Retail Tech – TheAppLabb

September 1, 2021February 16, 2022

Mobile Innovations in Retail

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]According to Criteo‘s Global Commerce Review, in-app transactions grow 22% year over year. In most world regions, mobile now accounts for more than 50% of online transactions, and in-app sales dominate. The rise of app adoption comes down to the superior experience it offers. Mobile-first interface, fast loading, secured checkout and easy access from the home screen are among the reasons why shoppers prefer mobile apps.

While the pandemic has forced retailers to adapt to a new way of shopping in the short term, it is also fueling a wider innovation mindset to allow retailers to not only embrace the changes demanded by consumers but also to invest heavily in innovation and technology to grow their business in the long term.

The great news for Canadian businesses is that mobile app development companies in Toronto and platforms like mobile apps are offering retailers the opportunity to put their brands directly into their customers pockets and leverage new technology to create exceptional experiences that help them stand out and win customer loyalty.

In most world regions, mobile now accounts for more than 50% of online transactions, and in-app sales dominate.

Top Trends In Retail

Here are some of the top trends in retailer mobile apps and the retail players who are investing heavily in a digital-first strategy and winning big.

One of the biggest changes brought on by the pandemic is click-and-collect shopping which allows customers to use their mobile devices to shop from the comfort of their homes and pick up their purchases at a brick-and-mortar location nearby. At the beginning of the pandemic, this tended to be a bit of a clunky process which involved customers only having a limited inventory available through a mobile app and needing to phone the in-store team to let them know they are outside in a designated parking spot. As time went on, some retailers looked to make huge improvements to this process and the overall customer experience of click and collect shopping.

Target is one of the retailers leading the way in making this a more seamless experience for their customers by leveraging the mobile app for an end-to-end great experience. Target customers are able to use the existing Target app (no need for an additional download) to access the full catalogue of products, place their order seamlessly and once they arrive at the store, the app leverages location technology to automatically check customers in and alert in-store delivery teams.

Nordstrom is another retailer using similar technology to make click-and-collect seamless by adding a one-click button upon arrival which alerts the in-store team and requires very little action from the customer to complete their order pick-up. Both retailers are demonstrating a commitment to creating seamless customer experiences and customer-first digital experiences that lead to repeat business and customer loyalty across the board.

By keeping the customer top of mind in designing their experiences, they make it extremely easy for customers to shop, regardless of their choice of delivery whether it is shipped to home, shipped to a store near them or shopping inside the store with an augmented digital experience.

Mobile apps are also playing a huge part in improving the overall in-store experience as well. When retailers set out to create empathetic digital experiences that are led by customer needs and a desire to create a more seamless experience overall, the result is a repeat customer base that is loyal to the brand.

Wayfinding is one of the top features leveraged by a mobile app in store by assisting customers to confirm the in-stock status and then find items exactly where they are in store. The team at Home Depot are leveraging technology that allows customers to search either with a text or a photo, check the in-stock status of that item and get directions to the exact location of the item on the store shelves.

Walmart is also experimenting with enabling customers to check out as they shop throughout the store by using their mobile devices. The customers simply need to scan the items with their phones as they place them in the cart and then scan a code when they are done and it allows them to pay and check out autonomously. The app even provides a handy running total and a confirmation of the price of each item so customers can easily track spending and shop safely and easily in a completely contactless shopping environment.

Prefer to shop from home and pick up at the store or arrange for delivery instead? The app offers this functionality to ensure that customers are able to shop how they want to whether it is in-store or from home. It even offers the ability for customers to scan empty bottles and packages from home and add them directly to their cart which is both easy and efficient for re-ordering favourite products. These frictionless experiences are a fast pass to customer loyalty and repeat purchases over time.

Customers are not the only ones benefiting from this investment in mobile technology. The folks at The Gap have created an app they are calling Stock on Shelf which lets their in-store team know when items have low inventory on the floor and allows them access to the backroom inventory levels directly from their mobile devices.

Create Safe, Contactless Shopping Experiences

Mobile technology is also creating safer in-store experiences during the pandemic for both employees and customers by allowing store teams to use mobile devices and mobile apps to track customer counts even when there are multiple entrances.

