Team eCommerce Next interviewed Eric Netsch from Tapcart to get more insights on Mobile E-commerce. Following is our interview with him:
1. What is Tapcart, and where did the idea of Tapcart come from?
Tapcart is a mobile-commerce platform that helps Shopify stores create and launch mobile apps with no coding or developers needed. We saw that merchants who were interested in building a mobile app were endeavoring a drawn-out process that included hiring app developers that took anywhere from six months to a year to launch an app. We wanted to provide an alternative solution where merchants could self-creat and launch an app with ease, with very little maintenance required after launch. The resulting product was Tapcart.
2. What are the benefits of Tapcart’s mobile apps being codeless?
Building a mobile app from scratch is no small feat. Oftentimes, brands need to hire fully-fledged teams of developers to create and maintain a scalable mobile app. Having a codeless app gives brands the power to seamlessly sync their store’s back-end to the app while giving them the ability to design a world-class application with the use of a simple drag-and-drop feature. The difference with a cordless mobile app is that you can launch in just two weeks, whereas alternative options can take upwards of a year to build.
3. What industries does Tapcart build apps for?
Tapcart services all industries—including fashion, accessories, beauty, wellness, food,
beverage, music, home goods, and more. Plus, Tapcart services merchants of all sizes—from mom and pop shops to household name brands.
4. What pain point is owned marketing solving, and why should merchants implement owned communication channels?
In today’s landscape, merchants are struggling to reach their audiences. Paid advertising costs are at an all-time high and alternative channels are either riddled with competition or gated by fickle algorithms. Owned marketing gives stores the ability to build a self-contained audiences list that they can reach whenever they want—empowering stores to better reach, engage, convert, and retain customers and build brand loyalty as a result. Until now, brands have been wholly reliant on Facebook, Instagram, and Google to get their messaging in front of their audience. But by being dependent on those platforms, they now have become exposed to the privacy, policy, and algorithmic changes that are continually taking place. As a result, their brand messaging is being seen by fewer people, lower-intent buyers, and brands are paying more to acquire that customer. But if a brand were to truly “own” their channel, like they can with a mobile app, they have full control of who sees their message through push notifications and end up being in the driver’s seat of the messaging to their audience. Taking it a step further, the consumer environment has become more challenging with the inflationary pressures. Brands are feeling caught between a more frugal consumer and skyrocketing customer acquisition costs. But with an app, push notifications are unlimited and free. This gives the brand an amazing ability to own its audience and focus on retention instead of worrying about how much it will have to pay to acquire more customers. Therein is the most valuable part of having an owned sales and marketing channel. True control.
5. Are there any best practices for push notifications that Tapcart recommends?
We recommend that brands send at least one push notification a week. We have evidence that sending two push notifications in the first 90 days after a shopper downloads your app can increase their retention rate by 88%. Whether you are notifying your customers about an online event or an app-exclusive sale, push notifications drive instant traffic to your mobile app and spike conversions as a result.
6. Where do you see the trajectory of mobile commerce over the next five years?
We see mobile being the de-facto space of hoW shoppers will choose to transact and engage with stores. It’s important now more than ever that brands invest in channels that cater to mobile-first strategies and center mobile as a critical component of their growth, longevity, and approach to increasing CLV.
7. What expectations do you have for the future of Tapcart in the years to come?
In the future, we hope to expand our feature set to include creative ways to help stores not only better retain customers, but also acquire, and expand their customer base. Mobile apps no longer are perceived as a barrier to entry, but rather the future of how shoppers prefer to engage with brands.
About Eric Netsch
Eric is the co-founder and CEO of Tapcart, a mobile commerce platform powering highconverting codless mobile apps for Shopify’s fastest-growing brands. Eric has been featured in TechCrunch, Business Insider, The Verge, etc.
About Tapcart
Tapcart is a mobile commerce platform that turns Shopify-powered brands into high-converting mobile apps. Tapcart works with the biggest brands like Fashion Nova, Pier 1 Imports, Chubbies, and 3,000+ others.
