Consumer shopping habits have evolved rapidly in recent years and the retailers who are succeeding with their omnichannel strategies are seeing the benefits of ‘going app’. Apps provide a more engaging shopping experience and as a result, app commerce company Poq has seen app shoppers spending longer browsing, better conversion rates and greater revenue.
In fact Poq has analysed the performance of its clients’ apps on its platform in Q1 and compared them to last year. And the findings are interesting. App shopping, it appears, has become even more popular and app shoppers are more keen to engage with retailers through the channel.
So what can we learn from Poq?
- Conversion rates
Poq’s clients have seen a 90% increase year-on-year in conversion rates in Q1 2017. The company attributes this to the innovative features that apps have, offering qualities that make the app shopping experience unique, easy and convenient. Interestingly while mobile web conversion rates have improved, in Q1 2017, apps again outperformed mobile web conversion rates by 40%, indicating that apps provide a more engaging experience.
2. Sessions
Measuring average session duration provides a great insight into levels of engagement. Poq’s clients have experienced more than twofold the number of sessions this year compared to Q1 2016. Also, as can be seen below, in Q1 2016 the average session duration for apps was just over twice the duration that desktop and mobile web experienced. Furthermore, the start of 2017 has shown session durations improve by 64% compared to the same period in 2016.
3. Average order values
The average order value (AOV) offers a useful insight into how much users are spending within the app. Comparison of Q1 for 2016 and 2017 has seen a 150% increase in the AOV on the Poq platform. This has been echoed in the five-fold growth of revenue from apps. The Poq data reflects the movement towards mobile shopping that the rise of smartphones has brought.
4. Returning users
Apps have the advantage of taking a valuable space on customers’ phones, meaning they are always at arm’s reach and enable a new channel of communication via push notifications. Increasing the proximity of a retailer to their customers makes it easier to promote loyalty. Across the Poq platform, apps have consistently exceeded retention rates compared to desktop and mobile web, by more than a factor of two.
Finally, Poq has seen its clients’ apps excel during the past year and the platform statistics show the impact that the evolution of shopping habits has on retail.
“We predict that the success of apps will continue to grow over the coming years as consumers expect more engaging and immersive experiences,” says Michael Langguth, founder of Poq.
