Your shoppers are on mobile. Your competitors are on mobile. Is your brand? If your Shopify isn’t mobile-first, you’re losing customers and leaving money on the table.

Relying solely on your ecommerce website isn’t enough anymore. Mobile apps are the beating heart of competitive ecommerce, delivering speed, personalization, and seamless experiences customers expect.

Here’s why Shopify brands can’t afford to ignore mobile apps:

• Retail orders grew on mobile while desktop declined between Q3 2023 and Q3 2024, according to Statista.
• The average U.S. smartphone shopper spends 14 hours and 25 minutes per year browsing mobile shopping apps, according to Capital One Shopping Research.
• 96% of 18- to 44-year-olds have at least one shopping app on their phones, and 50% of online consumers use apps to shop regularly.

Without a mobile app, your brand will struggle to compete with rising ad costs, growing competition, and increasing customer expectations.

Let’s dive into key signs it’s time for your Shopify store to build your own mobile app.

Why apps are the future (and the present) of ecommerce

Customers expect seamless, personalized, and memorable experiences, and mobile apps deliver where other channels fall short. If you’re not delivering convenience, your customers won’t hesitate to find a brand that is.

Here’s why an app could be the solution to the challenges holding your ecommerce brand back:

Better UX = higher conversions

60% of mobile shoppers prefer apps over mobile websites because they provide a better user experience, according to Capital One Shopping Research.

Promotions that actually hit

51% of mobile shoppers prefer apps over mobile websites for promotions and discounts, and 30% because they offer access to exclusive products, according to Capital One. Mobile apps are one of the best places to treat your top customers like VIPs.

Push notifications that deliver direct revenue

Push notifications are a direct line to your customers — more personal than an email and less intrusive than SMS. They’re especially powerful for younger generations, with 52% of Gen Z reporting they react positively to them, according to the 2024 BFCM Consumer Trends Report.

A competitive edge

AR try-ons. AI-powered personalization, in-app content hubs, and more. Mobile apps are becoming the center of consumer innovation and will help you lay the groundwork for future advancements.

A mobile app solves specific challenges for ecommerce brands: low mobile conversions, rising customer acquisition costs, and the need for deeper customer loyalty. It’s a way to simplify the shopping journey, connect with your audience in real time, and offer experiences your competitors can’t match.

6 signs it’s time for your Shopify store to get a mobile app

Ecommerce success comes down to creating an experience that keeps customers engaged, coming back, and excited to shop with you. For many brands, there’s a gap between effort and results — despite your best strategies, the numbers just aren’t where they should be.

Maybe your mobile website traffic is up, but orders haven’t followed, or your marketing spending is climbing, but the ROI isn’t. These pain points could signal your brand is ready for a mobile app.

1. You have high mobile traffic but low mobile orders

Your brand has all the right pieces: a growing social following, great engagement, solid email opens, and a steady stream of mobile traffic numbers. But if that’s not translating into revenue, the problem likely lies with your mobile shopping experience.Mobile websites can be clunky, slow, and prone to easy distractions, which makes your customers less likely to convert. On the other hand, a mobile app provides a fast, personalized, and frustration-free customer journey. 

‍Real-world example:

‍CPG brand Naked Harvest recognized their website wasn’t delivering and wasn’t optimized for conversions. When they invested in a mobile app alongside their new website, the results spoke volumes: 142% higher conversion rate on the app compared to their mobile website.

By prioritizing a frustration-free shopping experience, Naked Harvest created a seamless mobile app experience. This experience engaged customers more effectively while optimizing marketing spend to generate higher-value orders. 

