The Native App Breakdown

What Exactly Does Native mean?

If a plant is native to its land, it’s in the place where it’s been born and bred. It has the advantage of familiarity with the soil, sun, and surroundings. The plant has likely adapted to meet the needs of its landscape, feeling most at ease in its ancestral home.

Likewise, in the land of mobile development, if software is native, it means it is built specifically for the platform on which it is housed. Just like the plant, when an app is native, it is better suited to its environment. It works more efficiently, utilizes a smartphone's features, and feels more comfortable for the user.

On the other hand, a non-native app works across different platforms. The app’s original code must be translated into code that is readable by the device. That means that it’s working less intimately with the device’s system––ultimately resulting in a slower, more discontinuous app.

The User Experience

When it comes to the user experience, a fully native mobile app is the one to beat. With a native app, content loads more quickly. The interface is more responsive, intuitive, and easy to navigate.

Aside from allowing for a premium experience, native apps also offer more security than their non-native counterparts. Users and developers can be at ease knowing private information is better protected.

Lastly, because they are built specifically for the devices where they exist, native apps can take full advantage of benefits offered by the platform. That means they can integrate a phone’s camera, GPS, and Bluetooth.

The Tangible Ecommerce Effects

In 2020 alone app usage grew by 18-30% across all age demographics. With 70%+ of all digital usage time spent inside apps, apps offer companies an opportunity to transform their ecommerce strategy.

Fully native apps not only make for a better user experience but can also boost average order value (AOV) as much as $30+. When consumers are offered a comfortable shopping experience that doesn’t break from the flow of their smartphone session, they are more likely to spend time (and money) on the platform.

Beyond increased AOV, native apps are better at retaining users. Consumers are more likely to keep and return to a brand’s ecommerce app if it loads quickly and is seamless to use. There’s data to back this up with 2020 seeing a 20% year over year growth of consumer spending inside native apps.

By facilitating a faster and less frustrating shopper experience, native apps breed positive feelings and more brand loyalty among costumers.

So Why Not Native?

It seems that a native app is the clear winner over a non-native app. So why would an ecommerce brand ever decide against one? There’s a simple answer––time and cost.

Creating a fully native app can often require developers to code, maintain, and edit the software. Hiring developers can prove budget-consuming and time-consuming. Outsourcing developers also means that the company has less control over the process of creating and less control over the final product.

Even though native mobile apps unequivocally add to companies’ bottom lines, it is frequently restrictively expensive and time consuming to create them.

How We’re Changing the Game

Ecommerce brands have long needed a faster and easier way to create native apps.

We saw that. We launched BILDIT to make fully native apps ultra-accessible and ultra-affordable for both small and large retailers. We’ve taken the time to craft a premium mobile app development platform––that means that the hard part is already done.

From the basis of our mobile app development platform, we work with companies to customize a fully native app that meets their needs. By offering a pre-built (but still completely customizable) mobile app, we’re cutting development time and cost in half.

Discover whether BILDIT is right for your brand by requesting a demo here.

[image by Malte Helmhold]