E-Commerce Mobile App Development Cost With Key Factors

A number of factors can affect an e-commerce mobile app’s price. Understanding the platform you select and its required features can help you create a realistic budget.

Whether you’re a small online store or a multi-seller marketplace, the costs for each phase of development can be huge. 

This article will explain to you what the primary factors impacting ecommerce mobile app development cost are, providing you with valuable insights to make well-informed decisions for your project.

Factors that influence e-commerce app development cost

The following are some of the major factors that affect the cost of e-commerce app development

1. App complexity

The complexity of your application is also a big factor in terms of cost. An app with simple features like product listing, cart, and payment gateway won’t be charged a high price. 

But as soon as you need to integrate things like real-time chat, order tracking, and recommendations based on AI, the costs go up. 

The more advanced your app’s functionalities are, the more resources (time, skills) you need to spend on its development and management. So it will affect the price.

2. Platform choice

The cost will be influenced by the platform choice (iOS or Android, or both). When you develop native IOS and Android apps, the costs are higher than a cross-platform solution. 

You will need to determine if the use of platform capabilities is more important than writing for multiple platforms. 

Cross-platform development tools such as React Native or Flutter allow you to maintain just one codebase for both. This makes them a relatively cheap alternative for many businesses, but at the cost of both performance and user experience.

This is not just for mobile apps; even the cost of an e-commerce mobile app development is not the same as e-commerce software development. This is because the skills and technology needed for both these platforms are different.

3. Design and user experience (UX)

The user interface and user experience (UI/UX) of your app can be a crucial factor in influencing a user’s decision to use it. Paying for custom design and positive navigation will probably cost you more to develop your app, but it is an investment that contributes to user engagement and satisfaction.

Bad design can lead to people deleting your app, so companies are willing to spend more to get it right. While templates are inexpensive, you can’t really beat the personal touch that follows a custom mobile app design process.

4. Development team location

The location of your development team is another parameter that can influence the total budget of your project. Recruiting from expensive labor cost countries like the United States and, UK can be very budget demanding. On the other hand, going with a developer in cheaper areas such as Eastern Europe and South Asia can get the same results, cheaper, without loss of quality.

Collaboration with an offshore software development company can trim expenses a lot. Just make sure you are hiring a credible offshore development partner with a good track record.

5. Features and functionality

The cost of your eCommerce app will increase with how many more features and functionality you add. Product search, payment gateways, and order tracking are baseline features that are necessary, but the budget would blow up for the more complicated features, such as AR, AI-powered personalisation, chatbots, among others.

Although these extra functions should provide better comfort, they tend to also raise the price considerably. Be certain that the aspects you select are in line with what your customer is looking for.

6. Third-party integrations

The costs will be higher if the app incorporates third-party tools and services (e.g., payment gateways, CRMs, or social media integrations). A number of integrations are custom-coded, and this can be costly and take time to develop.

While such integrations can add features to the app, they can also add to the cost of development, both at the start and over time, as these integrations have to be maintained. As always, weigh the cost of third-party services against what they offer.

7. Ongoing maintenance and updates

The price doesn’t stop once you put the app on the market. To always make the app perform efficiently, you need to maintain it on a regular basis, including updates and security patches. Maintenance can range from fixing bugs and updating features to performance improvements and providing user support.

The bigger your eCommerce app gets, the more you’ll need to maintain it. When creating your budget, keep these recurring expenses in mind. Annually, these are 15-20% of the initial development cost.

8. Testing and quality assurance (QA)

Thorough testing will make you sure that your app is bug-free and does not give any trouble to the users. 

The more you test, the more it costs to develop. It is not limited only to functional tests, but also to performance, usability, security, and device compatibility testing. 

An app that has been tested well is more stable, less buggy, and leads to happier users. But as companies test more broadly, that will also make development more complicated, lengthy, and expensive.

9. Development tools and technologies

One reliable indicator of development time and expense is the technological stack. Some are more expensive because of licensing, and some others require special skills. Costs are also affected by whether or not proprietary vs. non-proprietary software is used.

The selection of the right tech stack is key for reducing costs. Adopting highly popular free/open-source software would help to keep costs down, while leveraging the best technologies may improve performance and scalability while raising the budget.

Technology stack and its impact on cost

It’s crucial for your app’s success, scalability, and sustainability, which technology stack you go with. The decision to go native or use cross-platform tools, programming language, and the back-end infrastructure can all impact the total cost.

• Native development: Higher initial cost, but offers the best performance.
  
• Cross-platform tools: Lower cost, but could miss out on some platform-specific features. 

