eCommerce App Development Cost Estimation

The eCommerce has followed the digital trends and is widely applying mobile applications to target the audience. This is both convenient for customers and really profitable for companies. The eCommerce app development cost depends on the number of factors that we are going to discuss in this article. Make sure to check the important details on best eCommerce mobile design, required features and available technologies to create the application that moves your business forward.

List of contents

• Benefits of mobile app for eCommerce
• eCommerce mobile app development features
• eCommerce app development cost
• Best eCommerce mobile design
• In conclusion

BENEFITS OF MOBILE APP FOR ECOMMERCE

Any business that wants to increase its sales and keep pace with marketing trends is already using the mobile application for eCommerce. The smartphone is the most often used device nowadays. People tend to start mobile sessions more than 75 times a day in comparison with 4-5 times on their laptops or desktops. This is the fastest and most convenient way to manage daily deals, including shopping. 

Due to Wolfgang Digital’s KPI Report 2019, the first purpose of using the mobile application is searching products, reading reviews, and comparing prices. However, most purchases are still completed on desktops. Studies show that mobile devices get 53% of the traffic along with 32% of revenue, whereas 37% of traffic from desktops brings 56% of revenue. It is also important to acknowledge that the revenue from mobile devices has increased by 23% since last year. This tendency has outlined new business approaches to consider.

Most people browse e-shops via mobile, save the items in the carts and later complete the purchases on the desktop.

This is why it is important to have a convenient application – to give people the ability to view the offers and optionally complete them using their phones or on their computers. This leads us to another essential feature for applications – it must be synchronized across all devices, give users the ability to register the account (or login via Facebook or Google), add items to the shopping cart, and then complete the purchase whenever they want with the help of any device. But we’ll touch on this later on.

Take a moment to check out some additional data on why it is beneficial to create a mobile app for your business.

• The survey shows that 57% of customers have recently used the mobile application to look for more details on services and products.
• The popular market representatives have an impressive number of mobile users.  For example, Amazon reached the point of 150.79 million and Walmart had 82.57 million visitors during one month (June 2019).
• The user acquisition cost has remained at about  $4.12 for several years.
• The average install-to-register rate of all eCommerce mobile apps is 35%, whereas the install-to-purchase rate is 9.25%.
• The average order cost that is placed via the smartphone has increased to $78.99.
• In 2008 the mobile retail revenue was $207.15 billion, and it is expected to increase by $131.88 billion by 2020.

ECOMMERCE MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT FEATURES

Depending on the initial purpose, there are several approaches on how to develop a great app as well as outlining the average eCommerce app development cost. Companies that have enough resources usually create the brand commerce application and focus on marketing their own goods and services. At the same time, smaller businesses can apply for the help of different market platforms. The marketplace applications like Amazon unite numerous vendors while facilitating the users’ shopping experience. Moreover, in both cases, you need to develop at least two apps. The brand commerce app development requires the user and admin versions, whereas the marketplace application needs the vendor one in addition. You need to meet the needs and expectations of all the users. 

Another point to remember when you start the development process, define the complexity of your product. Since it will outline your needs concerning required features, timeline, workforce, and application cost. Depending on the chosen functionality and applied technological approaches, companies are able to estimate the eCommerce app development cost.

Simple version

It is the most basic version that enables commercializing the business online. You should provide the customers with the possibility to search for products, place orders, make a payment. The design remains simple and clear whereas the eCommerce app development cost is lower in comparison with more complex applications.

Medium complexity 

Adding more advanced features like multiple payment and shipment offers, a wishlist, and order history will improve your users’ experience and simplify the ordering process. When we speak about the medium complexity application, we mean the platform that gives buyers more advanced options beyond just browsing and ordering products. Examples of such features can be integrated with the shipment service for accurate order tracking, the section for reviews by the clients who already bought the product, customer loyalty programs with promo codes, etc. 

