Industry Insights
Merchant Mobile Apps That Do More Than Mirror Your Website
A retail app earns its place only when it does something the website cannot — otherwise it is a smaller, slower version of a page customers already have.
Beyond the Mobile Website
A strong mobile web presence is table stakes; an application that merely extends the website is not a differentiator. The baseline still matters — product search, promotions, store locations and opening hours, purchasing — but the app has to go further by leveraging what the device does best. Sharing sits at the centre of that. When a customer can push an interesting find to family and friends, the app becomes a conduit for viral marketing rather than a gadget. App-exclusive mechanics such as a deal of the day give people a reason to open it at all.
Simple Interface, Device-Specific Build
One excellent app beats two mediocre ones, but the goal is device-specific experiences. Walgreens, for instance, ships separate iPhone and iPad builds — the same services, arranged differently for each screen. Complexity is the enemy: crowded screens with too many functions will not move an in-store shopper to a mobile one. Ogloba builds this layer for retailers — a simple, personalised interface that improves on the website and reaches the 25-to-35 segment where mobile habits form. Native or HTML5 are both supported; for merchants serious about mobile commerce, native is the stronger position.
Apps fill idle time — the bus queue, the ad break. Whoever owns that minute owns the next purchase decision.
FAQ
When it does something the mobile website cannot. Search, promotions, store details and purchasing are the baseline; an app that stops there is a slower copy of a page the customer already has.
Sharing and exclusivity. Pushing a find to family and friends turns the app into a viral marketing channel, and app-exclusive offers such as a deal of the day give a reason to open it in the first place.
One excellent app beats two mediocre ones, but the same services should be arranged for each screen. Walgreens runs separate iPhone and iPad builds for exactly that reason.
Both are supported, and HTML5 is a reasonable route for a lighter presence. For merchants treating mobile commerce as a core channel, native is the stronger position.
Further reading
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