Keep in mind that the more advanced the technology stack, the more expenses on development and maintenance you’ll have

Cost variation by app complexity

The complexity of your e-commerce app is a determining factor for the overall e-commerce app development cost. More feature-rich and complicated platforms will require more time and resources, while simpler apps will be less expensive.

• Simple eCommerce app: This is relatively simple and is a less expensive option; it includes all the basics, product listing, shopping cart, and payment gateways. The pricing starts from $20,000.
• Intermediate eCommerce app: Comes with advanced options: user profiles, filters, search, etc, that result in more time required for building and testing the app. The pricing starts from $50,000.
• Advanced eCommerce app: It includes multivendor support with real-time tracking, custom payment solutions, and very high security features that make it more expensive and time-consuming to develop. The pricing starts from $80,000.

The more features and complicated you make it, the more you’re going to pay for it and the longer it will take to build.

E-commerce app development cost by region

Geography plays an important role when it comes to the price of developing an e-commerce app. Development teams in countries with higher labor costs will charge more for their services.

Here’s a list of the top countries for software development and their average hourly rates

• US & Western Europe: (starts from $35)
• Eastern Europe: (starts from $25)
• Latin America: (starts from $35)
• India/Asia: (starts from $15)
• Ukraine: (starts from $15)
• Poland: (starts from $25)
• Philippines: (starts from $15)
• Vietnam: (starts from $15)

The location of the development team you hire can have a major impact on the budget of your project.

Hidden and post-launch costs to consider

Post-launch expenses are always forgotten but can crush you. Those costs are to cover upkeep on the system, server hosting, as well as customer support. 

Moreover, marketing and updates for better usability and user experience are also additional costs. 

• App maintenance: Maintenance and support of the app is critical to keeping it in good working order, secure, and up-to-date with new platform versions.
• Marketing & Advertising: ASO and paid ads campaigns are great channels for you to boost the visibility & discoverability of your app, and get more app downloads and user retention.
• Hosting and server costs: Ongoing costs for cloud services or physical servers to keep the app accessible, fast, and responsive to users.

And remember to include these hidden costs in your initial budget so that you aren’t caught with a bill that surprises you down the line.

Tips to reduce the cost of developing an e-commerce app

There are several ways to cut down on your e-commerce mobile app development cost:

• Leverage existing frameworks: Save time and money by building on existing solutions.
• Outsource to offshore teams: Get in touch with teams specializing in offshore app development to reduce costs. 
• Prioritize MVP: Develop a minimum viable product (MVP) and make adjustments based on user feedback.
• Use open-source technology: If you use open-source frameworks, you’re not going to have to pay for licensing, and you’ll still be able to build a solid base for your app.
• Use pre-built templates: One of the best ways to save on development time and design cost is to use pre-made templates, as they offer great starting platforms.
• Cloud services: Host your app and store data in cloud infrastructure, minimize the costs of initial setup and daily maintenance, and scale up as your app gains more users.
• Automation Testing: Automating mobile app testing lets you save time and money, find issues at a much earlier stage, hence ensuring that the quality is high and the cost of manual testing is low
• Focus on core features: Don’t include nonessential features and functionalities right from the start. This allows for an affordable initial development and keeps room for future improvements.

In this way, you will cut down development costs without compromising on quality.

Ways to build your e-commerce app

When it comes to building your e-commerce store’s app, you’ve got a few options:

• Hire an in-house team:  Offers full control over the development, and it is easier to communicate and manage, but requires more initial investment and additional operating costs.
• Outsource development: Hiring an outsourcing company will not only save you money but will let you pick from the world’s best experts. Outsourcing has three primary categories:
  • Onshore development: Onshore teams provide local expertise and seamless communication, but come with high labor costs and limited cost flexibility.
  • Offshore development: Offshore outsourcing saves money, and there is abundant talent, but challenges include time zones, communication barriers, and cultural differences.
  • Nearshore development: Nearshore teams can provide a cost and communication equilibrium, operating hours that match our own hours, and reasonably priced, skilled developers.
• Leverage app builders: Do-it-yourself is super pocket-friendly and quick to set up, but you lose out on customization and flexibility, which means the app can’t scale.

Each has certain pros and cons, so the one you choose must align with your business’s specific requirements, budget, and time constraints.

Conclusion

Understanding the factors that influence e-commerce mobile app development costs is crucial for making informed decisions and estimating your budget.

Consider every last detail from the platform to the features to figure out the impact on your budget.

By making time to educate yourself and plan about how you will design and maintain your app, you can save yourself money, stress, and possibly even a dangerous situation once the time comes to launch your app.

And with a bit of careful thinking and strategic decision-making, you’ll be on the path to creating an app that’s truly advantageous to your business, and won’t break the bank in the process.

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