In 2023, having a mobile app for your Dokan Marketplace store is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity. Mobile ecommerce is growing faster than ever, with people around the world increasingly shopping on their smartphones. To stay competitive and reach more customers, you need to have a mobile app in order to make sure you’re not missing out on any potential revenue.
The good news is that you don’t need to invest large sums of money in a fully custom native app. You can use a Dokan Marketplace mobile app builder and create a fully-functional, high-quality mobile app for a fraction of the cost.
In this post, we’re going to look at how you can easily create a mobile app for your Dokan Marketplace store. Keep reading to find out more.
Why You Need a Mobile App
More than 72% of the total ecommerce market share was captured by mobile in 2022, showing a significant increase from slightly over 52% in just five years.
This aligns with the prevailing trend of mobile internet usage, which continues to gain momentum each year. Currently, mobile holds over 50% of the market share in comparison to desktop and tablet.
Moreover, a notable 15% of Americans exclusively rely on smartphones for internet access, indicating a future direction for ecommerce — customers who are not only mobile-first but mobile-only, as highlighted in a report by Pew Research.
While optimizing your website for mobile is a starting point, you can't stop there. Mobile apps offer an enhanced user experience, resulting in improvements across various key performance metrics, including:
- Higher conversion rates
- Increased average order value
- Greater product engagement per session
It's worth noting that further findings illustrate a twofold increase in the likelihood of returning to the store within a month for users of a mobile app designed for ecommerce compared to those who are using mobile browsers.
Furthermore, mobile apps serve as an excellent tool for nurturing and maintaining loyal, repeat customers. A Dokan Marketplace mobile app can yield significant benefits for your business.
Can You Create Mobile Apps for Dokan Marketplace?
You can’t launch a mobile app straight from Dokan Marketplace. It's designed especially for webstores. To put together a mobile app using Dokan Marketplace, you’ll need some extra help, such as:
- A third-party mobile app builder.
- A tech-enabled assistance to turn your Dokan Marketplace store into a mobile application.
- A team of engineers to make apps for Android and iOS and link them to your Dokan Marketplace shop.
Can I Turn My Dokan Marketplace Store into an App?
Using one of the methods we mentioned, you can transform a Dokan Marketplace store into an app.
However, it is strongly suggested by most store owners to avoid the third option (hiring developers to create native apps). The main reason behind this is that mobile apps are quite costly. Establishing a native app for one operating system alone can range from $30,000 to an astonishing $150,000. And if you want to launch apps for both Android and iOS, then double the cost!
Developing an app is a complex and lengthy process, and the costs can pile up even higher when your developers need to build an API and connect the back end of your apps to your Dokan Marketplace store.
It is highly likely you don't have the budget for such a task - and that's before taking into consideration the annual costs of keeping your app running.
The Recurring Cost of Having an App
Many folks don’t think about the repeating expenses associated with establishing an app. Keeping it running - from OS updates, Dokan Marketplace updates, bug fixes, and new features - will cost you a minimum of 15-20% of the original cost each year.
It could be even more. When Rainbow Apparel was app-building, VP of Marketing David Cost did extensive research and found the cost could be up to a million annually, saying:
“If we had infinite cash and time, we would go for a custom native app, but it costs half a million to a million yearly to maintain.”
Let’s be conservative and say it costs $150,000 to set up apps for both mobile platforms. On the low-end, upkeep and maintenance will still cost $30,000 a year.
That is too costly for the majority of store owners. Not to mention the headache of managing multiple platforms beyond your website, which triples the workload any time you want to make alterations to your site.
The Best Way to Turn Your Dokan Marketplace Store into an App
The best choice is to convert your Dokan Marketplace store into an app using a mobile app builder.
A mobile app builder will switch your already existing Dokan Marketplace website to a near-native mobile app, which people can download and install on their cell phones.
The finest mobile app builders provide you with an app that grants 90-95% of what you acquire with a natural app, but more cost-efficiently and with less trouble. Nevertheless, be aware that not all options in the market are adequate for developing high-traffic, professional mobile apps that will accurately represent your brand.
