philipov | Philipov.net

How Efficiency In-Store is Enhanced by Mobile Apps

The main focus on mobile apps is usually the generation of money outside the physical locations of stores. The ability of mobile apps to enhance brick and mortar businesses, is often overlooked in both revenues and the operations. Here are some ways that mobile apps are effective in-store.

The Ability to Check inventory in Real-Time
If an app has inventory search functions, this can help employees create more efficiency in their store as well as help customers. A customer for example, can check the availability of products in real-time and pull up the closest location where they can get the product. They can even arrange to pickup the product in the store.

Employees can use this function to improve the overall customer experience. They can use real-time inventory data so floor employees can check to see if products are in stock for customers. This can be done quickly and a product can be ordered for the customer if it’s out of stock.

A Self-Service Advisor
Many customers prefer the self-service model. They can use their device as a customer representative. While inventory check ups can be done by a store employee, the customer can use an app to find products in the store, get product promotions, and deals as well as more information.

Any store can use an app to provide in-store service by allowing customers to search for product information, make fast purchases, and locate items within stores directly from an app on their mobile device.

Improve Customer Service
Mobile apps allow employees to serve customers better, especially ones that ant to interact with a representative. One useful feature is a customer alert system. This feature will allow for both an employee-facing side and a customer side which will improve the shopping experience and th efficiency of employees.
Customers don’t have to wait for a representative, they can ask for assistance in a store kiosk or via their app. An employee gets a notification on their device when a customer is located in the store so assistance can be offered quickly.

Wishlist Building and Barcode Scanning
Retail Touchpoints said in a webinar that learning about products in store, is a goal for shoppers. By offering barcodes on a mobile app, you help customers find additional information about products. This also allows customers to add products to a wishlist.

Customer service can be enhanced with barcodes and wishlists and there’s no need for additional staff. It makes it easier to provide service for customers, especially in large stores. The scanning feature allows customers to find product information and then add items to a wishlist before they checkout without the need for assistance by a store associate.

M-commerce has been a focus for retail mobile apps, but the opportunity to impact the in-store operations and customer experience in-store a largely untapped market. Mobile apps can help to empower employees and provide a better experience for shoppers. This creates more revenue opportunities for stores and lowers costs for retailers.

Why Retail Apps Add Value For Your Customers

Each year, retail apps continue to grow and change your shopping experience. For many customers worldwide, these apps are a critical part of the overall shopping experience. Many retailers are creating apps which improve the shopping experience for the customer and appeal to their needs. For example, they are creating rewards points, adding product browsing, transaction ability, and providing suggestions for the buyer. Since customers have new shopping habits because of mobile devices, these retail apps enhance their shopping experience.

It’s the shopping experience which is driving the use of these apps. One study showed that 88% of people are using retail apps to help them when shopping. Shoppers are looking for easy ways to make a purchase and retail apps are helping them make important purchasing decisions. The apps are easy to use, personalized, and improve brand loyalty towards the company.

Retail Apps Are Easy to Use
Most shoppers have access to mobile shopping. In today’s world we have access to shopping at the tips of our fingers. We can browse, recommend products or services to others or make a purchase whenever we want. Most retail apps have payment methods so you can pay right within the app itself. Retail apps eliminate a lot of the headaches that are associated with regular shopping.

Retail Apps Offer Personalization
Retail apps are also personalized towards each shopper that uses the app so they have a customized shopping experience. Some companies integrate loyalty programs as well as special discounts into their apps. Examples of this include Starbucks, Shoppers Drugmart, and many others. personalization options include loyalty programs, push notifications, and the integration of coupon offers which target the needs of the user.

One study showed that 51% of those that use mobile apps, use them in the actual store to help them make purchasing decisions. Buyers have access to additional information when they use mobile apps which helps them when buying. The customer can check ratings, save money with discounts, and compare products or services to find the best one for their needs. the customer is now more engaged in the shopping experience than ever before thanks to advancements in digital shopping.

Better Retailer-Shopper Experience
Shoppers are looking for tools that provide them with more engagement and convenience when they shop. A shopper is more likely to return if they have a positive shopping experience in a store. Retailers now acknowledge what shoppers are looking for and are expanding into the digital world to meet the needs of the shopper through their mobile apps. With mobile apps, the retailer can connect with shoppers so the buyer has more options and convenience when they shop at a store. Retail apps help to build long-term customer retailer relations and brand loyalty.

Many shoppers are now focusing their shopping experience on companies that use mobile apps and moving away from those that do not. Mobile apps that are easy to use for customers and offer convenience, are the ones that add value during the shopping experience for buyers.

App Developmment Challenges that Impact a Project

Each app development project has its own challenges, but some tend to surface all the time no matter what the project. There are several that can kill the project all together, but there are ways that you can overcome these challenges.

Budget Overruns and Project Delays
One of the biggest challenges that companies face are product delays in getting the product shipped. This problem occurs all the time in complex projects as well as smaller ones. Dependencies, improper capacity planning, poor processes and talent gaps are some of the reasons for delays.
Product delays also cause budget overruns as “time is money.” If you take a long time to release a product, you incur waste and higher costs.

How to Solve the Problem
It’s hard to avoid budget overruns and project delays, but you can reduce budget and time risks in projects.
• Have Iterative Development – You can’t have perfection with the first version of a product. If you aim for this, you’ll never get the product to the market in a timely manner. You need to ship frequently and quickly and you can improve the product based upon the user feedback that you get.
• Use Capacity Planning – If you don’t have the right capacity planning, you get budget overruns and product delays. If you don’t have the right team capacity, then the budget and time estimate won’t be correct. If you create a process which helps you to determine team capacity and then compare this with the project requirements, you can accurately predict velocity.
• Be Flexible – If you can’t adapt to changing needs this impacts budget and time. If you have flexibility in the app development process, you’ll manage the budget and your time and will adapt quickly when requirements change.

