Transforming Studio Retail’s Mobile App
Who is Studio Retail?
Studio Retail is a well-established online department store offering a wide range of products, including fashion, furniture, toys, and games. The company is known for providing affordable, high-quality products, and its mobile app is available on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play. The app allows users to shop thousands of products, manage accounts, track orders, and access personalised recommendations and payment options like Studio Pay.
Objectives and challenges
Studio Retail faced significant challenges with their existing Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, which was limiting their growth. The primary objectives for transforming their mobile app included:
- Speeding up development and releases: The SaaS model was not flexible enough to keep pace with the company’s product roadmap and had become expensive from an operational cost perspective.
- Integrating with existing systems: The new solution needed to seamlessly integrate with Studio Retail’s eCommerce platform, order management, warehouse management, credit scoring, and lending facilities.
- Enhancing customer experience: By bringing the app development in-house, Studio Retail aimed to improve the customer experience through faster updates and more integrated services.
What did we do?
DeeperThanBlue played a crucial role in this transformation. Our services included:
- Designing the architecture: DeeperThanBlue helped design a robust architecture for the mobile app
- Technology selection: Selection of the most suitable technology components to ensure the app’s scalability and performance with technologies such as React, GraphQL, and SpringBoot.
- Integration: We ensured seamless integration of the mobile app with existing business solutions, enhancing operational efficiency.
- Mentoring and knowledge transfer: DeeperThanBlue provided mentoring and knowledge transfer to Studio Retail’s development team, empowering them to maintain and further develop the app once the project was completed.
- Cloud environments: DeeperThanBlue built the cloud environments in collaboration with the Studio Retail team on Rackspace private cloud and Amazon AWS EKS, utilising containers and Kubernetes for efficient deployment and management.
- Testing services: Comprehensive testing services were provided to ensure high-quality deliverables including automation testing and performance testing.
Project Successes and Customer Feedback
Since the transformation, Studio Retail’s mobile app has seen significant growth in usage. Customers have provided positive feedback on the app’s improved functionality and user experience.
The integrated solution offers several benefits to Studio Retail’s customers:
- Improved user experience: Faster updates and more personalised features enhance the overall user experience.
- Seamless operations: Integration with existing systems ensured smooth order processing, inventory management, and financial services.
- Enhanced reliability: The use of modern technologies and cloud infrastructure improved the app’s reliability and performance.
It has also led to more efficient operations and better customer service, contributing to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
In summary, DeeperThanBlue’s expertise in digital transformation and mobile app development was instrumental in helping Studio Retail overcome the limitations of their previous SaaS solution. By bringing the mobile app development in-house and integrating it with existing systems, Studio Retail was able to enhance their product offerings and improve the overall customer experience.
Craig Elwell, Senior Digital & Development Manager, Studio Retail Limited
“The professional way that your team has augmented ours has ensured that the project remained on budget, on time and on brief—no easy task given the constraints and time pressures we were all working under to replace the existing app.”
Growth of Mobile Apps in the UK and Europe
The mobile app market has seen significant growth in the UK and Europe over the past few years:
- Increased Usage: The number of mobile app downloads and active users has been rising steadily, driven by the growing adoption of smartphones and the increasing demand for mobile-first experiences.
- Revenue Growth: The mobile app industry in Europe has experienced substantial revenue growth, with more businesses investing in app development to reach wider audiences and enhance customer engagement.
Overall, the integration of mobile apps into business strategies has proven to be a valuable asset, driving revenue growth, improving customer satisfaction, and enhancing customer service through innovative features and personalised experiences.
Benefits of Mobile Apps for Businesses
Mobile apps offer several advantages over traditional websites and mobile web versions, particularly in terms of revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and customer service. Some of the key benefits are:
Revenue Growth
- Higher Conversion Rates: Mobile apps have been shown to achieve a 157% higher conversion rate compared to mobile websites. This is largely due to the enhanced user experience and the ability to offer personalised content and promotions directly through the app.
- In-App Purchases: Apps can facilitate seamless in-app purchases, which can lead to increased sales. The integration of payment gateways within the app simplifies the purchase process for users, encouraging more frequent transactions.
Customer Satisfaction
- Personalisation: Mobile apps can provide a highly personalised experience by leveraging user data to offer tailored content, recommendations, and notifications. This personalisation enhances user engagement and satisfaction.
- Offline Access: Unlike mobile websites, apps can offer offline access to certain features and data, which is particularly beneficial in areas with limited internet connectivity.
- Enhanced User Experience: Apps are designed to utilise the full capabilities of mobile devices, such as GPS, camera, and push notifications, providing a more interactive and engaging experience. Studio uses push notifications to announce category sales and promotions on specific days of the week
Customer Service
- Immediate Feedback: Apps allow businesses to collect and analyse customer feedback in real-time, enabling quicker responses to customer needs and improving overall service quality as well as feeding back into the app development process.
- Faster Support: Mobile apps can offer faster customer service through integrated chat features, FAQs, and support ticket systems, reducing wait times and enhancing user satisfaction.
Additional Features of Mobile Apps
Mobile apps can leverage onboard device capabilities to offer features that are not possible with mobile web versions:
- Push Notifications: Apps can send real-time updates and alerts directly to users’ devices, increasing engagement and retention.
- Device Integration: Apps can integrate with device features like the camera, GPS, and accelerometer, enabling functionalities such as location-based services, augmented reality, and fitness tracking.
- Offline Functionality: Apps can store data locally, allowing users to access content and perform tasks without an internet connection.