The supermarket chain Asda in the UK is using mobile app technology to allow customers to “get in line” virtually and the app notifies them when it is their turn to enter the store or check out with their purchases. There are also a number of retail locations using this technology to allow customers to safely wait in their cars until it is their turn to enter the store which creates a much safer shopping experience for both customers and employees alike.

Another way that retail teams are leveraging mobile technology to create customer loyalty is through in-app couponing and location-specific offers. Target, Ralph Lauren and Subway are using mobile apps to notify customers of relevant and personalized offers as well as any ongoing and new promotions at their preferred location.

Create Aspirational Experiences

woman-using-lowes-vr-technology — A woman uses Lowe’s VR Technology.

The team at Lowes is investing deeply in new technology and is leveraging Virtual Reality to create transformational experiences. Customers are able to use the Lowes Holoroom mobile app and VR to virtually build out their home improvement projects such as deciding on tiles, paint colours, flooring and even appliances.

The app even goes one step further by allowing customers to virtually immerse themselves in their planning. Through a VR headset and controllers in each hand, customers are given step-by-step instructions and a simulation that walks the users through each step along the DIY process.

Migors, a Swiss supermarket chain, is allowing customers to use VR to create a virtual in-store shopping experience. Customers can scan any product in the store and instantly see customer ratings and reviews of a product, see full product information including nutrition info and even recipes and uses.

Must Haves For Building Customer-Centric Digital Experiences

The best thing about these retail examples is that they are demonstrating a deep commitment to building empathetic experiences that deliver on solving key customer pain points and strive to make their mobile app a seamless and value add experience for their customers. As a direct result of these early investments in digital-first customer experiences, they are now uniquely positioned to gain valuable insights into their customers’ needs and search data, their shopping and purchase behavior and turn these insights into actionable plans for improvement or net new experiences within their mobile app.

The team at Forbes recently published some key considerations for those looking to build exceptional mobile app experiences.

Be Customer-Centric – in order to build empathetic digital experiences, store teams and development teams need to put themselves directly in their customers’ shoes. Think about each step of the customer journey and build experiences that solve for everyday pain points and create a seamless experience end to end. Ask your most loyal customers often and throughout the process by testing the new experiences and getting direct feedback from the folks who are already brand loyal. Remember, it is not about what you think customers need but what they actually need – there is a difference.
Accuracy Is Key – your data must be accurate and current at all times. One of the biggest frustrations for customers is taking the time to check inventory status or in-stock status through a mobile app only to find that once they arrive at the store location, this data is incorrect. Your teams need to find a way to incorporate real-time and up-to-date inventory data at all times and through all customer touchpoints.
User Experience is Everything – incorporate only those features that customers absolutely need and that are integral to creating a seamless experience. If you have an existing app, incorporate these value add features into your existing app eliminating the need for customers to download an additional app.
Send Offers and Notifications Directly Through Your App – be proactive in helping your customers throughout the building process. Ensure they have step-by-step updates on all of their orders so they know exactly what is happening with their order without having to call or email store teams. Keep them apprised of all current promotions and offers by sending notifications directly through the app. Use their past purchases and shopping behaviour to create personalized and contextual offers to drive repeat business and higher basket sizes overall.

A digital-first retail strategy is no longer a nice to have but has become a must-have due to customer demand, competitor investment in these strategies and an overall increase in technological literacy brought on by the pandemic. The wide adoption of mobile phones in everyday use cases across a wide range of customers means that retailers now have a direct line to their customers through their phones.

When retailers put themselves directly in the shoes of their customers and employees and seek to reduce friction, and create aspirational experiences, they will be rewarded with brand loyalty, employee loyalty and an overall increase in revenue as a direct result.

Technological innovations and access to incredible data mean that there has never been a better time to make the shift (and the investment) in a digital-first retail strategy that will give you the foundation you need to innovate, adapt and evolve for the future.

Want to know more about how you can take the first steps in your digital-first innovation journey? Our team would be happy to book a call and help you get started. Contact us here or email us at info@theapplabb.com.

