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Retail apps are growing – Business Insider

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macys
Macy’s
has a popular shopping app.

Macy’s

  • More people are downloading and using retailers’ apps
    than ever before, according to a survey by financial-services
    firm Synchrony.
  • Shoppers also seem to be using more of these apps,
    reporting regularly using a total of four apps on average.
    That’s up from two last year.
  • Retail apps allow for easy checkout with secure mobile
    pay options like Apple Pay, and they help the retailer develop
    a more intimate connection with the customer. This means that
    app users tend to be some of retail’s best and most loyal
    customers.

Customers are finally getting used to shopping on their phones.

A big part of that is an uptick in the downloading and usage of
retailers’ mobile apps. A new study by financial-services firm
Synchrony found that customers are using double the number of
retail apps on their phones than they did before. On average,
they’re using four apps, up from two just last year.

Why are they keeping the apps? Perhaps it’s because they’re
finally happy with the experience. According to the study, 83% of
customers said they are happy with the experience of mobile apps
overall. Only 21% said they deleted a retailer’s app because of a
poor experience — down from 35% saying the same last year.

1,255 people responded to Synchrony’s survey. 

That good experience could also be making customers braver when
it comes to mobile shopping. More of them appear to be willing to
try out these shopping apps, with 67% saying they have downloaded
a retailer’s app and about half saying they did so as soon as
they heard about it.

The uptick in mobile app usage is great news for retailers trying
to build a relationship with customers. 

“In today’s competitive landscape, a mobile application is not
just another piece of technology for retailers, it is a vital
tool to engage shoppers with their brand. Done well, retail apps
engage both in and out of stores with personalized experiences
and easy credit solutions,” said Maya Mikhailov, head of
marketing at GPShopper, a subsidiary of Synchrony.

Retailers like Best Buy, Macy’s, Nike, and Amazon have all added
extra functionality to their app in addition to purchasing
ability. Some have integrated payment services like Apple Pay or
overhauled the app to improve the overall experience.

“Consumers that use retail mobile applications are a retailer’s
top shoppers. As such, they want their apps to be tailored to
their unique shopping experiences and
preferences,” Mikhailov said.

The rise in retail app and mobile phone usage led to
a large uptick in mobile shopping in 2017,
 contributing
to the largest holiday sales in recent years.

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