Can E-Commerce Apps Improve Retention More Than Websites?

As the digital marketplace continues to develop quickly, customer retention has become a critical component of long term business viability, especially for e-commerce companies. As competition increases day after day, companies have to keep coming up with new ways to retain users and improve their loyalty. One of the best solutions is mobile applications. But do e-commerce apps actually retain customers more effectively than e-commerce websites? Let’s look more closely at how mobile apps help impact mobile app retention rate.

Understanding Mobile App Retention Rate

Before exploring how e-commerce apps retain customers better than websites, it’s important to understand what the mobile app retention rate is. To keep it simple, the mobile app retention rate is the percentage of users that open the app after downloading it. Retention rates are important because they’re positively correlated with revenue growth and engagement as well as lower acquisition cost.

Why E-commerce Apps Outperform Websites for Retention

Once established, websites remain important for visibility and customer acquisition, but mobile apps offer distinctive features that indeed significantly increase mobile app retention rates:

1. Enhanced User Experience

Mobile apps are designed to minimize friction in interacting and loading times compared to a website. There is a natural preference for apps because they are intuitive, provide smooth transitions, and allow for quicker checkout, which leads to reduced friction and a higher rate of retention. The smoother and easier the shopping experience, the more likely a user will return.

2. Personalized Interactions

Mobile apps are advantaged by leveraging user data much easier than websites can. Mobile apps can create a personalized experience that moves user data into utility with personalized push notifications, personalized product recommendations, or personalized rewards. This personalized communication creates loyalty, which helps drive a mobile app retention rate

3. Push Notifications and Real-time Engagement

There is one feature that is solely beneficial to mobile apps: real-time push notifications. Unlike email or website notifications, which require a logged-in session, push notifications can reach a user immediately with direct communication encouraging immediate engagement. Using effective push notification strategies—like targeted offers or reminders—can positively impact user retention and user engagement.

4. Advanced Loyalty and Rewards Programs

Mobile apps can serve as a solid platform for implementing enhanced loyalty and rewards programs. E-commerce apps commonly offer loyalty programs through like points, cash back offers, or exclusive discounts  right inside the app.

5. Offline Accessibility and Convenience

Many apps allow users to shop online when they do not have connectivity. For example, users can browse products and even prepare their cart offline. The convenience of this shopping method is not only valuable to customers, but it certainly encourages frequent use and increases satisfaction and retention. Users can often more easily browse products whenever they want. Retention at a higher rate than websites that always require connectivity is impressive!

E-Commerce App Retention: Practical Evidence

Many studies show that mobile apps retain customers more effectively than websites. Industry research indicates that mobile apps have significantly higher retention rates, often 50-70% higher, than websites. This is why so many successful e-commerce companies have invested in app-centric strategies.

Tips to Boost Your Mobile App Retention Rate

If your business is considering changing from primarily a website experience to a mobile app experience, check out the below tips to improve retention in your mobile app:

• Streamlined Onboarding: Clearly guide brand-new users to necessary app features so their first time using the app is smooth and appealing.
• Consistent Personalization: Ongoing learning to improve personalization based on analytics and machine learning, use more engagement.
• Gamification Techniques: Add badges, rewards, or tracking progress so users feel more engaged and motivated in a gamified approach.
• Regular Updates: Continuously change your app by adding features or improvements which work off of user requests to create excitement and a reason for users to keep engaging in your app.

In contemplating whether evidence supports e-commerce apps can undertake retention more effectively than a website, the evidence clearly shows that mobile apps have several advantages over websites due to better user experience, personalized engagements, easier interactions, retention features (e.g., loyalty programs, discounting, etc.). The result is a mobile app with better mobile app retention rates than a website can provide.

To compete effectively while driving sustainable growth, e-commerce operators need to seriously engage with changing their retention strategies to utilize mobile apps more heavily. Apps allow users to complete a task more efficiently, enhance the brand experience, and provide a solid platform for long-term customers and ongoing revenue.

At Creatah, we develop mobile apps that are high-performing, user-centric, and customized for e-commerce operators. Our development services ensure seamless user experience, security, personalized engagement, and features that are designed to improve mobile app retention rates. Creatah can turn consumers into ongoing advocates for your brand which will drive sustainable growth for your e-commerce business.