Talent Gaps and lack of In-House Experience
You may feel you can use existing QA teams for your mobile projects. This could be true, but you could also have talent gaps. This can be the case if you have employees who aren’t trained to develop apps. There can be as assumption that the in-house team can learn mobile technology quickly to meet the company needs, but this isn’t always possible.

How to Fix the Problem
You can hire talent or you might want to source a specialized app developer partner. If you can’t hire new staff to meet the need then source a specialized partner. Just make sure the vendor can meet the talent gaps you have. You can also look at:
• Integration with the team
• Retention and knowledge transfer
• Experience with similar projects
• Change your management processes
• Look at the overall development process

By looking at these considerations you will be able to account for concerns such as the ability to manage and account for change, ability to deliver product requirements, risk reduction such as personnel, budget and time.

You need to deal with changing properties as this and impact scope, timelines, and can ruin your budget. You can’t have rigid app development as any change or challenge might have serious consequences for the project.

If you’re flexible and adaptable, you’ll be able to deal with changing requirements and priorities. You may face common app development challenges, but they can be overcome or the risk of them occurring in the first place reduced. Issues are a direct result of product development so account for this during the process and you’ll reduce or eliminate risks to your success.

Building a Requirements Document for a Mobile App

The foundation of your product is going to be the mobile app requirements document. This outlines the business logic, lists the technical specifications and it helps guide the team from the early stage to the final product.

Your Business Requirements
To meet organizational objectives, you need business requirements. These will outline how the solution or product is going to address the needs of your company and the users.
There are certain considerations that need to be included when mapping out requirements for the document such as:
• What do you want to accomplish with the product?
• What is the purpose of your product?
• What problems will the product solve?
• How will it improve or streamline current processes or create a new process?
• What is the vision for the product?
• What is already in place and what will you need to add? Can you use existing assets or do you need to start the app from the ground up?
• What type of functionality will the app have?
• What are the needed features of the app?
• What is the business model or monetization?
• Will you need to follow certain guidelines or branding?
• Do you have a feasible ask?

Technical and Product Requirements
The technical and product requirements outline the technical and systemic needs for the product to achieve the right functionalities and desired features.
The following needs to be determined in the mobile apps document:
• What platform is needed such as iOS or Android?
• What versions of the operating system will be supported?
• What are current servers, services and databases?
• What are current maintenance needs and will you need to offer support in the future?
• How long will the app function before it needs to be overhauled
• Do you have the current documentation for API/services?
• Do you have Google, Apple, other accounts or credentials?
• What are your existing provisioning profiles, if any?
• Are there any other credentials that exist or will be needed?

The Dependencies
Dependencies are anything the product team or product has to rely on to meet objectives. This can include:
• Hardware that the app will communicate with or run on
• API/service documentation
• Credentials for accounts and profiles
• Third part software that the app relies on
• Documents, flowcharts, or other information that’s related to the product

The Assumptions
In the very early stages there are assumptions about the product which we think are true. These are based upon experience, knowledge, or recent information which may include:
• Assumptions we have about the user such as the % of users that will see value in the product and then become a regular user
• The technical assumptions such as a technical requirement that A will work on a recent operating system
• The business assumptions such as making the product within a specified timeframe

The Constraints
Limitations that the team must work with are the constraints. These are usually time, budget and scope. Other aspects like resources/staff, risk tolerance and quality requirements may also be included.

The Submission
The mobile app requirements document should include the technical assets and the information which is required to get into the app store. By defining these requirements you’ll expedite the submission process when your product is ready for its release.

What You Need to Keep in Mind
Here are some considerations and tips to be aware of for the mobile apps requirement document:
• The requirements document needs to be high-level. The product will most likely evolve and change as new information is available.
• You don’t need too much detail. You have to have a flexible requirements document so don’t draw out the document too much before the engineering actually begins. An intricate document will likely have to be changed as your project progresses and this wastes resources and time.
• You need input to build the requirements. Take advantage of the insight and experience of your team.

The goal of creating a mobile app requirements document is to have a foundation for a successful product. By mapping out the dependencies, technical, business requirements, assumptions, constraints, and submission assets, you give the team all it needs to get the project off and running.

“If You Don’t Have a Mobile Strategy, You Don’t Have a Future Strategy”

Have you gone mobile yet? This isn’t about getting out and delivering on the go. It’s about having a mobile strategy for your web presence. Without it, you won’t have a future in business. It’s time to think about mobile app development, and here are three reasons why.

It’s Where Your Customers Are
Your customers own smartphones. They expect their wanted businesses to be there, whether they’re using social media, looking for takeaways or need local repair shops. If you haven’t started your Android app development or got something for the iPhone, you’re letting people down. You’re missing out on a big target market that will help your business grow.

It’s Where Your Competitors Are
By the time you work on your iOS app development / Android app development it will be too late if you don’t start right now. Your competitors are already there. When customers can’t find you, they will look for your competitors instead. They’re not going to search for you again when they find your competitors already on their phones and tablets, so you’ve completely lost the market.

It’s Where Your Customer Services Need to Be
Whether your customer service team helps with problem solving or they deal with cancellations and sales, they need to be mobile. Sure, online chat helps but there are plenty of times when your customers will need to connect via an app. An app will improve responsiveness considerably, meaning your business comes across as more customer friendly. This will help with word of mouth.

It’s time to look into mobile app development right now. You’ll boost your business reputation and improve your marketing range. Be honest with yourself: why haven’t you done it yet? You’re missing out on a future for your business.