13 Innovative Mcommerce Apps Your Business Can Learn From

 

Smartphones and tablets now dominate a significant share of how we purchase items. Some mcommerce apps are so good that they’re practically reshaping traditional businesses. We’ve compiled a list of innovative apps that help users discover new products, make purchase processes incredibly easy and convenient and offer a great experience that users love coming back to.

 

Our attempt here is to help you find the key takeaway from these apps – the things/steps/changes you can undertake to get more downloads and improve the retention rate of your mobile commerce app.

 

1. Airbnb

 

 

 

We all know what Airbnb is. The Airbnb app uses a benefit-centric onboarding process. Meaning, it delivers a focused message at once so that users instantly know how the app will make life easier for them.

 

What you can learn from it: How your app can be integrated into the lives of your users through a “one screen, one concept” approach and communicate to them how they can benefit from the app within a few seconds.

 

 

2. GrubHub

 

 

GrubHub is a food delivery app that provides real-time updates to their users, letting them know of the status of their order. And as a really nice bonus, it uses conversational language in the push messages, which gives the whole a thing a more “human” touch.

 

What you can learn from it: By monitoring the delivery time, GrubHub sets an example of a stellar post-sales service. You can do the same in your mcommerce app and retain customers better than your competitors.

 

 

3. Dwolla

 

 

Available all over the US, Dwolla is mobile financial services app that lets individuals as well as businesses to send, request and accept money without the involvement of credit or debit cards. Users can pay or request payments through email, phone number or their Dwolla ID. The app is cross-platform and lets users make or receive money at no transaction fees.

 

What you can learn from it: For businesses, Dwolla has a feature called Dwolla MassPay. Through this, businesses can make mass payments at once. Business users can customize the app to integrate bank transfers. You can bring the same kind of flexibility in your mobile commerce app by allowing users to leverage your API.

 

4. Threadless

 

 

The Threadless app lets users submit their designs which are voted on by other users for the next seven days. At the end of that period, the design earns a score between 1 to 5. The score is used to decide what gets made.

 

What you can learn from it: The iOS 7-only app displays an endless feed full of original designs, giving artists a platform to showcase their ideas. Users can discover original designs, shop on the go and follow artists to browse more of their creations. The voting structure helps artists get printed. If you build an app for creative individuals, Threadless is a great source of inspiration.

 

5. Acorns

 

 

This is a slick app that automatically turns users’ spare change into investments. Through a process they call “round up”, Acorns automatically rounds up the spare change to the nearest dollar, then withdraws and invests the spare change in an ETF or exchange-traded fund. The mobile financial services app has been immensely popular among a generation that’s not known for making investments – the millennials.

 

What you can learn from it: Sheer ease of use. Acorns eliminates the need for going to the bank, opening and account and save money into that account every month. The mcommerce app transfers money straight away from the user’s’ account to an ETF. Convenience is the name of the game here.

 

6. Shyp

 

 

Shyp has redefined mailing. Not only does it take the hassle out of mailing things from one part of the country to another, it makes shipping fun. Users just have to take a photo of what they want to send and Shyp sends its courier to their doorstep to pick up the item(s). Users don’t even have to package the item(s). Shyp takes the item(s) to a nearby facility where professionals package the item(s) and send it on its way. Users can ship anything they want – from unwanted online purchases to gifts, from eBay sales to unused item(s) lying around the house.

 

What you can learn from it: The app’s latest update allows users to associate an address with a username, so that when they want to send something to someone, they just have to type in the recipient’s username. Extra ease of use? Forward thinking? You bet. Shyp offers an experience that people want and love. And the word around town is that the mobile commerce app is about to revolutionize the shipping industry the way Uber transformed the transportation industry.

 

7. Home Depot

 

 

The Home Depot app lets users scan product QR codes or UPC in order to access other user reviews, ratings and explore product features in detail. It also lets users to share the products on social media, find a store nearby, and see where exactly a product is located in the store aisles and even how many are in stock.

 

What you can learn from it: Letting your users compare products, make more informed purchase decisions, and locate their preferred product in the quickest way possible.

 

8. ATM Hunter

 

 

ATM Hunter is a mobile financial services app from MasterCard. It helps users locate the nearest ATMs with just a tap of a button. The app also offers financial information that’s useful to their users in more ways than one.

 

What you can learn from it: Helping users locate something they need in a quick and hassle-free way.

 

Here are some other mcommerce apps that are killing it:

 

9. Hollister

 

This is an app for people who love to wear jeans. The mcommerce app has a feed which displays a huge collection of stylish jeans in both front and back appearances. Though an Android app is available, it still works best on iOS.

What you can learn from it: Catering to users with a niche interest.

 

10. Wish

 

Available in North America and Europe, Wish is a marketplace full of Chinese manufacturers. It houses mainly trending fashion, accessories and electronic gadgets and provides great discounts. The app observes user’s browsing behavior and shows products accordingly in a streamlined, personalized feed, removing clutter.

 

What you can learn from it: Personalization at its best.

 

11. Handy

 

Handy is an app to hire handymen and home cleaners. Available in more than 20 cities in North America, Canada and UK, the mobile commerce app lets users pay securely via their mobile devices, check the progress of their bookings, manage bookings and even rate the services.

 

What you can learn from it: This app is an inspiration for service-oriented businesses. If you run a service business, you can give your competitors a run for their money with an mcommerce app like this. Build it in such a way that users just have to specify what service they need, when they need and where.

 

12. Raise

 

Raise is a virtual marketplace where you can buy and sell gift cards at large discounts. The transactions happen instantly. The app shows you discounts or gift cards from nearby stores. Unlike other gift card finding platforms, Raise gives the buyer instant access to the gift cards they’ve purchased.

 

What you can learn from it: Because of the instant access to gift cards, Raise is a lot like a coupon marketplace which users can visit when they are planning to make a purchase. Besides, Raise allows users to redeem their savings online as well as in store. You can introduce something similar in your app that would give users instant access to a discount and even the flexibility to save something for later.

 

13. Cover

 

Cover is a mobile payment app that takes waiting out of the equation. Using cover, diners no longer have to wait for the check. They just have to join a restaurant table in the app and then they can pay and even leave a tip (an amount of their choice). The mcommerce app also splits the bill automatically whenever it’s necessary. Available in the San Francisco area, New York and Salt Lake City.

 

What you can learn from it: Saving your users’ time and giving them total control over how much they spend, while making the whole process very convenient for them.

 

Hope this helps you explore some app improvement ideas. Share your ideas with us in the comments. And if you’d like to discuss your mcommerce app project, then let’s have a Skype video call or better yet, drop by in our Sacramento office. Here’s our email: business@theappchicks.com