"Our website was not optimized for conversions. The more people that we could get into the app, the better experience we were going to have. So much of our spend is on traffic, so if we know we can provide them with a better journey, then we're definitely going to do that.”
‍Chantel Brayley, Director of Marketing at Naked Harvest

2. You’re not seeing marketing ROI

Marketing costs are rising across the board. Paid social ads are expensive, SMS gets more costly as you grow, and email open rates are underwhelming. If your current channels aren’t delivering the ROI you need, it’s time to add a more cost-effective option to the mix.Push notifications — something you only get through a mobile app — often outperform other channels, delivering a 7x higher click-through rate than email. Aside from Baby Boomers, push outperforms SMS across all other generations by a significant margin. 2024 BFCM shoppers indicate that relative to reach, mobile app push notifications are:

• 127.2% more likely to elicit a purchase than paid ads
• 124.8% more likely to elicit a purchase than email
• 20.7% more likely to elicit a purchase than SMS

With push notifications, you can deliver timely and contextual messages that resonate with your customers and get them to take action — without breaking the bank.

‍Real-world example

‍BrüMate, a powerhouse in the drinkware and cooler industry, sought to add a channel to their marketing strategy that is cost-effective and reliable — something their team could fully own and control. Enter the mobile app, which ultimately drives 56% higher sales per session compared to the website.

With push notifications outperforming both SMS and email campaigns in engagement and cost-effectiveness, BrüMate found a reliable and scalable channel they could fully own. The result? A better marketing efficiency ratio (MER) with a marketing strategy that works harder for their business.

"Push is significantly cheaper, and the engagement gap is widening. For any campaign, we see push first, then email second, and SMS is at the bottom of that list. It’s not nearly as scalable.”
‍Hans Harris, Director of Growth at BrüMate

3. You’re struggling with retention

So much about staying competitive in the ecommerce space is building a brand experience your customers want to come back to again and again. A mobile app creates a hub for your top fans, giving them the VIP experience that keeps them coming back.Mobile app shoppers are twice as likely to return to a store within 30 days compared to desktop shoppers. With features like exclusive content and app-only products, an app is the perfect place to strengthen retention.

‍Real-world example

‍HOP WTR is a California-made sparkling booze-free alternative to a beer. When the team wanted to elevate their customer experience, they turned to a mobile app to better connect with their audience and build lasting loyalty, improving metrics like lifetime value (LTV) and retention.

• 40% higher AOV on the app compared to the website
• 20% higher LTV on the app vs. the website
• 139% conversion rate increase on the app vs. the website

The team turned the app into a content hub, building in-app features like event trackers and recipes to create ongoing value.

"The numbers don’t lie. Having this app experience seems to deepen the relationship and drive repeat purchases.”
‍Brad Nogle, VP of eCommerce at HOP WTR

4. You have low conversions (especially at checkout)

A complicated or slow checkout process kills conversions. Customers get frustrated with form fields, logins, or distractions and abandon their carts.In fact, a mobile app can generate 63% more conversion rates than a mobile website.* A push notification can take a customer directly to their cart, reducing that friction and boosting conversions.

‍Real-world example:

‍Obvi is a health and wellness brand that has made a name for itself with innovative supplements, from beauty to gut health. With a growing customer base, the team recognized that their biggest opportunity was making repeat purchases as easy as possible for their fans. A mobile app made reordering seamless and ultimately the Obvi team saw a 100% lift in conversions on the app vs. mobile web.

By simplifying the checkout process, Obvi ensured customers could reorder their favorite products quickly and easily. The app became the ultimate tool for easy transactions and building long-term loyalty.

"Once you've acquired a customer and they want to buy from you again, you should make it as easy as possible because they've made the hardest decision already. And what is the easiest way for someone who's decided to buy again? We believe that the app is helping solve that.”
‍Ron Shah, CEO & Co-Founder at Obvi

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5. You’re growing a community

If you’re struggling to grow a community with a channel you own (and not on a channel that can shut down for 12 hours), a mobile app is key. They foster a sense of community through personalized recommendations, wishlists, and content hubs that keep customers engaged beyond the checkout.

More importantly, apps allow you to control the narrative and maintain direct access to your audience. You can tailor experiences, foster loyalty, and build deeper connections in a space that’s entirely yours.

