Did you know that e-commerce brands that integrate with 3rd party apps experience an 18.5% increase in revenue? That’s right, such integrations can have a significant impact on your brand’s bottom line by enhancing the app functionality, cost savings, and overall improving the user experience. For example, Shopify alone provides over 4,000 third-party apps that integrate with their platform, ranging from social media apps like Facebook and Instagram to shipping and inventory management apps. So, if you are looking forward to optimising your mobile app experience with cutting edge features and unique benefits, the answer lies in 3rd party apps!
In this article, we will explore how third party apps can help your ecommerce brand stand out in the crowd including some insider tips on the best third party apps you should consider.
They’re services that your app can access via APIs or SDKs, allowing it to interact with external data sources or features. Third party integrations allow brands to add new functionalities and services such as payment gateways, product review systems, or social media integrations to their existing apps, creating a more seamless and comprehensive user experience. The benefits of 3rd party integrations are numerous. They allow e-commerce brands to streamline their operations, reduce development costs, and even quickly introduce new features to the market.
One example of a famous clothing brand that uses a third-party payment app is ASOS. ASOS is a global online fashion and beauty retailer that sells clothing, accessories, and beauty products. The company accepts a range of payment options on their website and mobile app, including credit and debit cards, PayPal, and Klarna. Klarna is a third-party payment app that allows customers to make purchases and pay later, in instalments.
Additionally, by using a third-party payment app like Klarna, ASOS can focus on its core business of selling clothing and accessories, while leaving the complexities of payment processing and risk management to a trusted third-party provider.
D2C brands need to consider multiple categories of integrations to provide a top-notch mobile app experience. These categories include payments, shipping, marketing, and customer support. So, let’s take a closer look at the most important types of third party apps your eCommerce brand should focus on
As an eCommerce brand, there are several types of third-party apps that you should consider integrating into your app to enhance your business operations and improve customer experience. Here are some of the most important types of third-party apps to focus on:
Payment Gateways
Payment gateways are third-party apps that allow you to accept payments from customers through various channels such as credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and online bank transfers. For instance, Everlane, an online clothing brand, leverages Stripe to process payments from its customers.
Stripe’s payment platform allows Everlane to accept payments from multiple payment methods providing a seamless payment experience to their customers. Some of the most reliable and secure payment gateways include PayPal, Stripe, and Square.
Shipping and Delivery Apps
Third-party shipping integrations are tools or software solutions that allow your brand to connect with shipping carriers and automate shipping processes. These integrations can help streamline the order fulfilment process, reduce errors, and provide customers with real-time shipping updates.They can help with everything from selecting the best shipping carriers, printing shipping labels, to tracking packages, and sending notifications to customers.
An example of an ecommerce clothing brand that uses third-party shipping integrations is Fashion Nova, a fast-fashion retailer based in Los Angeles, California.
Fashion Nova uses several third-party shipping integrations to manage its order fulfilment process.They use ShipStation to automate their shipping workflows, print shipping labels, and track shipments from multiple carriers. They also use Endicia to purchase and print postage directly from their warehouse.
Similarly, ASOS uses USPS for their shipping needs due to the carrier’s extensive network and reliable service. USPS’s tracking capabilities also allow ASOS to provide their customers with real-time shipping updates, which can help improve their overall shopping experience.The most popular and reliable shipping and delivery apps include ShipStation, USPS, FedEx, and Shippo.
Customer Service and Support Apps
Providing excellent customer service is crucial for the success of an eCommerce brand. Third-party apps can help you streamline customer service workflows, improve response times and automate support tasks such as answering common questions and responding to inquiries on social media.
For instance, Zara, a Spanish fast-fashion retailer uses Zendesk, a cloud-based customer service software, to manage its customer support operations. Zendesk allows Zara to centralize customer inquiries from various channels, such as email, social media, and chat, into one platform . It also enables Zara’s customer support team to access customer data and order history to provide personalized support and resolve issues more efficiently. In addition to Zendesk, Zara also offers a self-service support portal on their website, where customers can find answers to frequently asked questions, track their orders, and initiate returns or exchanges.
Another great example of customer service third party apps in action is Zendesk which is used by Zappos to manage customer support tickets across multiple channels, such as email, phone, and social media.
Marketing and Sales Apps
Third-party apps can help you increase sales and drive traffic to your website. These apps can help with tasks such as email marketing, social media management, and search engine optimization. With marketing integrations, e-commerce brands can create personalised experiences for their customers by offering targeted promotions and discounts.
One of the most popular athletic apparel and footwear brands, Nike, uses Mailchimp to create and send email campaigns to its customers, promoting new product releases and sales. Another great example is how MVMT Watches uses Klaviyo to power its email marketing campaigns and customer engagement efforts. Using Klaviyo, MVMT Watches can segment its email list based on customer behaviour, preferences, and purchase history. This allows them to send targeted messages to customers based on their interests and behaviours, which can improve the effectiveness of their email campaigns.
Analytics and Reporting Apps
Analysing data and measuring performance is key to making informed business decisions. Third-party analytics and reporting apps can help you track metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, and customer behaviour. Popular apps in this category include Google Analytics and Mixpanel.
One example of how top brands use third-party analytics and reporting integration is Sephora. Sephora uses Google Analytics to track website traffic and customer behaviour on its website.
Google Analytics allows Sephora to track key metrics such as website traffic, bounce rates, and time spent on site. Sephora can also track sales performance and customer demographics to gain insights into customer behaviour and preferences.
To effectively measure and improve your app’s KPIs, leverage SuperCEO, our free Shopify store analytics tool that offers real time store metrics and insights right on your mobile phone or email. With SuperCEO, you can track and analyze user behavior, identify areas of improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your app’s performance. Try it now.
Reviews & Ratings
Third-party review and rating platforms can be valuable for ecommerce businesses because they provide social proof and help build trust with potential customers. By leveraging these platforms, businesses can also gather feedback from customers and improve their products or services based on that feedback.
For example, Birchbox, a monthly subscription service that delivers beauty samples to its customers, integrated with Yotpo, a user-generated content (UGC) platform, to offer product reviews and ratings to its customers. Yotpo’s integration with Birchbox allowed customers to leave reviews and ratings for the beauty products they received in their monthly subscription boxes. Customers could rate the products on a five-star scale and leave written reviews describing their experience with the product.
Conclusion
With so many options to choose from, it’s important for e-commerce brands to select the right 3rd party apps that will help them meet their business goals. Integrating with 3rd party apps can also help e-commerce brands save time and money. Instead of building new features from scratch, brands can leverage existing technology to create a better user experience.
With Apptile, e-commerce brands can easily connect 3rd party apps to their mobile app. Our one-click integration simplifies the process and quickly adds new functionality. We support a growing list of apps on the platform. You can enhance functionality, drive revenue, and improve customer satisfaction. It’s time to start exploring the benefits of these integrations.
At Apptile, our goal is to empower you to create personalized experiences that showcase your brand in the best possible light irrespective of your business size or budget.
Get started now and create stunning mobile apps in seconds without any coding. Book a demo with our team to see how Apptile can help you transform your business for the mobile era. We would love to hear more about your brand’s mobile app vision and help you bring it to life. Also, follow us to stay ahead of the eCommerce game and join the conversation today!
