Your BigCommerce Enterprise store might have complex technical quirks such as:
- Multi-storefront setups across brands or regions.
- B2B pricing tiers and quote workflows running alongside DTC.
- A checkout flow optimized over years, connected to your ERP, your payment stack, your loyalty program.
- Aheadless frontend through Catalyst.
- A Stencil theme customized well beyond the defaults.
That's a significant investment in your web presence. But there's a gap.
Your mobile traffic is growing (it probably already accounts for the majority of your sessions), and you don't have a native app. Or you have one that's fallen behind your website, costs too much to maintain, and doesn't reflect the experience your customers actually get on the web.
Either way, if you don’t have a mobile app that delivers a consistent experience with your website, you're leaving money on the table.
The question? How to fix it without kicking off another massive project.
This guide breaks down the realistic options for BigCommerce Enterprise merchants who want a native app that actually lives up to their web experience.
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Can You Build a Mobile App on BigCommerce?
Not natively. BigCommerce is a commerce platform, not a mobile app builder. There's no "generate app" button in your dashboard, and BigCommerce doesn't offer a first-party mobile app product.
Here's what does exist:
Headless frontends and PWA capabilities
If you're running a headless setup through Catalyst (BigCommerce's Next.js-based storefront toolkit) or another framework, your storefront is likely already a Progressive Web App. That gives you a fast, responsive mobile web experience and technically allows customers to add your store to their home screen.
In practice, though, the add-to-home-screen flow is not intuitive, and almost no one does it. You also don't get App Store or Google Play presence, push notifications are limited (especially on iOS), and there's no way for customers to discover your brand by searching the app stores.
A PWA is a solid mobile web experience. It's not a substitute for a native app.
A small third-party app builder market
Unlike Shopify, which has dozens of mobile app builders, BigCommerce has a handful. Tools like Sandbox Commerce and AppNotch offer no-code app builders starting around $99/month that can generate a mobile app from your store.
These work for simpler BigCommerce stores. But for an Enterprise merchant with multi-storefront configurations, B2B pricing logic, custom checkout flows, or a headless frontend, they hit their limits fast.
App builders are designed for SMB stores with standard product catalogs, not complex enterprise setups.
The bottom line
BigCommerce gives you a powerful commerce engine and an extensive API. What it doesn't give you is a clear path from your storefront to a native mobile app, especially one that handles the complexity of an Enterprise setup.
Your Options for Launching a Mobile App
For BigCommerce Enterprise brands, there are two realistic paths to a native app.
Custom Native Development
You hire a mobile dev team (or an agency) to build iOS and Android apps from scratch, connecting them to BigCommerce's APIs.
This is a full development project: discovery, design, frontend build, API integration, testing, deployment. Your developers need to understand both mobile frameworks and BigCommerce's data model, catalog structure, and checkout APIs.
For an Enterprise store, the initial build typically runs $150,000 to $500,000+, with annual maintenance of $50,000 to $100,000+ for OS updates, app store compliance, and keeping features in sync with your website.
If you have multi-storefront, B2B, or complex integrations, the number goes higher.
But the real cost isn't the upfront build. It's the ongoing operational burden.
You now have a separate codebase. Every new product category, every pricing rule change, every checkout update, every storefront redesign needs to be replicated in the app. Your multi-storefront logic, your B2B account hierarchies, your ERP integration - all of it needs a parallel implementation in native code.
The most likely scenario is you'll put off the work needed to keep your app up to date, and it will fall into disrepair.
Custom development only makes sense if your app needs to do things your website fundamentally can't - proprietary functionality, hardware integrations, complex offline workflows. If the goal is to give customers a native app version of your existing storefront, there's a much more practical path.
Extending Your Website Into a Native App with MobiLoud
MobiLoud takes the BigCommerce Enterprise storefront you've already built and delivers it as a native iOS and Android app.
Your existing storefront powers the app. Your Stencil theme or headless frontend, your B2B pricing, your multi-storefront setup, your checkout flow, your integrations - everything carries over.
MobiLoud adds native capabilities on top: push notifications, native navigation, deep linking, and full App Store and Google Play presence.
The cost is a fraction of custom development. The timeline is weeks (not months or years). And because the app renders your live website, every change you make to your storefront is reflected in the app automatically.
