Feature Overload or Less is More in E-commerce Apps: Choosing the Features That Really Matter

Imagine your customer walks into a shopping mall. She’s bombarded with messages about promotions and deals from all sides, and the sheer number of similar products makes her dizzy. She feels overwhelmed and doesn’t know where to look for what she needs.

Your eCommerce app user may feel the same way if you overdo it with the number of features.

Check out how to determine what features should be included in your store’s app to make customers want to use it.

The excess of options in eCommerce apps – a recipe for disaster?

The paradox of choice is a phenomenon described by Barry Schwartz, which refers to a situation when a large number of options makes it difficult to make a decision. Even when we choose something, we are not fully satisfied because we feel we have just lost some other possibilities. In addition, we are tired because we’ve had to put more effort into making a decision.

In the UX design, the Hick’s Law is also popular. The concept is similar: the more possibilities to choose from, the more time it takes to make a decision. It does not sound encouraging, does it?

This principle can be easily applied to mobile apps. When there are a lot of possibilities, and the app proposes many functions, personalization options, or ways of presenting content, it may be difficult for the user to decide what they should do first.

The need for user-centered design in eCommerce apps

Too much of a good thing is bad – overloading the app with features makes it more and more complicated to use, which leads to disorientation and frustration. This, in turn, contributes to abandonments and a decrease in conversions.

This is exactly what needs to be prevented. The solution is to carefully look at the target group and choose solutions that have the potential to be useful to it.

The overwhelming feeling of excess may result not only from the number of functions but also from the app’s appearance. Hence, a careful approach to UI design is equally important.

What do statistics say?

• When there are too many options or information, as many as two-thirds of consumers declare that they postpone making decisions or avoid making a choice altogether (source: Google/Ipsos study).
• Users uninstall more than 1 in 2 apps within 30 days of downloading them (source: AppsFlyer report). It’s worth focusing on providing the best possible user experience (UX) to prevent your app from sharing the same fate.
• Studies conducted on European consumers indicate that 65% of them say that understanding their needs is a criterion they use when looking for brands (source: Google/Ipsos study). Your app should clearly show its value to users without distracting them.

Benefits of minimalism

A mobile app should solve a specific problem, so it must be functional. This determines its value to the user. A number of features that will enable this does not affect the quality of the software. Effectiveness is what matters most.

A minimalist approach to UX design focuses on key features and eliminates unnecessary elements that may distract or confuse the user.

What are the benefits of a minimalist approach to feature selection?

• Intuitive navigation: When there are fewer elements in the app, it is easier to find the necessary features, products, and information.
• Key elements are easily noticeable: If you want to highlight a message, such as “Add to cart”, it is easier to do this when the number of options displayed on the screen is limited.
• Higher conversion rate: The fewer distractions, the easier it is for users to see where to focus their attention to achieve their shopping goals.
• Lower app cost: If you limit yourself to only the most necessary functions, you will pay less for the implementation of the app project.
• Faster time-to-market: Fewer features mean less time is needed to create the app and, as a result, a quicker deadline for delivering it to users.
• Better brand image: If the app evokes positive experiences, users will be more likely to return to it.

Selecting key features – a strategic approach

Developing a set of app features is a process that gives the best results when structured.

We start by gathering information and analyzing it, then move on to generating ideas and choosing priority solutions.

The analysis of business and users’ need

You want to create a mobile app that meets users’ expectations while supporting the growth of your store? First, you must learn about the target group and their needs.

Let’s say you have a mobile app with clothes and accessories. Consider what do your customers expect from a fashion app. What features do they often use in shopping apps and what usually annoys them about them? You can find out all this by conducting UX research.

Simultaneously, take the time to gather and organize information about your business.

Action plan:

• Conduct surveys and/or interviews with potential users.
• Look for reports that explain shopping behavior and trends related to m-commerce apps.
• Talk to people from different departments of your company and ask what goals they want to achieve with the mobile app. Also, ask about the risks and strengths they see in connection with the project.
• Analyze all collected information and develop conclusions. Based on interviews and surveys, create personas of ideal clients.
• Formulate an initial app vision. You will develop it in the next steps.

Developing solutions

When you have the necessary information, move on to brainstorming ideas for features that meet the target group’s needs. A helpful tool at this stage is the Value Proposition Canvas template.

Examples of trendy features for fashion eCommerce

• AR try-on
• Image search
• AI-powered live chat
• Recommended products
• AI stylist

It is best to involve not only experts from your company in this stage but also specialists who will be involved in creating the mobile app. Thanks to this, you will gain the support of people who have technical knowledge and are up to date with trends in the mobile industry – software developers, UX/UI designers, or UX researchers. In this way, you will immediately find out whether the proposed solutions make sense or whether it is better to focus on other ideas.

Choosing features to implement

After listing all the proposed features, it’s time to determine which ones should be included in the first version of the app. There are many different ways to approach this.

The simplest is dot voting. Each participant individually votes on ideas they consider so valuable they should be implemented in the app.

• You can find more solutions that help teams choose priority features on our blog.

In the mobile app projects, the MoSCoW matrix also works well. It allows you to divide ideas into those that must be, should be, or may be in the app. The second and last ones can be implemented, for example, in subsequent versions of the app. If any ideas do not qualify for any of the above categories, they will go to the Will Not Be [Implemented] section.

Example

Must be:

• Product search via name, category, brand
• Detailed product descriptions
• Checkout
• Safe online payments
• User account
• Log-in and sign-up available via email and social media

Should be:

• Personalized product recommendations based on shopping history and preferences
• Loyalty program
• PUSH notifications informing about promos and new collections

Could be:

• User forum
• Live chat with a consultant

Verification

Before the process of creating a mobile app begins in earnest, it is worth checking whether the app is really as intuitive as you think it is and whether potential users see its value. How to do it? Conduct usability tests on the prototype.

Testing mobile apps at this stage will allow you to observe how respondents use the prototype, what makes it difficult for them, and what evokes positive emotions. Thanks to this, you will learn what needs to be improved and check which functions are unclear or unnecessary. Collect feedback, analyze the results, and modify the list of features based on this.

Tips

• Publishing a mobile app is not the end of the work. Customer needs and trends are constantly changing, so you should regularly collect feedback, analyze data, and develop new features based on it.
• It’s best to cooperate with representatives of various departments in your company to meet business and user needs. Marketing will have a different perspective on the app’s goals, and the customer service or sales department will have another

Summary: how to create a perfect eCommerce app for your brand

The motto “Less is more” by Mies Van Der Rohe should guide you when developing the vision of your app.

The key is understanding the needs of your target group and offering them precisely those functions that will be most valuable to them. In the thicket of possibilities, it is easy to get lost and add too many unnecessary solutions, which, instead of helping, will only make it difficult for users to shop in the app.

You want to create a mobile app for your store that will attract and retain customers? Contact us! We will help you design and implement a solution perfectly tailored to your needs.

And if you are wondering what the app development process looks like from A to Z, download our ebook about building mobile apps.