How often do you use retail mobile apps? Look around, any store you walk into, you’ll see folks on their phone. Yes, perhaps some are texting or checking their Instagram feed, but a lot of them are actively shopping on mobile retail apps. Today’s savvy consumers use all the resources available on their mobile devices to find coupons or discounts, compare prices with other stores, and visualize their upcoming purchase in their room, closet, or garage.
Gone are the days of catalogs, mailers, and magazines; it’s all available on your smartphone, so why wouldn’t you use shopping apps? If you’re a business, you’re losing out to your competitors if you don’t have your own native app in place. Maybe you don’t have one, or perhaps you would like the one you have to perform better. Whatever the case is, looking at some examples may help you get some ideas on how to build the retail mobile app you want.
In this post we take a look at a few successful mobile retail apps, analyzing some of the characteristics that make them stand out.
Retail Mobile App Examples
Overstock
Overstock is a retail decor giant, and its app has won numerous awards. The app is loaded with interactive features that make shopping easy and fun. When you’re shopping online for home décors like furniture, curtains, or rugs, you need to be very confident that they will fit in your space and match your existing color scheme. Overstock’s app features a slick augmented reality feature that lets you closely examine every piece in 3D, letting you “see” that piece in your living room, as well as checking the size, color, and price in real-time.
The app also gives the consumer flash deals that match up with your search history with them and even offers an exciting virtual “scratch-off” ticket to win even more savings. Once you’ve found your perfect piece, you can arrange ordering, shipping, and payment without ever leaving the app. Overall, the company’s informative and enjoyable app is sticky enough that consumers will use it over and over. You couldn’t ask for more from a retail mobile app shopping experience.
Home Depot
We all need to fix things up around the house, but, unless you’re a general contractor, wandering into a huge warehouse can be intimidating and overwhelming. Home Depot’s mobile app is here for your inner handyman and can help you throughout the whole process.
Let’s say you need a circular saw for a project, for example. Home Depot’s app will let you compare items and check reviews on the dozens of saws available. Once you select one, put it on your list in the app, then use the store locator to make sure how many are in stock. Once you arrive, the app will give you the exact aisle and shelf your saw is on, so you’re not wandering aimlessly through the store. You can use the barcode scanner to double-check it’s the one you’ve decided on, or even take a picture to identify other models like it if you’re having last-minute doubts.
The app even allows you to chat with an online associate in case you have any questions. Check for discounts and coupons, get your saw, and browse the hundreds of how-to videos once you’re ready to start your project. And, in the unlikely event that you want to return it, the receipt is there on your app to make it quick.
magicplan
This one is a different type of app from the previous ones. The magicplan mobile app is ideal for new shop owners who are dealing with the first steps towards managing their store.
Here’s how it works: you find a property you’re interested in to build out for your next store. Take a walkthrough with your smartphone or tablet, taking pictures when the app instructs you to, and voila! You have a floor plan, with no drawing, measuring, or estimating. Next, you can manipulate this floor plan in 3D, letting you explore various buildouts, windows, counter placements, or dressing rooms. Once you’ve got it the way you like it, you can place virtual furniture, racks, and shelving all around your floor plan to ensure that it all fits. Then, you can use the app’s materials and building estimator feature to calculate the cost of getting your store looking like you envision. Finally, you can create this virtual 3D store and build a virtual tour, for potential partners, investors, or tenants. All in the palm of your hand!
Xero
New technology is making many everyday retail management tasks a do-it-yourself deal. Accounting and finance management is one of those jobs, and Xero can make what is usually an outsourced position into one you can manage on your tablet or smartphone. Cloud-based accounting lets you pay and manage bills and expenses, make purchases, and get a real-time expense report anywhere, anytime, for multiple members of your team. Ultra-secure and fast, the cloud will protect and save your data, even if your device gets stolen or lost. Manage inventory, link up with your bank, or even pay employees. This powerful app can help you stay sane and save some money!
Humanity
If you’ve ever owned or managed one or more retail locations, you know how much time and effort goes into scheduling. Managing time-off requests, making sure employees come and go at the right time, and assuring shift trades go smoothly can gobble up hours of your workweek. The Humanity mobile app lets you control all of these variables from your mobile device. It is loaded with features that let you hold employees accountable, knowing your stores are well-manned.
Humanity gives you automated scheduling features that give you the power to integrate multiple schedules every week or month with all the vacation times and store closures already programmed in. Also, it lets your employees trade approved shifts between themselves without personal requests. GPS faculties and facial and fingerprint recognition technologies let you know that every employee clocks in and out where and when they should. It even has messaging features to communicate personal messages or company policies with one or all of your employees, and it can hold onboarding and training videos to help the new hires get going quickly. Now you’ve got time to focus on the rest of your business.
Best Buy
If there’s one thing better than an electronics store, it is having an electronics store right in the palm of your hand. Best Buy’s app allows customers to browse through their huge repertory of everything tech-related in an easy and engaging way. Thanks to its well thought out User Experience, the app makes it easy to browse many different products without feeling overwhelmed. One of its best features is the possibility to make different types of lists that can even be shared with friends and family.
Beauty Insider
Sephora’s Beauty Insider app is like a dream come true for everyone that uses beauty products. It is designed to work for members of their Beauty Insider program, so it offers the possibility to use points accumulated in stores. The app also allows customers to make lists and even see what is trending, always knowing that they will get recommendations from the best brands. The app also offers the possibility to buy exclusive products, see reviews, and reorder products that had been previously bought.
Final Thoughts on Best Retail Mobile Apps
These are just a few of the best retail mobile apps available in the market. Their innovative features and custom-centric approach are some of the things that make them stand out. If you want to build an app that your users will love, make sure to think thoroughly about the problems you are trying to solve. Most importantly, find an experienced app development company that can help you build the product you want.
