eCommerce Mobile App vs Website: Which is Better Solution in 2024?

The e-commerce industry is booming after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a tremendous amount of retailers are embracing online stores to avoid physical visits and give their customers flexibility. Also, eCommerce business have arisen in 2024 to replace the traditional methods.

You can look at the exponential growth of the eCommerce market in the below graph posted by Rakuten Intelligence amid the Coronavirus outbreak.

So when you're jumping into the e-commerce industry, there are two optimal solutions available i.e. developing an eCommerce app vs website.

Basic understanding of eCommerce website and Mobile application

An E-commerce website consists of a domain name that can be accessed by anyone having an internet connection while mobile apps run on mobile devices across two popular operating systems – Android & iOS. However, the app users need to download your application to browse through your products and make a purchase.

The use of mobile phones is increasing rapidly and according to research, 70% of people are using mobile devices for online shopping.

So the question pops out is - Which is a better solution for your eCommerce store? Mobile apps or Websites?

Well, unfortunately, there is no one-line answer for this, it highly depends upon various parameters such as your business goals. budget, target audience, and nature of the online business.

Most of the popular e-commerce giants such as Amazon, eBay, and Flipkart are focusing on both the strategies – Mobile app and website. But this is not possible for every business as they are bound by limited cost, timeline, and manpower, forcing them to settle for a middle-ground solution.

With that said, we’ll analyze both the options in the following listed parameters and will declare the winner in each.

Cost & Timeline

Usually cost and timeline of developing eCommerce apps compatible with both iOS and Android devices are significantly higher than creating eCommerce platforms.

This is true to a great extent because there are multiple CMS options available that offer ready-made exclusive eCommerce themes & plugins such as Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento. They can not only provide you with cost-effective solutions but also develop your website within a week or even less.

Winner – eCommerce Website

Personalized User Experience

Well, the user experience may seem unimportant but it plays a vital role in customer retention. Failing to provide the right call to action and unidentified bugs will have a negative impact and as there are many transactions involved in the eCommerce process this may lead to critical problems.

Users may tolerate it for the very first time but poor UX will eventually result in users avoiding your website or deleting your best eCommerce apps.  And no one wants to lose their hard-earned customer loyalty.

Now let's cut to the chase, eCommerce platform may provide a decent customer experience but when it comes to personalizing things, there is no better match than having an application. That's where you get engaged with your users 24x7.

Exclusive ads, push notifications, offers, coupons or scratch cards, prompt order tracking, enhanced security, and much more on their fingertips at super fast speed, unlike websites where they have to open the browser, type the URL, and Sign in.

Winner – eCommerce Mobile Application

Search Engine Optimization

Who doesn't love organic traffic for free? This is the area in which eCommerce mobile application misses out completely.

Optimizing your eCommerce website for Google and other search engines will drive tremendous traffic and various content marketing strategies will increase your reach and brand awareness.

Nowadays, companies optimize their application description and name to get decent rankings in app store search results which is also known as application SEO or ASO (App store optimization). But still, it doesn't even come close to the way you do it with your website - optimizing content, Title, Header Tags etc. on every page.

Hence, hiring an expert SEO team will produce a lucrative ROI for your eCommerce conversion optimization.

Winner – eCommerce Website

Offline Usability

Have you ever thought about your users when they aren’t connected to the internet?

Websites may not help here but Mobile applications can store data on a user's device which can be accessed anytime.

Although all the customer data is not stored, it may consist of some important information about recent products browsed, order IDs and invoices which can often be very helpful.

Winner – eCommerce Mobile Application

Advertisement and Marketing

To increase your sales it’s really important to keep this factor in mind. However, you can do marketing of your products and services on many social media platforms and other digital channels that will redirect users to your eCommerce website and mobile app as well.

But you should keep in mind that people tend to avoid installing random mobile applications unless and until something is fascinating.

On the other hand, in the case of a website, they can purchase within a few clicks rather than waiting for the app to be downloaded.

Winner – eCommerce Website

Maintenance

From regular security checks to stay updated with the latest technology trends and content refinement processes, there is much more maintenance work involved in keeping your eCommerce website or Mobile app up-to-date.

You can appoint an expert web developer or freelancer to maintain your eCommerce website from A to Z. But for Mobile applications, you need to hire two different native developers - Android and iOS.

And latest cross-platform technologies like Flutter and React Native may allow you to shoot two birds with one stone, thereby saving an ample amount of cost.

Result – Draw

Conclusion

eCommerce website is really important for having an online store presence while mobile application offers amazing personalized user experience at blazing speed. We recommend having both so you don't miss out on any crucial parameters.

But if you’ve got a limited budget and looking for an apt solution then you have to consider many vast factors and data-driven statistics. 

So if you’re still confused, you can reach us and book a free consultation. We’ll provide tailored eCommerce solution after understanding needs and requirements of your business.