Complex version

With the help of modern business strategies and innovative technologies, mobile applications have obtained cutting-edge functionality, including live chats, augmented reality (e.g., IKEA App), 3d view of the products, etc. Another great example of the bleeding edge technology that can also significantly increase the eCommerce mobile app development cost, and the shop’s revenue at the same time, is machine learning. ML can be integrated into the platform to analyze customers’ previous purchases, wishlists, the behavior of buyers within similar demographics, and list of browsed goods. This solution helps the application to make personalized offers of the products and best deals for the client when he or she is most likely to complete the purchase. 

Therefore, we have prepared a short description of each version with the most often used feature lists for the brand commerce product due to its complexity. Moreover, it’ll be necessary for making the final eCommerce app development cost estimate.

USER VERSION

Today’s market has set high requirements, and users are rather picky. They are looking for reasonable solutions and not interested in time-consuming shopping. The user version is usually quite a complex mobile application that includes all innovative features. It should be simple and attractive at the same time. These apps are developed to sell goods and facilitate the shopping process. The product catalog should be presented in the best way and easily accessible for the users. With the help of a great search engine, including advanced filters and voice search, finding the needed product will be quite simplified. Each product has to contain images with the zoop option, a description, price, shipment details, etc. Virtual and augmented reality is the nice-to-have feature that gives the opportunity to present goods in detail to attract more users. Placing an order cannot take a long time or be complicated, and various payment options are required. It will be great to add some extra features like live chat, E-gift cards, discounts, and coupon systems in order to add special value and differentiate your project from the others.

Users’ application features

SHOP OWNER/ ADMIN VERSION

There is a need for a strong and secure admin panel. It is a special tool to manage the overall interaction processes, including customer-business, business-customer, and customer-customer channels. It presents the analysis with the help of which the shop owners are capable of maintaining products, updating content, regulating users’ activities, manage orders and payments. You need to learn from your experience since customers’ feedback considerably helps to improve business strategies. The company has to deliver unique value in order to build long-lasting successful relationships with customers.

Admin panel features

Every great admin panel has to cover the following list of features. It will provide shop owners with an efficient tool to manage the overall business process. 

• Admin dashboard
• Content update
• Product management
• Payment management
• Users’ interaction management 
• In-built analytics

ECOMMERCE APP DEVELOPMENT COST

In order to find a comprehensive answer to the question “how much does it cost to build an eCommerce application”, the company needs to outline its needs and estimate the budget at first. eCommerce app development cost depends on a number of factors. 

Firstly, ensure you create the list of required features and divide them into must-to-have and advanced features. It is quite reasonable not to start the advanced feature development until you are ready with the basic version. However, its planning is required as you are going to combine them later in one advanced application, and it should have a powerful back end.

Secondly, chosen technologies can make a difference in calculating the final mobile application development cost. Your application has to support both platforms and be created with up-to-date technologies. The software development company can either choose between native or hybrid development.  Find out more details about native vs hybrid development in our latest article. However, the eCommerce app development cost could differ; you cannot make a wrong choice as every approach has its own advantages to go with.

Taking into consideration those details, we have received the following results.

eCommerce Android application development cost

Whenever you learn how to create an Android app, you need to remember a few general facts. The application has to run on various Android devices with different screen sizes and OS versions. That is why the development cycle could take a longer time and increase the number of working hours. QA team usually spends more hours on testing before the launch. However, we should acknowledge that launching the application on Google Play is easier as the App Store has many rigorous rules. Customization is another advantage to get in order to deliver a personalized and unique look. Let’s check the eCommerce development cost for native Android applications of different complexity.

eCommerce app development cost for iOS

The iOS applications are chosen for great performance and a high level of security. It is known that iOS apps run on a fewer number of devices, though the development cycle along with testing time might take fewer resources. Due to the application maintenance, all the updates are implemented on all the devices at once, whereas the Android developers depend on the smartphone manufacturer to deal with updates. So how much does it cost to build an eCommerce app for iOS?

