mCommerce Apps and Customer Loyalty: How to Build Lasting Relations with Users?

Are you noticing that fewer and fewer customers are returning to your online store for repeat purchases? You are not alone – this is a common problem in eCommerce. Strong competition makes customer loyalty difficult to achieve.

One way to deal with this phenomenon may be a mobile app with features that increase brand loyalty.

Discover solutions that build lasting relationships with users.

Customer loyalty and its impact on running an online store

One of the most important trends in eCommerce in 2025 is the pursuit of increased customer loyalty. Why is it so important?

Having a group of loyal customers translates into numerous benefits, such as:

• Increased sales: Loyal users are more likely to choose to shop at your store.
• Lower marketing expenses: Loyal customers don’t need ads to want to use your offer (it takes more budget to acquire new customers than to retain an existing one).
• Better brand image: Customer loyalty means that they perceive your brand positively because it offers them specific benefits.
• More effective communication with users: Customers who regularly return to the store often come into contact with its messages, so they can quickly learn about new products or promotions and use this knowledge when planning purchases.
• Increase in the number of recommendations: Loyal customers are more eager to tell their friends and family to shop at your online store, which increases the popularity of eCommerce.
• Higher app ratings: If customers are loyal and often use the app to shop, they may be more likely to leave a positive rating on Google Play or the App Store.

Mobile app – support in developing loyalty

Did you know that when a user has your app installed, the chances of them becoming loyal customers increase? A study by Google and Kantar shows that 87% of retailers admit that their app users are more loyal than those who don’t use it. But that’s not all! Their lifetime value is higher. It indicates how much a given customer is worth to the company throughout their entire relationship with the store.

It is not surprising: mobile apps offer users many possibilities, and they are always at hand. Whether the customer is waiting in line or having a lunch break, they probably use their smartphone at the time. If your app is available on it, you increase the chances that they will check it out.

They will do it even more willingly if you offer them solutions they consider beneficial.

App functionalities that make loyal users

Check out ideas for features worth considering if you want to increase customer loyalty to your eCommerce store.

Various ways to personalization

Product recommendations tailored to the user

You are probably familiar with sections in apps labeled, for example, “Products you might like” or “Customers who bought this product also bought…”. They usually appear on the product card or the main view.

How are they created? AI algorithms analyze user behavior in the app. They consider, for example, viewed products, items added to the cart or favorites, purchase history, etc.

Based on this, they generate personalized product recommendations that match the user’s preferences, which increases the likelihood of purchase.

Example of the section with recommended products: Homla app

Storing the information

Do you have an online store with clothes or shoes? Sometimes, finding the right size can be problematic for users, especially since some brands have unusual sizing.

Suggesting the correct size based on the customer’s previous purchases and the opinions of other users allows them to find the right clothes and shoes quickly. In addition, it positively affects their experience (UX). As a result, users can feel that you know their needs and are more willing to make repeat purchases in your store.

Example of size recommendation: Zalando app

Loyalty program

Points for purchases, in-app activity, referrals to friends

Financial rewards, simplicity, and ease of use are attributes of loyalty programs that as many as 86% of Deloitte survey respondents indicated as “important” or “very important” (source: 2024 Consumer Loyalty Survey). It is, therefore, logical that loyalty programs offering discounts are popular.

Customers collect points for various activities in the app, such as purchases, or social media shares. Points can then be exchanged, for example, for discounts, or free delivery.

Your own loyalty program should offer benefits tailored to customer preferences. It is worth using target group analysis and information about personas when designing it.

An attractive loyalty system encourages more frequent use of the app and shopping, especially when the points have an expiration date – if they are not used on time, they are lost.

Gamification

Different loyalty levels with additional benefits

Some loyalty programs allow you to advance to the next levels. To get to them, you need to earn more points. The higher the level, the more benefits you can get (e.g., more significant discounts or earlier access to sales, etc.).

Gamification elements, such as points, loyalty level systems, badges, or rankings, engage customers and motivate them to use the app more often.

Communication

PUSH notifications with personalized content

If you have the proper data, you can segment customers (divide them into groups based on selected common characteristics such as similar shopping preferences). You can then send such groups information about offers tailored to their needs and interests. These can be, for example, birthday discounts or promotions for products from their favorite category.

Personalized PUSH notifications will allow customers to quickly learn about promotions that are appealing to them. In this way, you show users that you care about their needs and make it clear that they will find what interests them in your store.

AI-powered live chat

When customers have doubts about the return policy, delivery options, or product selection, they want to receive the necessary information as soon as possible. In such a situation, an AI-powered live chat comes to the rescue, answering questions, helping choose products, and solving problems.

Such a chat ensures fast and efficient customer service, which builds a better shopping experience and improves brand perception, which translates into increased loyalty towards it.

• Discover more ideas for solutions using artificial intelligence in mobile apps.

Collecting data for building loyalty

You need data to create an attractive loyalty program or product recommendation system. Fortunately, the mobile app can help you with that.

The right approach to data collection and analysis will allow you to get to know users better. Thanks to this, you can find out who they are, what they like, how they behave, and what they expect. The collected data is the key to building loyalty and creating personalized shopping experiences.

However, it is necessary to consider carefully what data will be helpful in your store and how to use it.

• Learn the most important tips for using data in mobile apps.

Analyzing user behavior in the app – what data may be useful?

Activity – analytical tools monitor how often customers use the app, what functions they use most often, and how long they stay in it. This allows, among other things, the identification of the most engaged customer groups or the assessment of the popularity of individual app functions.

Thanks to this, you also learn which interface or navigation elements are worth optimizing to make it easier to use the app.

Product preferences – data that tells you which products customers most often browse, search for, add to the cart, rate, and comment on, allows you to find out, for example, which product categories are the most popular.

In the case of fashion and beauty mCommerce, you can also get to know, for example, the brands and styles that customers prefer. The key is to collect data relevant to your business that can be used when planning changes in UX/UI design, marketing, or app development strategy.

Customer segmentation

You can collect data about past transactions, search history, products added to the wish list, or most frequently viewed categories or products. Such data about customer preferences allows you to create offers and promotions that perfectly match their taste.

You can use the collected data to divide your customers into segments (e.g., new customers, regular customers, premium customers, customers interested in promotions, etc.). Then, you can send personalized messages and offers tailored to each segment’s needs and preferences.

If you know that, for example, a selected segment of customers most often buys dresses, you can offer discounts on this category of products, inform about new items from their favorite brands, offer complementary products to dresses that customers have already bought, etc.

Tailored offers and promotions increase the likelihood of purchase and build loyalty.

What should you remember?

• Collect customer data transparently and ethically.
• Inform users about what data you collect and how you use it.
• Take care of data security.

Summary: building customer loyalty with mobile apps

A mobile app can increase sales, provided it is well-designed and built using stable technologies. However, it is crucial to choose features valuable to users as it increases customer engagement.

Data is often needed to implement various strategies, such as the implementation of a loyalty program that offers benefits consistent with customers’ needs or product recommendations tailored to them.

Do you want to have more returning customers and increase sales? Contact us and find out how we can help you at Holdapp! Book a call with us. We will discuss your needs and present the capabilities of our company.