Sources:
https://risnews.com/innovative-mobile-apps-retail
https://www.insidenetwork.com/10-mobile-apps-that-are-changing-the-retail-landscape/
https://www.lowesinnovationlabs.com/holoroomhowto
https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2020/09/17/how-retailers-use-mobile-apps-to-improve-the-pandemic-shopping-experiences/?sh=6c641aa73372[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

November 17, 2020February 16, 2022

“Off The Shelf” App Solutions Can Level the Playing Field

Accelerate time to market and reduce the overall costs without sacrificing on customization and flexibility with our comprehensive White Label App solutions

It is safe to say that much of our world is driven by mobile phones and they are a powerful piece of technology that now lies in the pockets of almost 70% of the world’s population. Apps are quickly becoming an essential part of our daily lives and an important consideration for all business planning. Building an app can be a complex (read costly) and time-consuming process; one that requires detailed planning and sometimes an entirely new dedicated app development company in Canada in order to build a custom app from scratch. As a trusted partner in building over 600+ apps across a number of industries, The App Labb team sometimes found that our clients were challenged with the process of “starting from scratch”, particularly with regards to resourcing, time and cost. To alleviate some of these daunting challenges, we began building our own white label or ‘off-the-shelf’ solutions, which are pre-built platforms exclusively designed across a range of popular industries such as retail, on-demand services, healthcare, restaurants, events, and transportation.

These pre-built solutions have helped a number of our clients by providing the fundamental functionality they require, allowing them to focus resourcing on specific customizations unique to their brand and market and have allowed our clients to get to market quickly so they can start to build out brand equity in the space and collect valuable customer data allowing them to learn from and adapt with their customers over time.

Perhaps the biggest win in choosing a white label solution is the ability to accelerate time-to-market. White label solutions offer standardizing essential components and fundamentals in industry learnings and market needs in order to deliver a best-in-class experience right out of the gate. The solution is quick and easy to brand with all the fundamentals of a well-performing app already laid out. The client can then invest time and resources on branding, customizing and developing other key areas needed for their individual business.

In one such example, our team at TheApplab created a unique recognition algorithm while customising our retail whitelabel solution for a fast-growing grocery delivery company. The custom algorithm was able to quickly begin learning the buying patterns of its users and notify them when a specific product was currently on sale based on the consumers buying patterns. Personalized product recommendation and reward programs ensured our client was able to increase revenue by 400% while driving loyalty. This retail platform helped the company to get to market quickly, focus on select features unique to their brand and disrupt the grocery delivery services in no time.

Another essential benefit of our white label solution is that it can be a cost-effective solution for all business sizes and fits in a more affordable budget. Building an app from scratch requires deep resources both financially and human resources for the planning, mapping and building process. Choosing a white label solution is allowing our clients to start further along in the process and direct resourcing to customization and refinement.

Building an app from scratch can be a daunting process for many of our clients with regards to defining the starting point and “ready to launch” point, assembling resourcing needed for the project and securing budget for a project of this size. Not many businesses have a fully formed and skilled development and design firm in house to tackle these large-scale projects. White label solutions provide clients with a fully operational platform that leverages a deeply experienced design and development team to incorporate all of the platform fundamentals based on deep industry experience. This also means that you are potentially avoiding some of the pitfalls that can occur in early stages of a project such as project drift, key approval and regulatory considerations and data security and functionality considerations. With “off the shelf” solutions, smaller development teams that sit in house, can now focus on maintenance, feature set customization, trouble-shooting and refining based on customer data and feedback – it’s like getting a head start in your “get to market” solution.

Another key consideration we have in building out white label solutions is the ability to offer clients the choice of a “head start” solution that also offers the flexibility to scale with your business as it grows and changes. App builder solutions, while offering customers a pre-built answer, often have rigid feature sets and restrict further development that falls in line with new feature requirements or changes as your business grows. With this in mind, we build out app solutions for key industries that allow you to customize or add and subtract feature sets based on business needs. This in turn means you have an app platform that scales with your business as it grows. These solutions are an attractive option for clients who want the flexibility of a custom app with the “head start” of a pre-built solution.

