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It’s been evident for several years that everything goes mobile. And this notion applies to retailers more than to anybody else.

But let us not jump ahead and take a closer look at the mobile industry to find out what is going on and what opportunities it opens for retail business

What does it mean for the retail business?

The mobile revolution has changed the way retailers can interact with their customers. There is no need anymore to rely on billboards or printed materials to advertise discounts and special offers when you can do it more efficiently through an app.

Moreover, mobile growth has impacted and changed customers’ buying habits.

They compare prices, search places, goods, and other buyers' reviews using their smartphones.

Today mobile commerce grows like a weed outdoing all other kinds of e-commerce. Mobile apps for retail businesses demonstrated astounding growth by 81% in 2015.

According to the IBM report, mobile devices accounted for about 57% of all online shopping traffic this past Black Friday in the US; it is up to 15% over the same period in 2014.

Lastly, 54% of customers consider a mobile app for retail business much more convenient and more comfortable in usage than a mobile site.

How can retail businesses use mobile apps?

The team at Maitkey has created a list of beneficial technologies and tools that can be used in apps to help boost your business.

But before going ahead, it’s important to note the following.

There are available two ways how to implement different in-app features. You can take advantage of 3rd party solutions or invest in custom development. Custom development provides your project with exceptional flexibility, but it tends to be expensive and time-consuming.

Using a 3rd party solution, you’ll be able to verify different hypotheses, try how the solutions work in practice, and decide whether you need some feature, or it isn’t relevant for your business. By doing this, you don’t need to spend lots of money and time.

Let’s see the advantages and disadvantages of each approach in a particular case.