How to Convert Dokan Marketplace to App
If you’re a big brand with the funds to hire coders and developers – think Nike, Walmart, Zara – you can easily make a native app.
But if you don’t have those resources, MobiLoud is a great option. It’s easy, cost-effective, and fast. Plus, keeping your app running is a breeze, and much cheaper.
Here’s the deal, step-by-step.
Step One: Preview Your App or Get a Free Consultation
You can start the process of creating a mobile app in two distinct ways.
- Jump in and generate a free preview of what your mobile app will appear like in the MobiLoud builder.
- Alternatively, join one of our free consultation calls with one of our app professionals to explore your project and get an outline of how it will work.
Whichever route you take, you’ll see that 90% of the effort to make your app is already done, as long as your site is already mobile-friendly.
If you require assistance optimizing your site, don't hesitate to tell us and we'll be glad to help! This is a crucial step to make the remaining stages as painless as possible.
Step Two: Work With Our Team to Build Your App
When you’re ready to start building, sign up to MobiLoud. All our plans include a 60-day money-back guarantee, and require no long-term commitment.
You’ll work with our squad to configure and design your app. Remember that the majority of the work is already completed. You don’t have to build a brand new UI from the ground up, just weigh in on a few refinements to make it look and act like a native app.
Once you’re happy with the design, we’ll get to work and create your mobile app. We handle everything technical - you don’t have to have any knowledge of coding or development.
If you prefer our team to manage the complete process, start to finish, we can do that too. Our full-service package encompasses everything necessary to configure, design and publish your app, allowing you to be totally hands-off.
Step Three: Prepare for Launch
When your app development is complete, you'll be ready to introduce it to the public. It's crucial to have a solid launch plan in place to drive app downloads.
We provide assets for app store descriptions, launch announcements for your website and email list, press releases, and more. Furthermore, you can set up additional features at no extra cost, including smart app banners and app-exclusive discounts, to incentivize your current customers to shop using the app.
Step Four: Launch and Submit Your Apps to the App Stores
Finally, we'll launch your apps to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
While this submission process is infamous for being challenging for first-time app owners and developers, you don't have to worry. We’ve gone through the process thousands of times, and know it like the back of our hand.
We offer a 100% app approval guarantee and will handle multiple submissions and updates if needed. You won't have to lift a finger.
Once your listings are live, you can begin to acquire downloads and experience all the rewards that come with having your own Dokan Marketplace mobile app.
Wrapping Up – Why You Should Use MobiLoud to Convert Your Dokan Marketplace Store into a Mobile App
We are witnessing a significant shift in the mobile landscape. The majority of your current revenue likely comes from mobile sources. And if that's not yet the case, it will be soon.
When it comes to your Dokan Marketplace store, a mobile-optimized website alone is not enough. To fully capitalize on the revenue potential from your mobile users, offering your own branded app is crucial.
But don't panic. Transforming a Dokan Marketplace store into a mobile app has become easily achievable, provided you follow the right steps and rely on the right app builders. Instead of spending a large sum of money on mobile developers, MobiLoud offers an affordable and user-friendly solution.
Let's highlight the many reasons you can trust MobiLoud as your Dokan Marketplace app builder:
- It comes at a fraction of the cost of custom app development.
- You can launch professional, top-quality apps in less than a month.
- Your apps will retain all the features that make your website exceptional, including product collections, payment gateways, plug-ins, tools, themes, and more.
- Everything stays in sync across web, Android, and iOS platforms. Any changes you make on your site will be immediately reflected in your apps.
- You can leave behind the worries of submitting your apps to the app stores – we guarantee approval.
- Our team will provide comprehensive support throughout the entire process, handling all the challenging aspects on your behalf.
With this simple app builder, you can launch your own shopping apps and proudly join the ranks of the world's top brands without having to know how to code.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with us now to discover how we can assist you in launching your Dokan Marketplace app. Book a free, personalized demo, and one of our app professionals will guide you through the entire process.