One of our fast growing clients from Toronto, who offers their customers third party home delivery service from a wide range of retail and marketplace vendors, was able to quickly ramp up its reach and drive net revenue per vehicle with the help of our On-Demand white label app solution. Our augmented reality standard feature set allows customers looking for delivery of their purchases to provide size estimations (particularly for large items like furniture) based on product scans using the app on their phones. This in turn, is making it easier for drivers to more accurately plan out vehicle space and delivery requirements. Our built in trip scheduling engine makes end-to-end delivery of anything from anywhere possible from customer order all the way through to home delivery. With real-time customer/vendor visibility on pickup and delivery status, our app solution ensures our client is able to deliver on convenience and satisfaction promises to their customers.

In today’s market, creating a brand experience in an app environment is the key to unlocking additional revenue potential, creating an exceptional and unique customer experience and being able to grow and scale along with your customers as their needs and the market itself changes and evolves. Brands are tasked with weighing the cost vs benefit of building out customer app experiences that deliver a feature set that is unique, fully functional and seamless for your customers while delivering on profitability and business KPI’s. Choosing a white label solution means that you can start much further along the path with a fully functional platform that gets you to market quickly, reduces the overall costs of the project and allows you to focus in-house teams on powerful customization features and experiences unique to your brand. Launching quickly also means that you can beat competitors time to market and start to collect valuable customer data and turn that into new and refined features that continue to build customer loyalty and customer acquisition for years to come.

As Covid-19 continues to accelerate digital transformation across industries, our Whitelabel App solutions can help you achieve innovation and scalability. Explore them here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

October 2, 2020February 16, 2022

Key insights & learnings from “Disrupt 2020”: Tech Innovations Reshaping the Future of Retail

Overview

I am a tech enthusiast with keen interest in retail and e-commerce. Last week, I got a wonderful opportunity to participate in TechCrunch Disrupt 2020, the first-ever virtual Disrupt, to understand how brands are pivoting to a more customer-centric and technology focused approach in the light of COVID-19.

The pandemic has been a roller coaster for a lot of retailers, some of them witnessing a boost in online orders while others having to close or reinvent their business models.

The event featured established businesses, start-ups and scale-ups specifically sharing their challenges during these tough times and how technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Apps, Chat, Voice commerce & more have helped retailers meet the needs of their customers.

Key Insights from the Event

With more than 15 retail champions sharing their stories from around the globe, it was apparent that retailers are now prioritizing customer experience focused on convenience and personalization. It is about finding the platforms and touchpoints and marrying it with technology to engage with them innovatively.

Sophie Hill, Founder & CEO of Threads brought this aspect of customer centricity to the fore when she said they’ve found a unique way to sell luxury through an editorial content which is shoppable and integrated directly to the chat applications that their customers use. Have you thought about pivoting your business to offer ‘digital-first’ experiences? Many of our luxury retail clients have started to invest in digital solutions not just as a response to changing needs but as a viable long-term strategy to fuel growth.

Adam Goldenberg, Co-CEO of Fabletics touched upon the importance of ‘delighting’ customers by adopting a tech-first approach to D2C activewear. Their proprietary platform handles everything from customers, memberships, merchandising to supply chain and fulfillment and thereby providing unique, unmatched experiences that delight their customers. They also use heatmaps and in-store tablets to better understand footfalls and user interests.

This pandemic is altering consumer behaviors drastically and for good. Retailers are now open to exploring innovative experiences through technology that will allow customers to shop from the comfort of their homes. I foresee a significant uptick in usage of mobile apps, contact-less ordering and payments, virtual try-ons, AR/VR applications, digital kiosks, voice and text based chatbots, live streaming commerce implementations. It was a great learning curve for me as well as a great validation exercise to see so many businesses finally opening to emerging technologies to solve complex problems.

As an extension to some of the discussion in this forum, I would love to hear your thoughts and exchange ideas around tech transformations in retail. At TheAppLabb, our SaaS based white label solutions across industries ensure we keep you on top of ever-changing trends, market shifts and work with you to incorporate these initiatives to make sure you’re at the cutting edge of technology breakthroughs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

September 14, 2017October 25, 2021

5 Mobile Retail App Features That Can Benefit Retailers!

Today, brick and mortar retail stores are slowly becoming less relevant due to the rapid growth in technology. People are taking advantage of the ease and convenience of a mobile commerce app to make their purchases.