‍Real-world example:

‍Beauty brand Glamnetic recognized that their best customers wanted more than great products — they wanted a premium, personalized experience. They turned their mobile app into a hub that created a direct link to their community, and it reaped impressive results.

• 92% retention rate among app users
• 2.6x higher conversion rate compared to the mobile web
• 126x return on app spend

Glamnetic app centered around giving their customers a VIP experience and turning them into lifelong fans.

"From a pure cost ROI perspective, Tapcart users have a much higher AOV and LTV than customers buying off of Tapcart. We are upsizing the customers by giving them a better experience in the app.”
Kevin Gould, Co-Founder at Glamnetic

6. You think mobile apps are only for large, well-established businesses

Many mid-sized ecommerce brands assume that mobile apps are only for large enterprises with dedicated development teams and massive budgets.  But in reality, brands of all sizes can see massive ROI from launching an app.

A mobile app isn’t about adding complexity. It’s about simplifying and scaling what’s already working. 

‍Real-world example:

‍Type One Style proves that even a small, niche business can see massive results with a mobile app. Founded to provide stylish, protective patches for diabetes monitoring devices, the company started with a $6K loan and grew into a global brand selling over a million units. But as a single-person team, Founder Charlie Cawsey needed an efficient way to scale.

A mobile app became the game-changer. Instead of battling rising ad costs and losing customers in the “retargeting gauntlet,” Type One Style used the app to create a faster path to purchase, build a loyal community, and market smarter.

‍The results?

• 9x ROI on the app
• 154% higher CVR compared to mobile web
• 42% higher AOV

By prioritizing app-first marketing using QR codes, push notifications, and direct app downloads as the goal of ad campaigns, Charlie built a profitable, high-retention business without an expensive, complex marketing machine.

"Your customer journey is a product as well. You could have the best product in the world, but if you're on some ancient Microsoft Paint website, no one will buy from you. A sleek, high-converting app gives instant credibility—and it shows in the numbers.”
Charlie Cawsey, Founder & Managing Director at One Style

How a mobile app strengthens your entire sales and marketing strategy

A mobile app doesn’t work in isolation. It amplifies your existing sales channels, helping create an omnichannel ecosystem for your customers. 

Here’s how a mobile app can help enhance your efforts in other areas of your business.

Gather actionable insights

Your app is a goldmine of data about your most loyal customers. Use it to understand their preferences, buying habits, and behaviors. Then, apply those insights across your other sales channels to replicate their loyalty. 

Test new products and messaging

With your loyal customers corralled into one channel, you have the perfect opportunity to test new product launches, marketing messages, or loyalty programs. Gauge customer reactions in the app to see what sticks before rolling it out to your entire audience.

Drive traffic with push notifications

Push notifications don’t have to be limited to promoting mobile sales. Use them to alert app users about in-store events, flash sales, or special promotions encouraging customers to visit physical locations. 

Integrate social and paid ads

Streamline the path from discovery to purchase with deep linking. Whether customers discover your products on social media or through paid ads, deep links can take them directly to the relevant page in your app, reducing friction and driving conversions.

Create a VIP customer experience

A mobile app elevates your brand experience by offering app exclusives, early access to launches, and special rewards that turn casual shoppers into VIP customers. With the app as their go-to shopping destination, customers feel more connected to your brand, leading to higher engagement, repeat purchases, and long-term loyalty.

Enhance customer support

When done right, a mobile app strengthens all your sales channels while creating a new way to engage with customers. 

Unlock your Shopify store’s full potential with a mobile app

For Shopify brands, a mobile app is a powerful extension of your store. It turns mobile traffic into loyal customers, reduces marketing inefficiencies, and creates a premium shopping experience your customers will keep coming back for.

An app gives your brand the agility to adapt to new trends, the tools to deliver cutting-edge experiences, and the ability to meet your customers where they already are: on mobile.

Ready to transform your Shopify store? Book a demo with Tapcart