15 Features Every Mobile E-Commerce App Needs to Have
Published: 2021-10-31 19:58:16

With the rise of [e-commerce app development](https://scand.com/industries/e-commerce/), mobile apps are a necessity for retailers. Most consumers prefer to buy online than go to brick and mortar stores, so an m-commerce app should be both user-friendly and provide the best functionality to encourage users to purchase from you. According to the recent [stats](https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/mobile-commerce/#why-does-mobile-commerce-matter), mobile commerce purchases will reach 54% of the total e-commerce sales by the end of 2021. There’s a huge market to explore, and businesses do their best to meet the needs of the target consumers. 
Now you can imagine that mobile app development is trendy in the e-commerce sector, but what differentiates one app from another is their features. Here are 15 must-have features for mobile e-commerce apps to stand out in 2021-2022. 
## Product Gallery and Descriptions
When buying online, customers want to have a shopping experience similar to the one they get from shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. There they can try to see products from different angles, thus making a more informed purchasing decision. By adding a detailed product description, you’ll provide your customers with all the information in one place. To make their shopping experience even more enjoyable, you can also integrate an AR-based product gallery. It will enable customers to try products in a virtual yet realistic environment. Both features will reduce product returns and improve customer satisfaction. 
## Product-Filtering and Sorting Options
For online stores offering a wide range of product positions, functional product filtering and sorting are a necessity. This feature reduces the time customers spend scrolling the number of items before making the final choice. As a result, you get an enhanced user experience and boost sales. 
## Login and Registration Process
Don’t make the registration and login process too complicated. Make it as simple as possible yet secure. For example, allow your customers to use their Google or Facebook accounts to create an account. Easy login and registration convert users into customers. They don’t fill in much data and can proceed to browse and make purchases faster.
## Shopping Cart
Another must-have feature of a mobile e-commerce app is a shopping cart. It helps customers make purchases in several steps. If they have chosen a product but don’t want to proceed to checkout, they can add it to a shopping cart and continue their shopping experience. It saves time and makes it easier to make a purchase by adding and removing goods. 
## Order and Shipment Tracking 
When buying online, users want to have a transparent shopping experience. To enable transparency, you can integrate such features as order summary, status, and tracking options into your mobile e-commerce app. Users can easily check out their order details, track delivery statuses, and the estimated time of delivery.
## Voice Search
Some users don’t like browsing catalogs, so they use a search box to find a product they need. With the voice search feature, your customers don't need to browse the long list of items and search for the necessary products even with their hands-free. Voice search improves the navigation across your mobile app and boosts the purchasing process. 
## Push Notifications
Push notifications are the best way to remind your customers of your store. You can notify them about fresh discounts, promotions, and special offers, thus attracting your users back. Push notifications call for immediate actions, so it gets more responses than emails and text messages as they are considered to be less annoying. Compiled with analytics, the feature can significantly boost your sales.
## Location Tracking
To enable your regional marketing strategy, implement a location tracking feature in your e-commerce mobile app. With the help of geo-tracking of user apps, they will get promotions relevant only to their locations. You can also connect your physical store or delivery point’s location so that customers will be able to choose the closest one for offline visits.
## Social Media Integration
People use social media every day, so integration of your mobile app with your social media account will trigger customers to visit your online store. Moreover, by adding your Instagram or Facebook, you’ll encourage them to follow you on social media to stay updated on discounts, promotions, and others. The feature will help you build closer connections with your customers.
## Ratings and Reviews
People trust other users’ opinions, so many online store owners allow their customers to rank goods and leave text reviews. This helps build trusted relationships between users and the store. Positive reviews and high scores are often strong indicators for buying particular goods. By reading a real-life review, a user is sure that the seller doesn’t lie and conceal product defects.
## Wish List
Online shoppers often need an opportunity to put products they like aside to purchase later. The feature allows them to browse goods in your online store and add items to a wish list without adding them to a shopping cart. This will increase the chance a customer will make a purchase later, even if they don’t buy them immediately for some reason. As a seller, you can also take advantage of the information about their favorite items and remind them by selling discounts, push notifications, and personalized offerings.
## Featured Products
To attract users’ attention to specific products, you can integrate the featured product capability. By assigning products with a category, they will be displayed on your mobile app’s homepage. You may use the feature to encourage consumers to purchase, showcase your product assortment, drive attention to the new arrivals, etc.
## Loyalty Systems: Discounts and Promotions
All users love discounts and promotions, especially personalized ones. Apply AI-based recommendation engines to send and show personalized offers to your customers. Based on their browsing history and items they typically buy or add to shopping carts, you can offer your users the discounts and promotions they will be interested in. This will translate into higher conversion rates and increased sales.
## Payment Options
When building an m-commerce app, consider adding multiple payment options. The feature helps retain customers who prefer different payment options. Let’s imagine that after choosing a product item, a user proceeds to checkout and suddenly discovers that you don’t accept the credit they use. The user will be disappointed and leave your store. So, not to lose your potential customers and improve your brand loyalty, integrate multiple payment options, including credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.
## Feedback System
Getting feedback from your consumers is dead crucial. By adding a feedback chat, you’ll be able to find out if your customers are satisfied with the store’s assortment, services, mobile app’s functionality, etc. The feedback system will provide valuable data for analytics and improving your services.
## Conclusion
There’s a new channel to reach your consumers online, and you can do it through a mobile app. With the rapid technological development, it’s vital to follow the latest tech trends to provide an exclusive user experience. 
Choosing the right set of capabilities for your mobile e-commerce application is essential for its success. Whether you start your m-commerce app development or plan to extend your app with a new feature, our list of top features will help you make the right decision.