In a world where most consumers and retailers have gone digital, those that have not are noticeably struggling. Did you know, as of May 4, 2017, 62% of all global mobile device users have made at least one online purchase in the last 6 months according to OuterBoxDesign CEO, Justin Smith. He also stated that 80% of shoppers use their mobile devices to acquire information while in a store, and that 10% of all retail revenue now comes from mobile purchases.

Evidently, in order to compete in this technology-centric modern world, a mobile commerce app for your store would be a recommended course of action. Before you get any mobile retail apps for your store, it’s best to make sure you have the right features and know how they work and benefit you.

Geolocation

Geolocation is used on electronics with internet access such as computers, tablets and mobile phones to locate an object. Retail apps with a built in Geolocation feature allows you to determine the location of the customers that have your app on their mobile devices. This information gives you the ability to determine the approximate distance between the customer and your retail store locations, and at the request of customers that have your app, you can direct them to the nearest store location.
A mobile commerce app with Geolocation can also be used in relation to deals and promotions. For example, if there is an ongoing sale/promotion at a store branch near the app user’s location, a notification can be sent to the customer and give directions, guiding them to that store. You can also segment and filter what promotional materials are sent to certain mobile app users based on their location to ensure the promotional content your customers obtain is relevant to their location.

Artificial Intelligence

There are many different features of Artificial Intelligence in a mobile commerce app that can help enhance the overall efficiency of your company and brand. A sales chatbot stimulates conversations with app users, guiding them through the buying or exploration process. Artificial intelligence collects information about the user based on their user history, shopping habits and preferences and provides help or personalizations based on the data collected. This can help personalize the product catalog by displaying the products and make recommendations that match the preferences of the user as well as displaying trends specific to the user’s demographics based on search and sentiment analysis.

Push Notification

Push Notification is an optional feature customers can choose to enable when they install or use a mobile app. They can be used in retail mobile apps to inform customers of upcoming events, news, product delivery notifications and more. Geolocation data and/or user preferences can also be used with push notifications to ensure that notifications are sent accurately to fit the needs and interest of the relevant customers. According to a report by Leanplum, personalized push notifications can increase the rate of responses by up to 800%. Keep in mind however, push notifications are to inform, not overwhelm.

Loyalty Program

The Loyalty Program is a common concept applied in the modern retail world attract more customers and reward loyal customers. Rewards that a customer can obtain range from receiving monetary awards to exclusive services. Bringing your loyalty program to a mobile retail app is useful as it allows you to easily track your customer’s behaviours and also makes it easier for both you and the customer to access the loyalty program. According to Oracle Hospitality, 71% of customers join loyalty programs because of discounts, and 63% join because of free rewards. These two rewards seem to be the most attractive to customers. In order to ensure that your loyalty programs are having their intended effects, you can refer to analytics tools.

Analytics

An essential feature for a mobile commerce app is an analytics tools. Analytic tools allows you to see performance data of your app. According to Shanelle Mullin of ConversionXL, the common questions people have when launching a mobile app are:

How many users have downloaded the app in total?
How many of those users are active?
How do users interact and engage with the app?
What features do they use most often? Which do they ignore?
Which channel generates the most users? Most valuable users?
Are users experiencing an friction? Any technical issues? UX problems?

All the answers can be found in the data provided in your mobile retail app’s analytics tool.

How Can TheAppLabb Help You?

The vast majority of the people in the world today globally own a mobile device and use it on a regular basis. Consumers are shifting to mCommerce as their preferred method of commerce. To attract this large group of mobile-focused customers to your business, you will need to adapt and get yourself your own personal mobile retail app for your business. However, not just any app will get the attention of those customers, you will need to design it in such a way where its features meet their expectations.
We, at TheAppLabb, are veteran mobile app developers with 10 years of experience in the field. Our mobile retail solution, TheRetailApp, contains all the sought-after mobile retail app features mentioned within this article. TheRetailApp is designed to allow retailers to enter the mobile market, drive sales with access to a product catalogs along with mobile transactions and payment integration, and inspire customer loyalty with push notifications for upcoming promotions and loyalty rewards programs. There is even implementation of analytics information, so you can track the app’s overall performance.

Ready for your mobile commerce app? Get in touch with TheAppLabb today at info@theapplabb.com!