Local fashion stores attract regular and new customers from time to time. They see a lot of inventory movement and they want their customers to be updated about new stock and offers.
If you have a fashion store and wish to ensure the you know the pulse of your customers and want them to be aware of the updates in your store’s merchandise, then a great tool you can use for regular communication with your customers is a mobile app. Use app builders to make an app that helps achieve your business objectives.
More and more users, especially millennials, are getting comfortable with online shopping. (Source: article on mobile app statistics)
Users check their mobile phones when they are bored. They check the web before making a purchase online, and Amazon shopping app is one of the most preferred apps among millennials globally.
Users also spend more time on apps then on the web. This shows that all the businesses should prepare to sell to users who are used to or getting used to purchasing through apps or consuming content and media through apps.
Therefore, fashion stores, can create a mobile app to engage their store customers on a regular basis. This will help them increase revenue and decrease marketing cost for the store.
You can make your app with the help of an online app builder like AppMySite.
Here are a few ways in which fashion stores can use a fashion app to retain users and engage them:
1. Send notifications about the latest discounts and end-of-season sales
You can send push-notifications to your users through the app, so that your users are able to see your marketing or transactional messages on their mobile screens easily. This helps communicate with customers easily and in a cost-effective manner.
You can even send in-app notifications when your customers get used to checking your app for new clothes, accessories and content. In-app banners and Ads can also be used to highlight new collections and campaigns. Make your marketing content relevant and valuable for customers, so that they actually show interest in the notifications you send them.
Time your notifications and marketing messages when users are more receptive and mentally prepared to respond well. Mould customer behaviour by sending them a daily message that delivers value. Daily messages should not e promotional, but informative.
2. Market the latest collection of clothes & accessories
You can send messages and notifications through apps to customers to inform them about the latest collection of clothes and accessories at the store. Apps offer a very affordable method to communicate marketing and transactional messages to customers.
You can collect customer data when customers visit your store or find your app via search engines and app stores. Use this customer data to find what your customers like to buy.
Look books help a lot in promoting latest collections of merchandise. You can even write blogs or make videos and post them in the content section of your app to influence customers to purchase the latest looks. You can even engage influencers to market through your app. Marketing through various app features is efficient and it helps engage customers on a regular basis.
3. Display product catalogue on apps make with app builders
A catalogue of products on the app helps customers in learning about the products available with you. You can create look books and special categories for the products you wish to promote through your app. This will help you get a high turnover as customers are made aware of the latest offering and are motivated to purchase them through attractive look books and product categories.
Make your own shopping app with websites like AppMySite that helps display fashion product catalogues in a user-friendly manner. Customers should be easily able to find what they are looking for.
Users are easily influenced by experts. You can find local and other influencers and, with their help, curate merchandise to create a theme or look to promote to users. This motivates customers to purchase the product promoted. With in-app purchase options, your users can even place orders online.
4. Take orders online
Apps also allow you to collect orders online. You can create an e-commerce website and then use a mobile app builder for Woocommerce like AppMySite to convert the shopping website into an app​ at very little cost. Selling online helps you reach a wide audience and it reduces your operational cost.
Online buying makes it very convenient for your users to access and purchase your products. They can easily check your app for the latest clothes and easily order them from the convenience of their home through your app. This often helps in increasing the purchase basket of customers.
You can even collect online payments through payment gateways integrated in the app. Payments can be collected in cash, through debit/credit cards, and through net banking. This enables users to complete purchase transactions easily through their preferred payment modes.
5. Up-sell with product recommendation
Apps also help you up-sell products through product recommendations. Once a user purchases with you, the app will show them complementary products for them to purchase. This helps in up-selling. You can increase the average customer purchase basket size by placing product recommendations on the right app screens.
Various up-selling activities like geo-targeted offers and discounts on high-volume purchase often help in increasing business revenue and lifetime value of customers. Learn how to build apps with features that can help up-sell on AppMySite.
You can also easily re-market to customers through apps. Once a customer has browsed through a particular product page or category, you can send them notifications about the offers or value in purchasing those products through your app.
6. Publish blogs and other content on apps made with good app builders
You can easily engage your customers through an app if you make your app their source of knowledge and entertainment. Publish fashion blogs, videos, infographics and tips for your users, so that they are time and again attracted towards you app.
You can rope in influencers to write or record content for your app, so that users are influenced to purchase your products more effectively. You can create influencer curated product categories, so that users pay more attention to the curate products and are motivated to purchase them.
Have clear calls to action seeded in each of your blogs, videos and other content pieces. Make them accessible through your app. Add value for users in terms of entertainment, knowledge and monetary incentives, so that users can open your apps to consume your content and also are motivated to purchase your products or visit your store.
In the above ways, you can leverage a mobile app to easily market and sell your products and engage your customers for a long time. Apps not only reduce your marketing cost, but they help you communicate with your customers with their most used device—mobile phones.
All you have to do is to have an e-commerce website, and then use a Woocomerce mobile app builder to create an Android app or iOS app.
This will help you retain customers, up-sell to your customers and increase the average customer lifetime value.