Why MobiLoud is the Best Way for BigCommerce Enterprise Stores to Launch an App
Most BigCommerce Enterprise merchants don't need to build an app from scratch. They need the storefront they've already invested in to work as a native app. That's exactly what MobiLoud does, and it's purpose-built for the kind of complexity that Enterprise stores bring to the table.
Your entire BigCommerce setup carries over
Your product catalog, your checkout flow, your payment integrations (all 65+ gateways BigCommerce supports), your shipping rules, your promotions, your customer groups - none of it changes. The app renders your storefront, which is already connected to everything. There's no new integration layer to build.
If you're running a headless frontend through Catalyst or a custom Next.js/React build, that works too. MobiLoud delivers whatever your customers see on the web, regardless of the underlying architecture.
Multi-storefront, handled
BigCommerce Enterprise's multi-storefront capability lets you run multiple brands or regions from one dashboard. That complexity doesn't have to be a blocker for mobile.
MobiLoud works with your multi-storefront setup - whether that means one app that handles multiple storefronts, or separate apps for each brand or locale. We specialize in helping brands with complex multi-region and multi-brand configurations get this right.
B2B workflows don't get left behind
If you're using BigCommerce's B2B Edition, your account hierarchies, contract pricing, quote management, purchase order workflows, and buyer portal all work in the app. You're not trying to rebuild that logic in a native framework or hoping a $99/month app builder can handle it.
For brands running hybrid B2B and B2C operations on the same BigCommerce instance, the app respects all of that segmentation automatically.
No second codebase to manage
This is where the enterprise ROI is clearest. Update your website, the app reflects the change. Launch a new storefront? Roll out a new payment method? Redesign your product pages? It's live in the app without a separate deployment cycle.
You're not coordinating release schedules across web, iOS, and Android teams. You're not worrying about version drift between channels. One source of truth, multiple delivery surfaces.
Native push notifications that reach your best customers
Your app gives you a direct, owned channel to your most engaged customers. Push notifications through a native app reach people who've actively chosen to download and keep your app on their phone - these are high-intent, high-LTV buyers.
Native push shows up instantly on the lock screen, supports rich media and deep linking (land customers directly on a product page, a flash sale, or their open cart), and doesn't compete with the noise of email inboxes or SMS.
For abandoned cart recovery, restock alerts, loyalty promotions, and flash sales, it's one of the highest-ROI channels available.
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A fully managed service built for enterprise
MobiLoud isn't a self-serve tool. We handle the entire process: the app build, app store submissions, ongoing maintenance, OS updates, and policy compliance.
Your team stays focused on your BigCommerce storefront and your roadmap. We handle everything on the app side. That's a fundamentally different model from DIY app builders that hand you a dashboard and wish you luck.
How It Works
Getting from your BigCommerce Enterprise storefront to a live native app is straightforward, and it doesn't pull your development team off their priorities.
- Start with a free preview. Share your store URL, and we'll build an interactive preview so you can see exactly what your storefront looks like as a native app. No commitment, no technical setup required on your end.
- We build your app. Once you're ready, MobiLoud configures the native layer - push notifications, navigation, app icon, splash screen, deep linking, and anything specific to your setup (multi-storefront routing, B2B portal handling, etc.).
- You test, we iterate. Comprehensive QA across iOS and Android devices. You test on your own hardware and flag anything that needs adjustment.
- We handle the app stores. MobiLoud manages the full Apple App Store and Google Play submission process, including compliance requirements and metadata.
- Your app goes live, and stays live. We handle ongoing maintenance, OS updates, and app store policy changes on an ongoing basis. You keep building your website.
Your BigCommerce infrastructure stays untouched. Your integrations keep running. The storefront you've spent years optimizing becomes a native app with a dedicated channel for engagement and retention.
Ready to see what’s possible? Get a free app strategy call to discuss the process, and if it’s the right way to launch your BigCommerce mobile app.
Next Steps
You've already done the hard work. Your BigCommerce Enterprise storefront is live, optimized, and generating revenue. Your integrations are wired up. Your B2B workflows are running. Your multi-storefront setup is dialed in.
All of that becomes your native app, without rebuilding a single thing.
The cost is a fraction of what a custom mobile app would run you, and you'll have it live before your next quarterly review.
Want to see what it looks like? Book a strategy call. Our app experts will talk it over with you, show you an interactive preview of your BigCommerce store as an app, and give an honest opinion on the most effective way for you to turn your BigCommerce Enterprise store into a native mobile app.
