How MobiLoud helped buybuyBaby relaunch their native mobile apps while reducing development costs by over 90%

When Dream On Me acquired buybuyBaby, they needed to relaunch the iconic brand fast. Their challenge was clear: rebuild their e-commerce platform, reconnect with vendors, and get the brand back online before customers moved elsewhere. With limited technical resources, they needed to deliver on every digital channel - including mobile apps - without compromising their tight timeline or stretching their team too thin.

Key Takeaways

• Launched mobile app rapidly during critical brand relaunch phase
• Maintained consistent brand experience across web and app despite multiple design changes
• Eliminated need for specialized mobile development resources
• App automatically adapted to web improvements without additional work
• Achieved seamless integration with existing e-commerce infrastructure

The Need for Speed

The team at buybuyBaby was faced with an immense challenge: relaunching a beloved brand on a compressed timeline while preserving the customer experience that had built them a loyal following.

Steven Kachtan, CIO of Dream On Me, who was heavily involved in the buybuyBaby acquisition explains:

"The going theory with buybuyBaby at the time was we need to relaunch immediately to keep the brand value going and to keep our customers. There was just so much going on - only so many resources, so many people working. Mobile apps were the last thing that we were developing."

Finding a Solution That Could Keep Pace

Modern retail demands a mobile presence, but traditional app development presented a real dilemma for the buybuyBaby team. Building apps typically requires a separate team of developers, different codebases, and ongoing maintenance – resources they simply couldn't spare.

What they needed was a solution that would allow them to maintain mobile presence without pulling resources away from their main e-commerce platform. This meant finding an approach that could leverage their existing web investments rather than building everything from scratch. Steven recalls:

"When I heard about MobiLoud and that we could turn our website into a native app without additional development resources, it made perfect sense. It was a way for us to deliver an app experience to our customers without diverting focus from our core priorities."

The approach aligned perfectly with their constraints. Rather than treating the mobile app as a completely separate channel requiring dedicated resources, MobiLoud's solution allowed them to maintain a unified digital experience across platforms while focusing their development efforts on a single codebase.

This simplicity meant their existing team could focus on crafting the best possible website experience, knowing that those improvements would automatically translate to their mobile app without additional effort.

Adapting Through Major Changes

The journey for buybuyBaby wasn't a straight line. As the brand evolved, so did their digital presence – undergoing several significant redesigns as they refined their online strategy. For most retailers with both web and mobile platforms, these redesigns create double the work, as changes need to be implemented and tested across multiple platforms.

This is typically where many brands struggle, as their mobile app falls behind website improvements, creating inconsistent customer experiences. For buybuyBaby, each website redesign could have meant weeks of additional development work, testing, and app store submissions.

However, MobiLoud's approach eliminated this common pain point. As the website evolved, the app automatically reflected those changes without requiring additional work. Steven notes:

"We improved web performance and completely redesigned our site multiple times. The incredible part was that we didn't even have to think about the app during these transitions. When we finally reached out to check if our latest major redesign would affect the app, the response was immediate: ''You have nothing to worry about, everything will be fine."

This independence freed the team to focus on improving their core digital experience without constantly worrying about how changes would impact their mobile app. They could implement new features, adjust layouts, and optimize performance with confidence that their app would keep pace.

A High-Quality Experience Without the Overhead

For many retailers, the trade-off when seeking faster app development has traditionally been a compromised customer experience. This was a concern for the buybuyBaby team as well, as their customer base expected a premium digital experience that matched the quality of their brand.

What they discovered, however, was that MobiLoud's approach delivered both speed and quality. The app provided all the benefits users expect - fast performance, smooth interactions, and device integration - while maintaining perfect parity with their website's features and functionality.

The performance optimizations they implemented on their website automatically carried over to the app experience, creating a fast, responsive interface that felt designed specifically for mobile devices. Steven explains:

"The app feels completely integrated, like a true native app. If I downloaded that app for the first time, I don't think I'd be able to tell that it wasn't built as a standalone native app. All the performance improvements we made to the website translated perfectly to the app experience."

This quality experience provided crucial benefits beyond just looks. The app supported all the same functionality as their website – including complex product browsing, registry management, checkout processes, and account features – ensuring customers could accomplish everything they needed regardless of which channel they preferred.

Eliminating the Maintenance Burden

Anyone who has managed a mobile app knows that the initial development is just the beginning. The ongoing maintenance often becomes even more challenging, with constant platform updates, security requirements, and compatibility issues requiring continual attention.

For retail brands, this maintenance burden often becomes a hidden cost that drains resources and distracts from core business priorities. App store policies change, operating systems update, and security certificates expire – all requiring technical intervention to keep apps functioning properly.

This maintenance challenge is particularly problematic for brands operating with lean technical teams, as it creates an ongoing dependency that can become both costly and operationally limiting.

MobiLoud's managed approach to app maintenance became one of the most valuable aspects of the solution for buybuyBaby, eliminating this common pain point entirely. Steven says:

"I recognized early on that maintaining an app typically requires significant resources. MobiLoud handled everything - from certificate updates to platform changes - I really didn't have to think about anything. This allowed our team to focus on our core business without worrying about the technical complexities of app maintenance."

This hands-off maintenance model freed up their technical resources to focus on customer-facing improvements rather than backend maintenance tasks.

An Essential Channel for Modern Retail

The retail landscape has fundamentally shifted toward mobile-first shopping experiences. While many brands still treat mobile apps as optional extras, forward-thinking retailers recognize they're now a core component of the customer journey.

This perspective is particularly relevant for specialty retailers with loyal customer bases who make repeat purchases – exactly the environment buybuyBaby operates within. Parents and expecting families often develop strong brand relationships with buybuyBaby, making an app a natural extension of that relationship.

Steven's perspective on mobile apps comes from both his professional experience and his own behavior as a consumer, giving him unique insight into why apps matter for retail brands. Steven states:

"For a brand like buybuyBaby, an app is an absolute necessity. I can't imagine not having an app now for any brand or company that sells online. Most shopping happens on phones, and when it's available as an app, customers prefer that experience over the browser."

This conviction isn't just philosophical – it's backed by the behavioral patterns he observes in himself and other consumers who increasingly prefer the streamlined, personalized experience that mobile apps provide.

The shift toward app-based shopping represents a significant opportunity for retailers to strengthen customer relationships, particularly with their most loyal customers. Apps typically engage the most valuable segment of a brand's audience – those who shop frequently enough to want a dedicated app.

When asked what he would tell other brands considering an app, Steven's advice is clear:

"I would say yes, and I would tell them to call MobiLoud. There's a cost-effective, easy way to do it without dedicating significant manpower. It's a no-brainer."

Curious about launching a mobile app for your retail brand like buybuyBaby?

Get started with a free preview and see your store transformed into an app with:

• Rapid deployment that preserves your existing web investment
• Seamless adaptation to website changes and improvements
• Minimal maintenance burden on your technical team

We can have it ready in as little as 24 hours - no technical work or commitment required.

‍