Mobile application technology is a powerful lever for the growth of the online business. This has especially been the case with the retail industry. Some of the most established businesses in retail have harnessed Web and mobile applications development to create business models. They are doing it with high returns on investment, on-demand delivery, and finally customer delight. This has given way to the preconceived notion that mobile application development has aided online retailers while pricking thorns in the feet of brick and mortar retailers.
Conventional wisdom suggests that with the advent of e-commerce, footfalls in shops have been decreasing. This however is a myth. While online shopping has caught up speed, web portals do not exhibit the entire range of products. And hence in a way limit the freedom of choice of consumers. Thus there exists a case for the tech-savvy consumer researching a sample size of the product range displayed online. And then return it to the brick and mortar store to make the purchase.
In this article, we take a close look at the brighter side of “how mobile app development services are bolstering the businesses of brick and mortar retailers” and allowing them to make the most of the retail boom.
Mobile App Development and Data-Driven Retailing
A recent study appeared in the Harvard Business Review by Christopher Tunnard and Bhaskar Chkarvarti. They claim that countries across the world can be classified into four groups, namely, stand out, stall out, break out and watch out. Break out countries according to their study are characterized by the following macro-level features:
- Have the potential to develop strong digital economies
- Have a low overall score owing to lack of corporate culture
- Are growing rapidly and poised to be stand out countries in the future
These macroeconomic data need to be diagnosed to make business sense of technology. However, it sounds good. The business research firm Forrester has estimated the growth of sales. They stated “within three years, up to $70 billion of sales in emerging economies will be aided by the web”. However, the retail has always been driven by an obsession with returns on investment.
At the ground level, corporate enterprises and even start-ups in retail are less than motivated to embrace digital initiatives. Businesses like web or mobile app development convince them of the conversion of visitors and lead into sales unless there is hard data. The biggest challenge for retailers and application development service providers then is to understand the dynamics of conversion.
Niffler, a loyalty program app has to date seen 50,000 downloads. At the point of sale Users use the Niffler code and data to captured the assess sales conversions. Most retailers belonging to the small and medium business (SMB) category do not have the technology and skilled manpower at the back end. That’s why they are unable to figure out the conversion rates implying a hesitance in embracing technology. This challenge necessitates application development companies to respond to the challenge. As they don’t have technical expertise but business consulting backed by web, mobile and social analytics. Measurement of key result areas across different platforms like web applications, social media, and mobile apps can enable enterprises to observe results. They also develop a direction to embrace digital initiatives.
Integrate Mobile Apps Development, Analytics, and Consulting for the Best Results
All the three stategies suggested above shall lay an equal emphasis on each of the components to create a fully integrated digital strategy. These strategies allow retailers to analyze the metrics of traffic, conversion and develop apps for the concerned platform. While proxies discussed above make some approximation, innovation in combing the three aspects at cost-effective levels. It would cement a concrete model of digital business. When equipped with digital artillery Brick and mortar retailers can create multiple access points for the consumer. They can educate themselves on not only product range but also on prices, promotional offerings, discounts, loyalty tokens, and brand value. Further, social media data can be use to better understand the demand patterns of web and mobile apps. Thus paving the way for an on-demand model.
The metric of returns on investment drives the retail industry and also influence the digital strategy of retailers. Thus any effort to embrace technology like mobile application development and web application development will be based purely on the assessment of online conversions of traffic into sales. The measurement of sales volume generated online holds the key to crafting an economically viable online strategy. Thus mobile application development companies in India need to offer mobile and web applications development services backed by web, mobile and social analytics to measure and manage online business growth.
