If you think shopping is just about browsing stores, then what about instant gratification, smooth digital experiences, and mobile-first convenience? Today, the global sales from e-commerce reached $6.86 trillion. We can consider a growth rate that is increasing at 8.3% yearly. And shockingly, the smartphone users increased up to 80%, meaning everybody uses smartphones for online shopping.
So, if you are a budding startup or an established enterprise, if you are running an e-commerce business, you need an app. But here the question is, how to develop an e-commerce app? How to choose the best e-commerce development company? What will be the app development cost? And what not? Let’s discuss how to develop e-commerce apps, step by step.
E-commerce app development is simply a process of developing a mobile app or a web app that helps visitors search, shop, and keep favorite items in the cart or favorite list. E-commerce apps are necessary for both small vendors and large marketplaces (e.g., Amazon, Myntra, Ajio, Nykaa, etc.). Do you know why these apps are so trendy? Yes, correct, because of its user-friendly design, robust backend development, trusted 3rd-party payment integrations, and real-time user engagement.
We are experiencing advanced trends of e-commerce apps, including AI-generated recommendations, personalized push notifications, AR and VR-enabled products and previews, and whatnot! These features make them different from the rival apps.
If you’re in the e-commerce niche, and having an app is not an option for you, it is a compulsion. Moreover, if you are thinking that e-commerce apps are just an online store where people shop for clothes, groceries, furniture, books, and other things, then no! It isn’t. E-commerce apps are a powerful tool to:
The B2C business model is the most common and familiar one for e-commerce businesses. These businesses are selling their products or services directly to the end-users. These apps offer fast browsing, seamless checkout, personalized offers, and more. Partnering with an ideal e-commerce development company can help you select high-performance and customer-centric features.
As the name suggests, the B2B business model involves transactions between companies, like manufacturers to wholesalers or distributors. These transitions are large in volume and often contract-based.
The C2C apps are used to buy and sell products from one owner to another. These apps are intermediaries that offer secure, peer-to-peer transactions. However, the fraud happens frequently; hence, a verification feature is a must while building a C2C app platform.
The C2B model is completely opposite to the B2C model because in this model, individuals offer products or services to businesses. To understand this easily, we can say these platforms are freelance marketplaces, influencer marketing platforms, and crowdsourcing platforms. The shift toward gig economy models makes C2B an attractive choice for many digital entrepreneurs.
The B2G business model is about offering services or products to government entities. These models are often used in public sector procurement, infrastructure, and IT services. These apps must comply with data regulations and government procurement policies.
The G2C apps are for delivering public services like utility payments, taxation, licenses, and social services directly to citizens. These apps must be transparent, efficient, and scalable. Data security is one of the top priorities for these apps.
Simply, M-commerce is the mobile apps for buying and selling. Nowadays, every modern e-commerce app has adopted a mobile-first approach, and this is all about M-commerce. Partnering with an experienced mobile app development company ensures your M-commerce app offers excellent responsiveness and smooth UX.
This model is a mixture of social media and e-commerce, which means this allows users to discover and purchase products directly using various social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, etc.
To use this model, users need to pay a recurring fee to access a product or service, like curated boxes, streaming services, or SaaS tools. However, the app development cost of these models is a bit higher than others, but the ROI is also higher than others.
There are certain features that you must include while building an e-commerce application. These must-have features offer a smooth online shopping experience to your end user and ensure business growth.
| Customer Panel | Vendor Panel | Admin Panel |
|---|---|---|
| Product list and categorization | Registration and login | Log in with ID |
| Product details | Active subscription plan | Dashboard |
| Advanced search | Set up multiple stores | Manage users |
| Find store | Catalogue and order management | Manage product categories |
| View offers | Automatic inventory management | Manage promotions |
| Shipment tracking | Shipment tracking | Manage payments |
| Loyalty programs | Payment accounting | Manage referrals or invites |
| Cart management | User review | - |
| Payment options | - | - |
| Ratings & reviews | - | - |
The app development process begins with understanding the targeted market, identifying targeted customers, and analyzing competitors. This helps pinpoint the features your app must have and the unique value proposition, or USP, that you can offer to your end user. This research also influences the strategic plan that outlines the app’s objectives, key performance indicators, and overall goals. Apart from this, you have to perform a detailed SWOT analysis, but for generic e-commerce app development, you can consider the following SWOT details.
| Strength | - Wider market reach through mobile platforms - 24/7 availability increases sales potential - Personalized experiences using AI/ML - Data-driven insights for decision-making - Brand visibility and customer loyalty through apps & push notifications |
| Weakness | - High initial development cost for advanced features - Ongoing maintenance and updates required - Security and compliance challenges (GDPR, PCI DSS) - Dependency on mobile platforms (App Store/Play Store policies) - Cart abandonment rates due to UX or payment issues |
| Opportunities | - Rising m-commerce trends - Voice shopping and AR try-ons as differentiators - Integration with social commerce platforms (Instagram, WhatsApp) - Subscription-based models for recurring revenue - Expansion into global or untapped markets using local language & currency |
| Threats | - High competition from major players (Amazon, Flipkart) - Changing app store algorithms and fees - User trust concerns (data privacy, scam apps) - Technological disruptions (new devices, regulations) - High customer expectations for speed, UI, and reliability |
Based on the insights from the market research, you now have to define your users’ specific requirements. List the must-have features of your app, including user registration, product catalog and categorization, search filters, shopping cart, discount coupons, payment gateway integration, customer support, and reviews, etc., and plan the further development process accordingly.
