The retail industry is changing with technological advancement. People mostly prefer online shopping now. It holds true more for the younger generation who want everything at their fingertips. So a personal shopping assistant app will be at the high edge.
But the real problem that the customers face is – how to choose from so many options. This is where a personal shopping assistant app will come into the picture.
Some luxury brands are already offering their customers a personal shopping assistant to enhance the shopping experience.
Do you plan to create the best personal shopper app for the convenience of your customers? Well, then find a mobile application development agency to help you!
This blog will guide you through the steps to build a brilliant personal shopper application.
What is Personal Shopper Apps?
It is not another mCommerce product. A shopping assistant app will remove all the hassles of online shopping for the customer. It will help to find the right products from multiple stores.
What’s more? A personal shopping assistant app will let the customers know of sites offering discounts. We don’t think there is a need for any more explanation on the benefits of such an app.
When a brand offers the best personal shopper to a customer, it can improve loyalty as well as retain the customers. Hence, such applications contribute significantly to increasing revenue.
Apart from the sales income, personal shopping apps can be monetized in the following ways:
- Subscription-based services
- Paid requests
- Purchase commissions
- Membership fees for brands & vendors
Common Technologies for a Personal Shopping Assistant App
☛ Image Recognition
It can be a better option than a text search. A visual search option will allow customers to search for similar items easily.
Are you unaware of how it works? All a customer needs to do is upload a picture of the product in the personal shopping app.
The app will tell you the offline stores/websites where a customer can buy similar products.
☛ Price Filter Algorithm
The feature will display prices from multiple retailers and online stores for the customer. Also, it will also identify any discounts or offers that are available
But the most interesting part about the price filter algorithm is that it can predict changes in price. Due to this, customers will never overpay.
☛ Chatbots
Chatbots are a common feature now. Personal shopping companies are even more important to retain customers. It will work as a client support system and will be available 24/7.
The best reason for a brand to use chatbots is that they can cut down on costs without compromising on the quality of customer service.
☛ Custom Recommendations
Who doesn’t love recommendations as per their taste? No one, right? AI can help you offer personalized suggestions to your customers. AI will analyze the customer’s brand/style preferences and their actions.
A personal shopping assistant app that displays related items or possible discounts on favorite brands will always attract more users.
☛ Coupons
Any of the reputed personal shopping apps will inform its users of the discounts in the store they are shopping from.
As an app owner, you can offer some discounts/coupons from your end to retain customers. Of course, this offer should be related to their preferences. Otherwise, it is of no use.
☛ Track Orders
Tracking orders is one of the essential features of any personal shopping assistance app. Especially when the app supports online payment options.
Why? Because people are always anxious while shopping online unless it is a trusted site/app.
Steps to Create a Smart Shopper App
1. Always Analyze the Market First
Market research is always the first step to build an app. Proper market research will help you identify the strengths, weaknesses, and the USPs of your competitors.
Trust us, this information will come in handy if you want your personal shopper assistant app to stand out. Understanding the market also includes knowing your target audience.
The knowledge of your target audience will help you make crucial decisions for your app. For instance, the features to include and the app platform.
2. Decide the Features
The features of any application will decide whether people love it or not. The only thing to keep in mind is that the app features should make the lives of customers easier.
Hire an iPhone app developer or an Android one for the right guidance. As they are the experts, they will know what will make your shopper app iPhone a hit among the people.
3. Plan Your Budget in Advance
Before you start with app development, be clear about your budget. For example, in what aspects of your app are you willing to invest more/less according to the situation?
Such clarity will help you in the later stages of the project and will also make sure that you don’t end up in a pickle at any point.
4. Select Some Advanced Features
This applies only if you have an additional budget. A personal shopping assistant app that has some unique features will be able to capture the attention of the target audience.
On the basis of market research, discuss the same with your development team. The developers will give you some options after taking into consideration factors like the target audience and budget.
5. Hire a Reliable Team
The importance of having a reliable development partner can never be stated enough. They are the ones who will work on your app from scratch.
Find a team of developers with good client reviews and experience working with different industries.
Not to forget that they should be able to relate to your goals. If the wavelength is the same, the development journey will become seamless.
6. Communicate Regularly with the Team
It is necessary to regularly meet or communicate with the developers. Why? It will help you know the progress in each stage. You can suggest any changes during the creation stage itself which will leave no room for changes later.
Furthermore, you can also discuss any new ideas, features, or even design concepts with them. Enough communication right from the beginning will avoid any chance of misunderstanding later.
7. Integrate the App with Your eCommerce Site
There are high chances that a brand already has an eCommerce site before it decides to create an app. If that’s the case, then it is highly recommended to integrate the app with the website.
Due to this, a customer will be able to access his/her account details on any device. Customers will be able to seamlessly switch between devices.
It will ultimately enhance the user experience. So, experts are always in the favor of this integration.
8. Create an MVP or a Full-Fledged app
MVP is the minimum viable product. It is the basic version of your application. Sometimes brands release an MVP to know the audience’s feedback.
It helps them understand what improvements are required and which features are loved by the audience. On the other hand, some brands carry out a survey before launching an app.
Once they are sure of their app, they release the full-fledged version. A brand can choose between either of the versions depending on the resources at hand.
9. Market Your App
Marketing your personal shopping assistant app is crucial. The primary rule for promoting any product/service is that its benefits should be highlighted.
When a customer sees that a product/service can solve a problem for them, they become curious. Customers will then research more on your app and may even go on to install the app for trying it out.
Once the app is installed, then it is on the brand to make sure that the users don’t uninstall it.
10. Keep the Users Interested
Last but not least is to keep the users engaged. It is not enough that they installed your app. The real challenge is to ensure that they don’t uninstall it later.
So, keep researching and remain updated with the latest trends in the market. In this way, you will be able to add new features constantly and manage to keep the audience impressed.
Conclusion
With people looking up almost everything online, eCommerce sites and personal shopping assistant app is here to stay. The growing market will lead to an increase in the number of such apps or such personnel in offline shops.
Just like other online courses, you may soon find a seminar to become a personal shopper online. A few years down the line, this will not be a surprise.
Before the market of such apps gets a complete boom, you should start with your own app. Hire Android app developer or iPhone developer who will provide end to end development services.
As they will take care of everything, you won’t have to find different experts for each task. Partnering with end to end service providers will not only save you time and effort but also save you some costs.
Do you think your business needs a personal shopping assistant app? Consult mobile app experts in our team for your idea! Tell us in brief about the app you want on [email protected]!
