Online shopping is becoming commonplace, and as a result e-commerce has taken a larger share of total retail sales. While an undeniable reality, modern brands need to continue to invest in delivering a seamless shopping experience across every touchpoint, from online to in-store to on mobile.
Since customers are more mobile-minded than ever before, it’s critical to go beyond traditional e-commerce and brick-and-mortar and think about the mobile experience you’re offering. A mobile website will no longer meet shoppers’ expectations. An app is necessary to give customers the fast, personalized digital experience they expect, and to properly unify the in-store and online experience. A well-built app will allow consumers to engage with their favorite brands more often and easily than with a mobile website. In fact, with a consumer app brands can expect 5-7x more conversions to occur.
Many EU brands recognize the competitive advantage having an app provides. Shoeby, a Netherlands-based brand, is one in particular that has invested in rolling out a consumer app to drive customer engagement and loyalty.
How Shoeby’s App Drives E-Commerce Revenue
Shoeby has long believed that fashion is about expressing your unique identity. Recently, the brand launched “Dare to Be You,” a campaign focused on inspiring people of all backgrounds to create their own style and giving them a stage to share their authentic stories. A way the brand lives out this mission is by delivering a high-touch, customer-centric shopping experience. One that makes all customers feel like unique, valued individuals.
Shoeby’s customers shop in-store, online, and on mobile, and so the brand has sought an omnichannel experience to meet its customers wherever they are. To deliver amazing experiences everywhere, and because they were aware of shoppers’ increased use of mobile, Shoeby created a progressive web-based mobile app with an agency in 2016.
The app was initially well-received by customers, but after some time the allure wore off and it only had a 2.5-star average rating. After all, it was just a web version of their existing online storefront. Not only did it not give customers anything new or different, but the brand struggled to improve the app and make the necessary feature updates to win over customers.
However, creating a quality consumer app was an integral part of Shoeby’s digital transformation and omnichannel strategy. So, the brand pivoted and decided to work with NewStore, an omnichannel provider that delivers apps as-a-service. NewStore built and deployed a feature-rich and high-quality native app for Shoeby, taking care of the tech so the brand could focus on satisfying its customers.
A native app is developed using a particular platform’s native coding languages, opposed to a progessive web app, which is a website styled to look like an app. Native apps are superior because they offer a far better experience and drive higher conversions. Shoeby pretty instantly reaped the benefits of switching to a native app.
Within days of replacing its old app with a NewStore Consumer App, conversion rates tripled, driving top line revenue growth month-over-month. The app’s share of total e-commerce revenue grew from 29% in 2021 to 41% in 2022, and the app now has an average of 4.8 stars in the Apple App Store.
Shoeby’s investment in a native consumer app has enabled it to interact with customers on a whole new level. It now can consistently deliver an ultra personalized experience, while seeing success from mobile as an ever-flowing revenue stream.
Consumer Apps Create Loyal Customers
Today, fully adopting an omnichannel strategy and unifying your channels necessitates creating a mobile experience that your customers will fall in love with. A consumer app is needed to deliver both the online and in-store experience your customers expect and crave.
You can put your brand in your customers’ pockets (literally!) with an app, offering each shopper a unique experience. You can create a personalized experience within an app, one that adapts to the customer journey and offers exclusive discounts and content. An app will also allow you to remove friction and create a more seamless experience that includes faster load times and easy checkout.
An app is the new, modern loyalty card. It replaces the need for outdated plastic cards or for store associates to ask for personal information at the point of sale. Within an app, customers can also communicate with store associates to get personalized product recommendations and advice, receive push notifications with order status updates, and tap into features that will allow them to learn more about products.
Offering a curated branded app experience that consumers can carry around in their pocket is a game changer for cultivating and maintaining loyal customers.
Deliver a Modern Experience in 2022
A consumer app should be top of mind for forward-thinking retail brands looking to deepen their relationships with customers. With a high-quality native app, brands can expect to see higher conversions and a more devoted customer base.
To learn how a consumer app can help you also win at retail, download NewStore’s latest whitepaper: 7 Reasons Why You Need a Consumer App.