The advanced e-commerce app development features that you should consider:
Partnering with a leading e-commerce development company will help you choose the necessary advanced features to scale your app.
The look and feel of your e-commerce app influences user engagement and conversions. The app design should not only reflect your brand identity but also offer an intuitive shopping experience. The UI/UX priorities include:
This stage contains one of the most essential tasks, i.e., wireframing. The best wireframing and prototyping tools are Figma and Adobe; you can choose either.
Actual coding and programming start with this stage. Businesses should choose the right tech stack and write qualitative code to build a stable and scalable app. It is crucial to develop both a frontend that users interact with and a backend that manages data and integrates with other systems like inventory management, payment gateways, and customer support 24/7. We suggest focusing on the following popular tech stacks while developing an e-commerce app.
| Category | Tech Stack | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend (Mobile) | React Native | Cross-platform development |
| Flutter | High-performance, beautiful UIs | |
| Swift | Native iOS development with optimized performance | |
| Kotlin | Native Android development using modern, scalable features | |
| Frontend (Web) | React.js | Dynamic and fast user interfaces |
| Vue.js | Lightweight and easy-to-integrate framework for UI | |
| Angular | Scalable web apps for enterprise-level solutions | |
| Backend | Node.js | Real-time processing and scalable APIs |
| Django (Python) | Secure and fast development with built-in admin and tools | |
| Laravel (PHP) | Clean MVC structure, ideal for small to mid-sized apps | |
| Ruby on Rails | Quick MVP development with strong conventions | |
| Database | MongoDB | NoSQL database suited for flexible product catalogs |
| PostgreSQL | Advanced relational DB with high integrity and complex queries | |
| MySQL | Widely used, reliable, and open-source relational DB | |
| Cloud/Hosting | AWS | Scalable hosting, storage, load balancing, and deployment |
| Google Cloud Platform | AI integrations and secure global infrastructure | |
| Firebase | Real-time database and backend-as-a-service (great for MVPs) | |
| Payment Gateway | Stripe | Seamless and customizable global payment processing |
| PayPal | Trusted payment option with buyer protection features | |
| Razorpay | Popular Indian gateway supporting UPI, cards, and wallets | |
| Square | POS + online payment integration for omnichannel commerce | |
| Authentication & Security | OAuth 2.0 | Enables secure login via Google, Facebook, etc. |
| JWT (JSON Web Token) | Lightweight and secure token-based session management | |
| SSL/TLS Encryption | Encrypts data transmission for user safety | |
| Search & Integrations | ElasticSearch | Fast product search with filtering capabilities |
| Algolia | Instant search experience with typo tolerance | |
| SendGrid / Mailgun | Email notifications, order confirmations, promotions | |
| Twilio | SMS verification, alerts, and chat notifications | |
| Stripe Radar / Sift | Fraud prevention and transaction risk analysis tools |
To ensure the app is bug-free and performing well, testing is essential. There are various types of quality assurance testing, like functional testing, usability testing, performance testing, and security testing. Both automatic and manual testing help you to debug the app and ensure a smooth user experience. The following are the purposes of various quality assurance tests:
After the development and testing compilation, now is a time of launching your e-commerce app. In this phase you have to submit the app to the Apple App Store or Google Play and prepare a necessary screenshot guide to promote the launch. Before making the launch, you need to ensure that your support team is ready to handle any customer inquiries and issues that arise post-launch.
After a successful launch, you have to continuously monitor the app’s performance and gather user feedback. Using this feedback, you can make necessary updates and improvements in your app. Moreover, regular updates, bug fixing, and new feature introductions will scale your app, retain users, and support you to stay competitive.
Syncing inventory, stock, and users of each device without interruptions is technically complex, and it requires robust APIs and backend logic.
To sync everything, you shall implement a centralized cloud-based inventory management system. You can also use WebSockets or Firebase, or anything related, for real-time updates and to ensure the backend is built with scalable microservices to handle large order volumes and simultaneous transactions efficiently.
Data protection and data privacy compliance are a must for e-commerce apps. The data breach costs your reputation and your goodwill in the business market.
Choose secure payment gateways and ensure compliance with global data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, or others (if applicable)
Integration with various payment methods, including COD, cards, UPI, wallets, etc., is not easy.
Choose PayPal or Razorpay, globally accepted payment gateways. Prioritize SDKs that support multiple currencies and local payment methods. For a better experience, you shall implement retry logic, tokenization, and fallback payment options for payment failure situations.
Your app must support all different types of devices and screen sizes. To ensure device compatibility, you shall focus on rigorous QA and responsive design.
