How to Convert Your Volusion Into a Mobile App

Unleash the power of mobile ecommerce by converting your Volusion store into a mobile app to take your reach, conversions, and revenue to new heights.

The mobile ecommerce landscape is advancing every day, with a growing number of consumers opting to shop solely via their smartphones. If you're still primarily focused on desktop-oriented strategies, you may be missing out on a significant share of your potential customer base. While the creation of a fully custom native app can be a costly venture, there's an alternative solution at hand. By utilizing a third-party mobile app builder like MobiLoud, you can create a fully-functional, top-notch mobile app that offers seamless shopping experiences for your customers!

Read on to find out more.

Why You Need a Mobile App

Mobile constituted more than 72% of the overall market share in ecommerce in 2022, experiencing a rise from slightly above 52% within a span of five years.

This aligns with the general trend toward mobile internet usage, which now claims over 50% market share when compared to desktop and tablet usage.

Making the trend toward mobile even more obvious, 15% of Americans today rely solely on smartphones for accessing the internet.

This represents the future of ecommerce, where customers are not just mobile-first but could also be exclusively mobile.

By now you should already have a mobile-friendly website. But it's time to go beyond that. Apps offer an enhanced user experience on mobile, resulting in improvements across several key metrics, including:

 
• Higher conversion rates
 
• Boosted average order value
 
• Increased product views per session

Further data indicates that users of ecommerce mobile apps are twice as likely to revisit the store within 30 days compared to those using mobile browsers.

Plus, high rates for opting-in, opening, and clicking through mobile push notifications underscores the the efficacy of reaching your customers where they are.

With that being said, it's clear that mobile apps are an excellent tool for nurturing loyal, repeat customers; and a Volusion mobile app can yield significant benefits for your business.

Can You Create Mobile Apps for Volusion?

While Volusion doesn't offer a direct way to launch a mobile app, you can still create one using the platform. However, you'll need additional resources to do so effectively. Here are a few possibilities:

1. Consider using a third-party Volusion mobile app builder.
2. Explore tech-enabled assistance to transform your Volusion store into a mobile application.
3. Hire a team of engineers who can develop apps for Android and iOS and link them to your Volusion shop.

Can I Turn My Volusion Store into an App?

You can seamlessly transform your Volusion store into an app using one of the methods mentioned earlier, but we recommend sticking with the first two.

This is primarily due to the expensive nature of the third option - hiring a team for full mobile app development. Developing a native app can cost between $30,000 and $150,000, and that's just for one operating system. If you wish to launch apps for both Android and iOS, which is highly recommended, you would need to double the cost.

App development is a long, convulated and pricey endeavor. Especially when your developers need to create an API and establish a connection between the back end of your apps and your Volusion store.

It's likely that your budget wouldn't cover these expenses, and we haven't even considered the annual costs of keeping your app operational.

The Recurring Cost of Having an App

There are ongoing expenses to factor in when launching an app. The regular maintenance and upkeep, such as OS updates, Volusion updates, bug fixes, and the addition of new features and improvements, typically amounts to around 15-20% of the initial cost each year.

And that's on the low end of the spectrum. David Cost, VP of Marketing from Rainbow Apparel, witnessed this when they launching the brand's apps, discovering:

"If we had unlimited time and money, we would probably opt for a custom native app. However, the maintenance alone would cost us between half a million and a million dollars per year."

If you calculate a low-end cost of $150,000 to build apps for both mobile platforms, you can assume the annual cost for updates and maintenance would be at least around $30,000.

For most store owners, this amount is too steep. Additionally, managing multiple platforms going forward can add a whole other layer of frustration. It triples the amount of work required every time you want to make changes to your site, adding unnecessary steps to your process.

The Best Way to Turn Your Volusion Store into an App

If you want the optimal choice, consider converting your Volusion store into an app using a Volusion mobile app builder like MobiLoud.

By employing a mobile app builder, you can convert your existing Volusion website into a mobile app that emulates the functionality of a native app. This app can be easily downloaded and installed on users' mobile devices, which will undoubtedly enhance their experience with your brand.

