Top 7 Ecommerce App Features in 2024

Over the years the features of e-commerce apps have evolved as more and more online shoppers have turned towards mobile e-commerce apps for browsing and shopping products. The vast majority of online sales now take place on mobile and as per the latest estimate, eCommerce sales globally will reach $7 trillion by 2025 and already 73% of e-commerce sales are dominated by transactions through mobile commerce apps. But more than rolling out an e-commerce app is needed. It needs advanced mobile commerce app features for a more personalized shopping experience.

Just think of an e-commerce mobile app that allows you to browse products based on your tastes and preferences and buy or save products effortlessly. Think of product catalogs that offer almost a real-world shopping experience through augmented product display. If you are trying to advance your e-commerce platform through mobile app development, you cannot help but make it intuitive and intelligent through the latest m-commerce app features. Do you want to have an in-depth understanding of these latest digital retail app features? Here, we are going to explain them. Let’s start.

List of Best Features for Ecommerce App in 2024

Wishlist Feature

A wishlist is one of the most crucial and often-underrated features of online shopping.  A well-calibrated wishlist feature adds a personal space for online shoppers. It allows users to save the preferred products they wish to buy in the future and gives them the autonomy to put together their choices for future shopping. Smart wishlist features that offer seamless UI design and advanced functionalities like AI-powered product showcases can take your e-commerce experience to a new level.

Here are the key considerations for building an engaging wishlist feature:

• AI-powered recommendation for showcasing all related products based on individual preference. To take inspiration from examples, go to the wishlist pages of leading mobile e-commerce platforms and see how they show related products as soon as you add something to the wishlist. Often you can end up choosing a better option from the recommended products than the one you originally wished for.
• The second most important thing is to follow the best practices such as simple navigation, a clear “Add to Wishlist” button, and ease of sharing the wishlist and adding them to the cart. The E-commerce wishlist design should also offer filters for quick access to items within the wishlist. Allowing different categories to save products is another important aspect of a good wishlist design. Shopify, the leading e-commerce store platform, provides you with a wide range of wishlist templates to take inspiration for the design elements.
• Another important aspect is to extend the scope of customization for a more personalized experience when users create wishlists. You can use customizable templates or add help users with a “back in stock” notification feature. Allowing users to share their wishlists on social channels is also a must-have feature.  
• Consider allowing users to create multiple wishlists to group their choices by category. Some fashion stores like G3+ Fashion do exceptionally well when they allow their customers to create separate wishlists for different fashion and apparel categories.

Push Notifications Feature

Push notification is one of the key mobile commerce app features that allows e-commerce stores to establish real-time connections with their customers. Now, just notifying users with a “one-size-fits-all” message is not enough. Sending highly personalized push notifications that resonate with user contexts is more effective. Whether your e-commerce store is on Android or iOS, you have ample functional scopes to use the feature for effective business conversions.

Here are some of the key considerations for leveraging the push notification feature for optimum business outcomes.

• First of all, eCommerce push notifications can no longer be generic. They need to cater to individual user contexts, behavior, preferences, and browsing and purchase history. A push notification can only generate better click-through rates and result in higher business conversion by personalizing to this extent.
• Understanding push notification vs. in-app notification contexts is also important. While the former can be sent at all times, irrespective of whether the app is in use or not, the latter is only sent when the users are active within the app. So, push notifications need to be contextualized to reengage inactive users with the app while in-app notifications are mostly about informing or guiding users to specific actions.
• A push notification template for your store needs to be designed according to your brand identity and should leverage a clear “Call to Action” using lingo that can ensure maximum engagement from the receiver. You can use different push notification mockup generators, like the one provided by Figma.
• Leading eCommerce platforms use a balanced mix of web push and mobile push messages to effectively target their audience. An eCommerce website can rely on a push notification to notify users about their abandoned carts. Their mobile commerce app, on the other hand, can send a hyper-personalized message with an offer or discount meant for the target individual user. Many examples of effective push notifications include flash discount sale alerts, personalized product suggestions, and time-specific discounts for products in abandoned carts.
• As for effective push notification marketing, deciding the right frequency and sending the most relevant and context-aware messages is crucial. For instance, people often opt out of notifications of apps that send too many messages throughout the day. The way banks send push messages for relevant contexts such as transactions, non-maintenance of balance, interests, and investment opportunities sets a good example.

Delivery Status Tracking Feature

An order tracking system is crucial for ensuring optimum transparency among all the features of online shopping stores. This e-commerce feature is more on the customer support side than on the marketing side. A delivery status tracking feature capable of real-time updates can boost the user experience of your e-commerce website or app significantly. Whether you are handling e-commerce orders for consumer goods, industrial items, or food delivery, having a tracking system equipped with a GPS map is a must.

Here are the key considerations for leveraging a delivery status tracking feature.

• The order tracking system should be designed to inform customers about the status of their orders in real-time. The track order feature should inform them about processing, warehouse-to-shipment statuses, and last-mile delivery updates. By allowing a customer order tracker, you also give your customers a sense of autonomy, as they can track statuses without asking the support staff.
• As for tracking software solutions, you have a wide range of options with varying features and functionalities to add to your eCommerce website or app. You can also rely on APIs offered by leading carriers like DHL to give customers seamless updates on order status. These APIs help you with a shipment tracking feature within the e-commerce app. Online stores can also leverage third-party tracking software tools to track the progress of order shipping. These tools allow you to choose from different shipping partners and allow real-time tracking through a dedicated tracking page.
• Last but not least, pay attention to the UI and UX design of the order status update page. Ensure the integrated order tracking system provides step-by-step updates on the order status and allows effortless interaction with a clean visual interface.