Go through the responsive design principles before coming to any conclusion. Adopt the React Native framework for a consistent UI/UX on various screen sizes.
iQlance Solutions acts as a strategic technical partner, not a app or software development company. Before understanding how? Let’s have a brief idea of how tech partners and app development companies differ from each other.
Tech Partner vs. Software/App Development Company
| Criteria | Tech Partner | Software/App Development Company |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Long-term collaboration | Project-based execution |
| Involvement | Involved in business strategy and app development strategy | Limited involvement up to development tasks |
| Ownership | Shares business vision and app goals | No ownership shared |
| Flexibility | Agile and adapts to business needs | Rigid towards timelines and deliverables |
| Post-launch Support | Ongoing optimization and scaling | Limited to maintenance and SLA (Service Level Agreement) terms |
| Value Offers | Consults on tech stack, roadmap, and funding | Fulfill technical spaces only |
We are a strategic tech partner for your e-commerce app because we align with your long-term e-commerce goals, helping you define the right product roadmap, select scalable technologies, and ensure your app stays competitive. From MVP launch to iterative upgrades and customer feedback integration (post-launch support), we offer end-to-end app development services. We have an expert UI/UX team, development team, QA engineers, and support team who bring value to each stage of development. If you are looking for a tech partner, not just an outsourcing team that helps you in just the development phase, then iQlance Solutions will be an ideal partner for you.
While talking about e-commerce apps, trust is a must. For that, you should invest in SSL encryption, two-factor authentication, and secure payment protocols. Because data breaches cost your reputation and users’ confidence.
The app needs to grow as the business grows. Hence, choosing cloud-based infrastructure and modular code design will be useful while adding new features or handling surges in user traffic easily.
3rd-party app integrations, including CRM, ERP, email automation, and dashboards, are essential for e-commerce apps. Hence, choosing a reliable tech stack and APIs that support 3rd-party app integration is essential.
The app development cost will vary based on the complexity of the app, advanced features you want, and many other aspects. But the following table shows the approximate cost of building an e-commerce app.
| App Type | Approximate Cost (in USD) | Development Time |
|---|---|---|
| Basic MVP App | $15,000 to $30,000 | 2 to 3 months |
| Medium Complexity | $30,000 to $60,000 | 3 to 5 months |
| Advanced E-commerce | $60,000 to $120,000+ | 5 to 8 months or more |
Partnering with a leading e-commerce development company helps you optimize cost, and an agile methodology will ensure transparency in the development process.
iQlance Solutions is a leading mobile app development company in the USA and helps startups to enterprises worldwide to build intuitive, secure, and scalable e-commerce apps that deliver real ROI. We offer:
(1) End-to-end support, no guesswork: We offer a full-cycle development with clear and transparent communication, detailed planning and strategy, and zero ambiguity to ensure updating the client about the project regularly.
(2) Mobile-first and conversion-focused: We focus on designing the e-commerce app with a mobile-first approach, optimizing for speed, responsiveness, and conversions to deliver an exclusive shopping experience that engages and converts more.
(3) AI, AR, VR, and GenAI focused: We offer cutting-edge integrations that include AI-powered support, product recommendations, and user support; AR and VR-powered try-ons; and more that transform your e-commerce app into a smart store to shop.
(4) Post-deployment support: We won’t leave you after launch; we provide continuous monitoring, updates, performance tuning, and feature updates to keep your e-commerce app competitive and aligned with growing market trends.
(5) Time zone alignment: We supported the client in their local time zone, enabling faster decision-making and smoother collaboration.
(6) Multiple demos: We provide milestone-based demos (i.e., demos after compilation of each step of the development process) so that you can review progress and suggest changes.
(7) Regular update on call/meeting: We offer weekly and milestone-based updates through online meetings. You can also join our daily stand-up meetings and connect to our team anytime using a mutual communication channel.
(8) Secure and scalable: We provide a secure and scalable e-commerce app solution that is built with enterprise-grade security and cloud-native architecture.
(9) Strategy-driven for every business size: We have a custom development roadmap for any size of business; whether you are a startup firm or an enterprise, we ensure delivering a measurable app value.
Want to build an advanced and scalable e-commerce app? Request a quote from iQlance Solutions today, and let’s build something great together.
The following are some famous business models of e-commerce apps
The following are some reliable tech stacks for e-commerce mobile apps
An advanced e-commerce mobile app takes 6 to 9 months or more. However, this is completely based on the complexity of your project.
The following are some recent trends in e-commerce app development:
According to our experience, an ecommerce team size of a project manager (1 person), UI/UX designers (2 to 3 persons), dedicated developers (3 to 5 certified developers), backend developers (1 or 2 persons), QA engineers (2 to 3 certified QAs), and a DevOps engineer should be enough.
About the Author:
B.Eng., MBA, PMP®
I’m Krunal Vyas, IT Consultant at iQlance Solutions. Is one of the name of website and Mobile app Development, I’ve helped more than 250+ Clients to build meaningful mobile apps and website. Call me today for FREE CONSULTATIONS:
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