Apps in eCommerce

By Adam  |  12 Jul 2015 18:00:00

In an interesting turn of events, India's biggest eComemrce company (Flipkart) has made a shocking transition: it is now available in app-form only. If you did a Google search and hoped to find their website all you'd find would be a page telling you to use their app. If you don't have a smartphone, this is one business you won't be able to use! So, we have to wonder: is that the future of eCommerce? Will there be no eCommerce websites, only eCommerce apps? Will the Sellr of 2025 be an app which helps you to create your own eCommerce app?

This might sound like a worrying piece of news if you've got an eCommerce website but you don't know anything about apps or smartphones, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. An important thing to keep in mind is that, while India's biggest eCommerce website may have gone app-exclusive, it did already have an app and over 70% of its customers used the site through the app. That does put a big 30% at risk, but a large portion of them will likely make the transition and you also have to account for the money they'll save by not having to maintain a website anymore. So there's not a huge element of risk, and becoming app-only is also likely to generate them a lot of publicity.

So will this be the trend for all eCommerce? Maybe one day, far in the future, but it's definitely not something to worry about. This change will be very gradual and I don't think that anyone really risks being 'left behind' as technology marches onward. The change will happen as we as a whole change; when everybody has a smartphone and is confident with it, that's when, potentially, eComemrce websites will become apps. But having said that, when you do run a business over the internet, it can't hurt to keep up with all the current technology and trends!