With ShopApp, small online businesses can leverage the growth in mobile commerce and compete with larger retailers by offering a native ecommerce app for smartphones
SAN DIEGO, CA — Ecwid, the ecommerce platform that makes it a snap for anyone to sell their products anywhere, has launched ShopApp which lets merchants provide their own, branded automated mobile application. Since ShopApp is bundled into Ecwid’s core product and does not rely on third party extensions, Ecwid store owners now can offer an ecommerce app for their customers’ iOS and Android phones without writing a single line of code.
Before ShopApp, offering a native ecommerce app effectively was unthinkable both technically and economically for small businesses. In fact, a mobile developer was required to create and submit an app to iTunes and Google Play. In addition, constant updates were required to maintain and synchronize the app with the ecommerce solution, resulting in significant time and expense. Today, ShopApp empowers small retailers to offer an automated ecommerce app, similarly to how Ecwid first led the democratization of ecommerce software for SMBs back in 2009.
In 2014, 42% of all mobile sales generated by the leading 500 retailers came from mobile apps, according to Internet Retailer. Further, more than 2 billion consumers will complete a mobile commerce transaction by the end of 2017, says Juniper Research. With ShopApp, more small retailers can participate in the growth of mobile commerce and see their branded native mobile applications next to Amazon, Target and other major retailers’ apps on consumers’ mobile home screens.
ShopApp is unique in taking advantage of the operating system’s full functionality. This means that customers can checkout with Apple Pay or Android Pay, and have access to mobile-exclusive features such as push notifications and geography-based promotional items. Meanwhile, existing app builders use a hybrid app approach, merely repackaging websites as applications that unable to utilize the smartphone’s full capabilities. ShopApp’s store content, such as inventory, prices and product descriptions, is fully synchronized and integrated with a retailer’s online store, providing a seamless omnichannel ecommerce solution.
“With ShopApp, Ecwid is making a huge leap in how native ecommerce mobile apps are created and operate for smaller retailers globally,” said Ecwid President Jim O’Hara. “Similar to how the dramatic innovation in web development introduced by DIY sitebuilders like Wix, WordPress and Weebly democratized website creation, Ecwid now allows our merchants to create their own ecommerce apps instantly.”
About Ecwid
Ecwid is a cloud-based ecommerce platform used by over 900,000 merchants in 175 countries. It simply is the easiest way to add an online store to any website or social media site, and to manage multiple sites at once. When you sign up for a free Ecwid account, you get everything you need to start selling online in minutes. Ecwid easily integrates into any web presence and leading POS system, enabling you to market, merchandise and sell products and services from multiple online stores with mobile management and point-of-sale integration anywhere at any time.
For more information, visit http://www.ecwid.com/.
