Building a profitable and fruitful online digital marketplace is easier than ever – at least in theory. However, being easy for everybody means that more competition among retailers exists, making it just as difficult to earn the trust of shoppers and ultimately convert them into customers. With so many options, businesses must really shine in order to attract and retain their consumer bases.

Ultimately, businesses that make the shopping experience as pleasant and easy as possible tend to last the longest. Today, we’re going to look at how retail mobile apps can actually improve the customer experience and  generate more sales.

Instant Access to Deals

Many brands love the idea of users walking around with an app in their pocket that alerts them to the latest news and offerings they’re providing. Ultimately, mobile apps can be your gateway to customers in an even more effective way than email marketing. By pushing notifications and pinging users with updates on discounts, coupons and new availability of select products, customers will be more likely to check back in with you, and also more likely to become repeat customers.

Better Customer Service

A huge aspect of ensuring successful customer transactions in the digital realm is customer service. Brick and mortar entities do not have to worry as much; with on-hand staff to answer questions, handle replacements and provide other valuable tasks, they clearly have an advantage in this regard.

Online entities, however, must compensate for the lack of physical presence. One great way that mobile retail apps can assist is by offering one or more convenient and instant customer service options. From tracking a package to reaching live chat services, mobile apps’ one-click nature give many the ability to get assistance both before and after purchases are made. In many cases, a sale hinges on whether the shopper can find the information they need; giving them the option will boost your sales.

Easy Functionality

Many businesses have discovered the inherent value that mobile responsive design provides – both to visitors and to the businesses themselves. In short, ensuring that your content and products are rendered in the ideal method for any and all devices improves your chances of getting that sale. When customers are flustered with a poorly-design interface – especially on mobile – they tend to look elsewhere.

By using an app, you provide customers with an optimized experience. From saving payment information for future use to the adaptive design and rendering that displays products, images and text exactly as they should be, the user experience becomes much friendlier (and that improves conversion rates). In the end, providing additional functionality to mobile users in particular (who comprise a majority of web and shopping traffic) is also just good business sense.

Most retail entities can design basic yet effective mobile apps that provide all of the benefits above without tons of investment or time. By providing better functionality, improved customer service and a 24/7 lifeline that’s pinging users with coupons and updates, you’ll both strengthen your sales figures and improve the customer experience.