Mobile Musings: Tips for Mobilizing Your Retail Business
Mobile Apps
Depending on the needs of visitors and customers, a mobile app could be a viable option, often (though not necessarily) in addition to mobile website optimization. As with website customization on mobile devices, retailers have two options for app development. Once again, the primary differences are determined by what devices expected visitors are using and what kind of user experience and performance is required for the business.
- Hybrid apps: Hybrid apps use web technology to deliver information to users. Typically developed using standard programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript or CSS, they're relatively easy and inexpensive to build, which translates to lower costs and a potentially faster development cycle. In addition, as is the case with responsive websites, a single code base is applicable to every system in the mobile world, foregoing the need to develop different apps for various operating systems. In the same vein, a certain level of user experience tends to be sacrificed since the app cannot be tailored to specific devices to ensure full functionality.
- Native apps: What dedicated mobile websites are to responsive design, native apps are to hybrid apps. Native apps are written specifically for each platform (iOS, Android, Windows, etc.), with each platform requiring a completely different code base. These restrictions on the varying code bases can lead to a slower release cycle and a steeper learning curve of the specific programming languages and peculiarities (if done in-house), in addition to the need to maintain several code bases. However, native apps generally present the best user experience because of the platform customization.
Most retailers will find that optimizing a mobile website, whether it's through a responsive or dedicated strategy, is the first step towards more effectively reaching smartphone and tablet visitors. Mobile websites offer the same benefits as a regular website on a desktop or laptop, but are built with a mobile audience in mind. Sites are instantly available, easy to share via links and relatively easy to upgrade. Apps are generally a company's secondary deployment, but they can be absolutely vital to an organization depending on its need.
Retailers should consider creating an app if they want to reach visitors with special features requiring use of a mobile device's camera or GPS, such as image or barcode scanning for price comparison or localized in-store coupons. Ultimately, the mobile strategy that best suits a business depends on its customers. Understanding your customers and how they interact with your website will dictate the mobile tactics that prove most beneficial.
Ed Chung is the vice president of product management at Liferay, a provider of enterprise-class, open-source portal and collaboration software products. Ed can be reached at edwin.chung@liferay.com.