Social Media Integration

Social media sharing options, social login or checkout options, integrated social media reviews, etc are now integral parts of online shopping app functionalities. How social media technologies have transformed the way we engage with e-commerce platforms, is an eye-opener for creative growth-hacking possibilities around social media eCommerce integration. To leverage the maximum impact of social media for an effective eCommerce marketing strategy, just adding social share buttons is not enough.

Discuss the key considerations for integrating social media features with mobile e-commerce apps.

• Stoppable social media posts or posts that allow direct purchases from an e-commerce store's social media account make huge business these days. Such integrated social media shopfronts can facilitate online shopping and boost engagement with impulsive buyers.
• The second most important thing is to choose the best social media for an eCommerce mobile app. Not all social platforms are perfect for all e-commerce niches, and hence, you need to pick the one that best suits your products or services. A thorough competitor analysis can be helpful in this respect.
• Another important and effective strategy is to hire a reputed social media marketing agency or partner with some leading influencers in your niche to spread the word and generate audience attention from all around. Social media technologies changed the ecommerce business primarily because customers can now discuss their purchases and preferences openly and influence a larger audience. So, you can always get a competitive edge over others through the discussions of influencers.  
• Give importance to creating convincing social proofs for your products and service offerings. Encourage your loyal customers to engage in social discussions, and make comments or posts showcasing the positive impact of the products in their everyday lives. Such user-generated content can be a great way to validate your brand reputation across social channels.

Augmented Reality Feature

Augmented Reality (AR) features in the context of eCommerce applications have brought the edge of immersive shopping experience. AR technology integrated into eCommerce mobile apps allows customers to experience almost a real-world product view and interaction comparable to how they touch and see items in physical brick-and-mortar stores. This mobile commerce app feature is particularly important for online shopping of items that require physical trials. For instance, when purchasing items like clothing, furniture, home decor, etc., from online stores, AR can bridge the gap between digital and physical experience.

Here are some key considerations for integrating AR features into e-commerce apps.

• Recent statistics show that the popularity of AR and VR in eCommerce is steadily growing. Close to 70% of online shoppers now prefer an AR-enabled buying experience. Leading online stores such as Amazon and Ikea Place have made AR technology an integral part of the shopping experience. What you should learn from these brands is how they deliver immersive experiences of their products by integrating AR features into their eCommerce platforms.
• Flutter is a good all-around framework choice for Android, iOS, and the web to build AR-enabled eCommerce mobile apps. Mobile commerce app development teams can particularly leverage AR features for e-commerce apps dealing with fashion products and accessories and for any other category where “trying the items up close” is important. The closest example they can follow is how Snapchat allows customers to try almost any product in their store.  
• Though augmented reality mobile apps allow e-commerce stores to deliver a more immersive shopping experience, AR is also increasingly gaining traction for e-commerce stores on the web. So, if you have an e-commerce presence on both the web and mobile apps, ensure a consistent AR experience.  

Quick & Ez Auto Registration Feature

User registration is one of the standard online store app specifications. Now, how simple and easy you make this registration process will have a bearing on user satisfaction. Whether for e-commerce mobile apps or traditional e-commerce websites, delivering a simple registration experience requiring little effort and time is essential. It remains on top of any e-commerce functionality checklist because of its huge impact on new user onboarding.

Here are some key considerations to build a quick and easy auto registration feature for e-commerce stores.

• To streamline registration functionality integrated with shopping carts, use the best plugins from the respective e-commerce platforms. All leading e-commerce platforms, such as Woocommerce, Magento, and Shopify, offer quality user registration plugins to ensure reliable and glitch-free performance.
• Whether you are using Flutter or leveraging Android Studio to build the registration feature for eCommerce mobile apps, make sure the flow from the first onboarding to the registration steps requires fewer user inputs and time.  
• Leverage social registration to help new users use their social media credentials for quick onboarding. This will help them to stay clear of the grueling tasks of filling out forms. Social registration in most business websites or mobile commerce applications is a major constituent of a happy onboarding experience.

Shipping Options

Shipping options are one of the key features of e-commerce stores, both in their web and mobile variants. For any e-commerce business to stay well above the cost curve, it needs to manage shipping rates.

Here are some of the critical considerations for e-commerce shipping options.

• While you should always look for the cheapest shipping options, you also need to prioritize service quality. Compare different shipping apps and software tools rigorously to find the most balanced solution that meets both qualitative criteria and rate choices. Both Clickship and Easyship are industry-acclaimed choices for e-commerce mobile apps.
• The best shipping integration must ensure an intuitive interface for managing orders, labels, and shipment tracking. A good shipping solution is particularly important if you run a multi-vendor marketplace.
• When you use platforms like Shopify, you have an array of shipping services that make things easier for you. Choose the best online shipping services to automate most shipping tasks while maintaining accuracy and precision.
• It is always advisable to choose delivery partners that offer several different shipping options, such as fast-track, international, and custom shipping.
• Make sure the UI/UX of the chosen shipping solution allows easy management and intuitive navigation for tracking shipments.

Ending Notes
All the e-commerce app features discussed above are critical to delivering an engaging shopping experience and boosting the business's brand identity. Adding the features for the namesake will not add any substantial value to your bottom line, so a well-orchestrated strategy is needed to leverage these features to connect the dots between customers and the e-commerce brand. Last but not least, from time to time, you should subject each of these features to rigorous A/B testing and performance testing to maintain a glitch-free experience for the end users and customers.