Plan Your Project with Your Software
The G&G online store approached the AniArt-world.com team with the goal of making the existing site more convenient and functional for customers. The clients needed to offer a solution that would enable them to get the most convenient access to the product catalog, easily navigate among the huge assortment, quickly and conveniently place an order.
According to statistics, over 85% of "G and G Glamour" clients use a mobile version of the site. Based on these figures, the decision was obvious - to develop a special application for iOS and Android. The main purpose of this solution is to improve the customer service of the company, to create a comfortable environment where customers could quickly make purchases.
One of the key wishes of the online store was to create an app as similar as possible to the main site, to which regular users are already used to. For this purpose a JS-based user interface implementation was chosen. A full-featured adaptive version of the mobile site was wrapped in a JS shell, so that the site became a mobile application and could store all the necessary application features, as the site has no such range of features.
Registered and authorized users get access to a personal account, where the purchase history and personalized offers are stored. This solution allows the user to place an order in just a few clicks and then track its status at different stages.
Given the large number of products, it was important to maintain the speed of the site. The site's speed is being improved on a regular basis: the developers are systematically working to increase server space, speed up data exchange with the ERP system, and optimize photos and website blocks. This work allows making the application as fast and stable as possible for the user.
The application is implemented using a JavaScript-based shell, which allows you to create versions for iOs and Android at the same time, then adjusting certain nuances separately. The main advantage of this solution is the ability to quickly edit the functionality and design of the application without re-releasing it in the marketplace.
The main difficulties we encountered were.
Placing an app in the official AppStore and PlayMarket is one of the most important steps in the process of implementing an app. Not all developed apps are placed on these platforms. In order to get approval, it is necessary not only to justify the feasibility of creating a mobile app with an existing website, but also to go through several levels of verification. For example, getting confirmation that the app to be downloaded is virus-free and safe for the user.
When creating an app for iOS, the requirements were quite stringent and the conditions were quite difficult, viz:
1. When registering an account, Apple employees personally call back and clarify all the details of the future owner of the application: country of residence, for what purpose is necessary to register an account. The annual subscription fee does not guarantee that they will confirm the creation of the account and the release of the app.
2. App creation must be done directly in the Xcode environment, which is an integrated software development environment for macOS, iOS, watchOS and tvOS platforms.
3.
After implementing the initial requirements for the app, an automatic malware scan is performed. However, passing the check does not guarantee that the app will be published.
4. After that, an application is submitted for publication of the app. It is worth noting that at this stage a rather large number of applications are rejected. At the same time, employees of AppleStore and PlayMarket send a list of requirements that need to be fulfilled to the owners of the applications.
5. After the requirements are met, a second application for publication is submitted. There can be quite a few such applications. Many companies fail to pass this stage, but fortunately, we managed to do so.
6. Next, after all the automatic checks, the application is tested by an Apple employee in real mode. For some time the Apple employee pretends to be a "G&G Glamour" client and becomes a user of the application, browsing through the goods, adding the goods to the category of favorites and so on.
7. Requirements are regularly updated, which was no exception in our case. Before the next submission for publication, additional requirements were added for all applicants for publication, and of course we coped with these requirements as well.
8. We did not give up: we complied with the requirements and corresponded for full publication approval. In the end, the AppleStore and PlayMarket staff gave their approval to publish the app. We had a tremendous experience, which we are extremely happy about.
After going through all the required stages of verification, the G&G app has been approved for use by customers, allowing users to shop quickly and conveniently.
A new channel for interaction with customers.
The application boasts an intuitive user interface, making it a breeze for users to navigate. It also requires minimal maintenance for administrators, as all changes made to the website are immediately reflected within the app, reducing the need for programming support.
The administrator's management panel remains user-friendly, with the addition of a dedicated section for managing push notifications, including scheduling and automated scripts for interaction with the app and abandoned baskets. All of these features can be easily managed through the administration panel.
The mobile application, in fact, opened an additional channel of communication with customers and helped the company to qualitatively improve interaction with them. AniArt developers implemented the ability to send instant, scheduled, situational push notifications to customers. For example, it is possible to segment the sending of marketing mailings by personalizing messages to authorized and unauthorized customers.
Push notifications, depending on the type of client, may contain:
1 Header
2 Description
3 A link to the promotion page or product
4 Choice of background and sound (for Android devices)
Situational notifications are sent to the client according to a certain scenario. For example, if a client has downloaded an application, periodically logs into it, but has not authorized, he will receive push notifications with a call to authorize in the application. Or if the client is authorized, but has not logged in for a long time, he can receive notifications about new collections or notifications will offer him products based on previously viewed ones. If it is necessary to make a newsletter urgently - the administrator can set it up even from a cell phone.
RESULTS
A full-fledged mobile application helps customers browse products more conveniently and place orders more easily. For the company, this solution helped to improve communication with users, as well as significantly optimize the company's resources, since there is no need to contact technical specialists for small modifications.
1) The development process took 2 months. Usually such applications are developed over 10-12 months.
2) The company's budget was saved 8-10 times due to the realization of the project on the basis of the site, rather than from scratch.
3)From $300 of savings: this is approximately how much sms-messages would have cost, instead of which push-notifications were created.
4) Online store traffic increased by 46.6%
5)The number of active users increased by 50%
Among the nearest plans is to analyze the effectiveness of push notifications (which messages and what information they contain most of all induce the user to make a purchase “here and now”). Also in the future, it is planned to refine the application so that the user can make an order even if the internet suddenly goes down.
Feedback on the collaboration with AniArt:
Thanks to the high professionalism of the AniArt team, we received not just an online product catalog, but a fully functional website. The project was realized very quickly, and the proposed solution was optimal for us. Everything that was offered by the specialists turned out to be the best options, taking into account the peculiarities of our request. AniArt specialists accompanied us at all stages of the project: project development, SEO-optimization and promotion, marketing plan creation, 1C integron.ati
Zhaniya Sauranbaeva, Director of GGONLINE