eCommerce application cost for hybrid development

In the examples of iOS eCommerce app development cost and eCommerce Android application cost, we provided you a rough estimate for two native versions. Needless to say, you’ll need both of them in place in order to cover the whole audience. So the final cost of the native approach is iOS development cost + Android development cost. On the other hand, when we talk about the hybrid approach, the eCommerce app development cost mentioned below will be the final budget for the application that works simultaneously on both platforms. This is the first and the most obvious advantage of hybrid frameworks, which, however, comes with some drawbacks. 

Hybrid applications are dependent on an Internet connection, but it makes no difference for this type of software as all content is dynamically pullet via the Internet. Therefore hybrid development is a nice option for those who are limited in their budget. Applying such technologies as React Native, Xamarin, and Ionic enabled the less costly solution for many companies. Building one hybrid application is almost decreasing the eCommerce app development cost twice and significantly shortens the delivery time. The developers favor simple building, fast testing, and easy maintenance. We’ve received the following calculations for the eCommerce mobile app development cost while applying this approach.

Consequently, the company could spend from $50000 to $150000 to create the eCommerce application depending on used technologies and general complexity. Moreover, include the expenses of the web application if you do not have one so far. eCommerce app development cost is outlined both by the market requirements and your desire to move the business forward.

BEST ECOMMERCE MOBILE DESIGN

Simplicity and clarity are something every eCommerce mobile app development company is focusing on. When it comes to the question of how to create a great app, an attractive and intuitive design will be inevitable here. To start with, you need to put yourself in the place of users and learn their main needs and behavioral patterns. 

Give the choice to your customers: they can either use the direct search or sign up for the personalized user experience.

Well-organized UX design facilitates the shopping experience and minimizes the time spent on searching and purchasing goods. Categorized menus, advanced filters, clear buttons, visuals, and transitions enable a few simple moves from one section to another. For example, the development team can arrange a search engine in the following way: category – subcategory – products. The business analysts state that it should not take more than three moves to the product. Don’t forget about the easily accessible search bar, and what’s more, most of the apps have voice search as well.

Machine learning algorithms will analyze the user behavioral patterns to suggest the goods they are interested in. 

Application development envisions the use of innovative technologies and smart branding tactics. The application should analyze the previous shopping experience, purchase history, favors, and preferences. Therefore, machine learning algorithms are often applied to spot all the mentioned above patterns. Depending on the results, you can plan your marketing campaigns and branding tactics. 

The search engine should be advanced with special filters and voice search.

The application look is another thing to consider as it influences the overall impression. Create a unique and catchy logo that corresponds to your initial purposes. Best eCommerce app developers can easily unify your logo and the general design. The minimalist unified eCommerce mobile application design is one of today’s market trends.

Attractive design and right element placement considerably improve user experience.

Take into consideration the element placement on the screens. Since we deal with eCommerce mobile application design, the most important elements should be reached with the thumb while you hold your smartphone. Such buttons as add to cart, place an order, and pay buttons should be not only visible but the most easily accessible.

Smart branding tactics include the development of advanced eCommerce mobile application features like e-gift cards, coupon systems, etc.

Any successful application won’t stand without visual and functional consistency as it helps to get rid of users’ confusion and saves the overall development time. For instance, the navigation elements and buttons should work and look the same on every screen to make your application predictable and logical. As for iOS and Android versions, make sure they are similar; the users should not notice any difference. 

IN CONCLUSION

Running the business requires a lot of research, learning business strategies, and applying up-to-date technologies. Since customers are looking for excellent user experience, convenience, and fast solutions, eCommerce mobile app development is suitable for every market representative. The high rates of traffic from mobile devices have increased the number of customers as well as the companies’ revenue. We hope that you have found all the important details on the development process, defined the necessary features, and estimated the approximate eCommerce app development cost for your future project.