The third-party app builders of the highest quality will provide you with a mobile application that presents 90-95% of the features typically found in a native app. The only difference is that these builders offer better affordability and long-term ease of use. Just make sure to find an option that is suitable for creating professional mobile applications that can handle substantial traffic and reflect positively on your brand.

How to Convert Volusion to App

Though large brands with substantial resources may have the financial capital to hire developers to code a shopping app completely from start to finish, not many companies can or want to put that much money toward such an endeavor.

MobiLoud offers the best solution for app development if you want to save time and money. It's a simple, affordable, and fast method. Additionally, the ongoing maintenance of your apps becomes cheaper and more manageable.

Let's break down the process step by step:

Step One: Preview Your App or Get a Free Consultation

You can begin in one of two ways:

 
1. Dive right in and utilize the MobiLoud builder to generate a free preview of how your site will appear as an app.
 
2. Alternatively, you can schedule a free consultation call with our app experts to discuss your project and understand the process.

In either case, you will realize that almost 90% of the work required to create your app is already completed, provided your site is already optimized for mobile devices.

If you need assistance with optimizing your site, don't hesitate to let us know. We're more than willing to assist you! This is an essential step to ensure a seamless process going forward.

Step Two: Work With Our Team to Build Your App

When you're prepared to begin on the app development procedure, simply sign up to MobiLoud. Our plans come with a 60-day money-back guarantee, and there's no obligation to stay for any certain amount of time.

You'll collaborate with our team to configure and design your app. Since the app builder lays a lot of the groundwork pulling from your mobile site, just a few adjustments are necessary to achieve a native app look and feel.

Once design is approved, we'll get to work building your mobile app! Our team is made up of experts on the technical side, so you won't have to worry about one single line of code.

If you're hoping for an even more hands-off approach, we offer a full-service package that includes everything needed to configure, design, and publish your app, allowing you to watch comfortably from the sidelines.

Step Three: Prepare for Launch

Once your app is developed, it's time to gear up for its public release. It's crucial to have a well-thought-out plan in place to encourage app downloads.

We provide various resources to support your app's launch, including assets for app store descriptions, launch announcements for your website and email list, press releases, and more. Additionally, you can enable extra features at no additional cost, such as intelligent app banners and app-exclusive discounts, to motivate your existing customers to shop using the app.

Step Four: Launch and Submit Your Apps to the App Stores

Lastly, we'll release your apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

This can be a real headache of a process for newcomers. But we have your back! We have extensive experience with thousands of app submissions and are well-versed in the process.

We proudly guarantee app approval and take care of multiple submissions if necessary. We also provide recommendations and implement any required changes, making this final step a breeze as well.

Once your app listings are live, you can officially begin attracting downloads and enjoy all the benefits of having your own Volusion mobile app!

Wrapping Up – Why You Should Use MobiLoud to Convert Your Volusion Store into a Mobile App

Mobile devices are dominating the ecommerce industry. If most of your current revenue doesn't already come from mobile users, it will before you know it. And you need to be prepared to support their needs!

Your Volusion store requires more than just a mobile-optimized website to keep up. To maximize revenue from your mobile audience, it's essential to offer your own branded app.

With MobiLoud, tansforming your Volusion store into a mobile app will be stree-free experience. Instead of spending big bucks on mobile developers, MobiLoud provides a remarkably accessible and straightforward solution.

Here are some key advantages to keep in mind when using MobiLoud's Volusion app builder:

 
• It costs only a fraction of the price compared to custom app development.
 
• You can launch professional, high-quality apps in under two weeks.
 
• Your apps will retain all the fantastic features of your website, from product collections to payment gateways, plug-ins, tools, themes, and more.
 
• Everything stays synchronized across web, Android, and iOS platforms. Any changes made on your site instantly reflect in your apps.
 
• You no longer need to worry about submitting your apps to the app stores - we guarantee approval.
 
• Our team guides you through the entire process, taking care of the heavy lifting on your behalf.

This user-friendly app builder, which requires no coding, empowers you to launch your own shopping apps and secure your spot in the app stores alongside the world's leading brands.

Contact us now to discover more about how we can assist you in launching an app for your Volusion store. Schedule a personalized demo, free of charge, and one of our app professionals will guide you through the entire process.