.

2. Better customer satisfaction

Customer is is a part of the business on the long run since mobile apps have facilities for push notifications about new offers and latest arrivals. With mobile apps, the customer can thus be informative about the product, comment on the usability and review items based on known experiences too. Since the customer is no longer a silent participant in the business process, their satisfaction levels are higher than that of a direct buy/sell approach.

Push notifications do the business promotion rather discreetly without annoying the customers. Usually promotional ads and e mail notifications get ignored in a customer’s busy life schedule. Push notifications are a great way to keep in touch with them in the midst of hectic life styles.

3. Mobile apps can display customised products

Customised display of products and notifications based on user experience and behaviour is possible with mobile apps without affecting their privacy. Things are likely to get sold when the users really want them. Big data analysis has made things easier for e–commerce giants to customise the notifications to suit the customer interests. Relating with the customer can be easier with a mobile app.  Rewards and coupons about particular products of customer interest can lure the customers into buying too.

Personalized gifts can be bought and delivered anywhere around the world at the tap of the icon with a mobile app which makes life moments special for the users. Ability to integrate the built in apps for better performance

Mobile apps can make use of the smart phone features such as GPS location, camera, voice search functions, etc. to provide a seamless experience of shopping. For example, products or brands popular and available in a specific region/country can be customised to be displayed based on geolocation facility. Such minute modifications can save the valuable time of the customer and hence increase the customer satisfaction. Reminders about big discount sales can be set up along with an inbuilt calendar function of smart phone thus not losing customers.

4. Social media sharing

Products info can be shared online via social media with ease for better suggestions from friends and family. Facebook, Twitter, instagram all of them can be integrated with the mobile apps with users permission so that the shopping experience can be shared. With online reviews, customers can ensure the quality of the product and hence can choose wisely. Reviewing the d products via text/video blogs can generate income for regular buyers too.

5. Mobile apps can be accessed offline

Some apps are accessible offline too without consuming data for the user. Such apps tend to load faster too as they need not rely on the speed of the internet. This might be a boon for the customers from countries with poor bandwidth and internet facilities. They can browse through the products offline and internet requirement might be limited to payment and .

Conclusion

The level of competition in any business is a crucial factor and there’s no doubt that mobile apps are reshaping the ecommerce industry. Exposure of a brand is more wider to its users through an ecommerce app or website and be a small or established business its high time that you take the advantage of mobile apps. However, what you offer is for the users and they always prefer easy shopping with the perfect user experience.

Consumers prefer retailers to execute mobile applications that can be used for in-store s which offer more convenience and personalization.

Nowadays, shoppers are preferring to use technology such as mobile apps for in-store shopping that can speed up the shopping experience.

A study by Apadmi shows that one out of five customers wishes the retailers to implement applications to make their shopping experiences more personalized and convenient. Retailers can use beacon-powered mobile apps that notify shoppers on in-store offers and recommends about store products.

“Nick Black, CEO of Apadmi, said technology is slowly crossing the retail channels as consumers become more used to shopping on mobile devices, and more consumers will expect to be able to use their devices in-store”.

“There is a need among consumers for retailers to make better use of technology in-store to make every aspect of the shopping journey more enjoyable,” said Black.

“As shoppers continue to embrace mobile e-commerce and retail apps, the in-store experience needs to remain relevant and incorporate the benefits that can be achieved through shopping online.”

Almost 46% of consumers also expect retailers to provide Wi-Fi inside the shops. A quarter of consumers also would like to use mobile apps to check out in-stores, avoid queue or even order products online and pick them up in-store.

The number of consumers downloading such online shopping apps has been increasing day by day with one in 10 people in the UK downloading apps in last 12 months.

Consumers Prefer Use of Retailer Apps In-Store
But many brands are still struggling in the early stages of offering real omni channel experiences such as easy payment, personalization and single customer journey.

Paytm has launched ‘Paytm Mall‘ a separate standalone e-commerce platform, a destination for online shopping.

Paytm Mall is your all new Premier Online Shopping Destination. Download the Android App here:

— Paytm Mall (@PaytmMall) February 27, 2017

For a significant time, the company has been running the wallet and the e-commerce division under the same app but the announcement of Paytm Mall has brought a split, where wallets become a part of Payments bank.

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The Paytm Mall app was launched on Monday and includes a wide range of products such as electronics, furnishings, fashion etc. The new app includes cash-back offers which are filled into the Paytm wallet of the user.

The new app seems to simplify the shopping experience for its customers, with shopping and wallet maintained separately while other features remain the same. Paytm was also updated recently which promises faster responses and add on features such as paying loan installments, and simplifying utility bill payments.

The Paytm Mall is now available on Android and the web. It contains over 68 million products spread over 1000 cities and towns across the country.