Category: Blog

In ecommerce, there’s one metric that moves the needle more than anything else: customer lifetime value.

Strong lifetime value is the key to a scalable, sustainable business. It means customers are coming back and buying regularly, and each dollar you pump into new customer acquisition is going further.

Keep reading for the complete guide on how to boost your store’s customer lifetime value – including the one massive lever that most ecommerce brands aren’t using.

14 Strategies to Increase Customer Lifetime Value

Here’s the secret to increasing customer lifetime value:

There’s not one magic bullet waiting for you. There are numerous levers you can pull – and it’s not hard to stack multiple improvements to engineer a meaningful lift in LTV.

Here are 14 ways to lift LTV. Execute on just half of them, and you could see a major change in your unit economics and cash flow.

1. Launch a Mobile App

Mobile app users consistently generate the highest lifetime value of any ecommerce channel. According to the Vendrux Ecommerce Benchmark Report, app user CLV is 2.8-5x higher than web-only shoppers, and 60% of first-time app buyers go on to make additional purchases.

Why the gap is so large:

• Higher purchase frequency. App users purchase roughly 33% more often than non-app users. The app icon sits on their home screen next to Amazon and Instagram, which means your store is one tap away instead of a Google search away.
• Higher conversion rates. Apps deliver 1.7-3x higher conversion rates than mobile web. One wellness brand in the benchmark study converts at 9.1% in-app vs. 1.1% on mobile web.
• Higher order values. Apps provide 10-50% higher AOV than mobile web, likely because the streamlined checkout and saved payment details reduce friction.
• Push notifications. You get a direct, low-cost re-engagement channel. Automated abandoned cart pushes alone generated $10,000-$200,000+ in additional monthly revenue for the brands studied.

Rainbow Shops saw a 7x increase in mobile customer lifetime value after launching their app. John Varvatos generates 10x more revenue per app user than mobile web, with a 4x higher purchase rate.

“The app’s been invaluable to us. The cost we’re paying versus what we’re getting back is tenfold.”
— Nick Barbarise, Director of IT at John Varvatos

The best part: you don’t need to build an app from scratch. With a service like Vendrux, you can turn your existing website into a native iOS and Android app in about a month, keeping all your existing features, integrations, and design intact. 

This could be the fastest and most effective way to elevate your customer lifetime value.

2. Launch (or Improve) Your Loyalty Program

Loyalty program members generate 12-18% more revenue than non-members, according to Accenture. And 85% of shoppers say they’re more likely to buy from brands with loyalty programs.

The key is designing a program that rewards the behavior you want. Points-per-dollar is the default, but the programs with the highest CLV impact use tiered structures. 

• Sephora’s Beauty Insider (Insider, VIB, Rouge tiers) creates aspiration where customers spend more to reach the next level. 
• Starbucks Rewards combines points-per-dollar with status and convenience (order-ahead, free drinks), which is part of why their app drives such high repeat purchase rates. 
• Amazon Prime takes a different approach entirely: a paid membership that locks in loyalty through shipping benefits, creating switching costs that keep customers buying repeatedly.

What to look for in a loyalty platform:

• Tiered rewards that create progression (not just flat points-per-dollar)
• Points for non-purchase actions like reviews, social shares, and referrals
• Integration with your existing stack so points display correctly across web, email, and app

Tools like Smile.io, Yotpo, and LoyalLion are the most popular options on Shopify. 

Yon-Ka Paris, a Vendrux customer, integrates their Yotpo loyalty program with their mobile app, offering extra points for in-app purchases, which drives both app adoption and repeat buying.

This is a lever that a lot of brands are using, but not to its full potential.

3. Subscriptions

Subscriptions transform one-time buyers into recurring revenue with dramatically longer customer lifespans. 

Dollar Shave Club built a billion-dollar brand largely on the strength of subscription CLV; customers who subscribe stay longer and spend more than those who buy one-off.

If you sell consumable products (supplements, skincare, coffee, pet food), giving customers a subscribe-and-save option is one of the simplest ways to lock in higher CLV. 

The model works because it solves a real problem: customers don’t have to remember to reorder, and they often get a small discount (typically 10-15% off) for committing.

For the brand, it’s a recurring revenue stream that’s one of the most reliable ways to keep customers buying from you for longer – and spending more over their lifetime as a customer.

Read more: Best Subscription Apps for Shopify Stores

4. Use Push Notifications, Email, and SMS Strategically

Direct marketing channels are the backbone of lifetime value. The core channels in your stack are email, SMS and push notifications.

Each channel has a different strength, and using them together drives more repeat purchases than any single channel alone.

Push notifications are your most effective channel on a user for user basis: visible, low-cost, and land inside the native app where checkout is one tap away.

Email is still the foundation for lifecycle marketing. Welcome sequences, post-purchase flows, and win-back series are where tools like Klaviyo and Omnisend shine. Email is best for longer-form content: product education, brand storytelling, and detailed promotions.

SMS works for time-sensitive messages: flash sales, back-in-stock alerts, and shipping updates.

The highest-performing brands layer all three. A customer abandons their cart; they get a push notification within an hour, an email the next morning, and an SMS 24 hours later if they still haven’t converted.

For a deeper breakdown, see our comparison of push notifications vs email vs. SMS.

5. Personalize the Shopping Experience

77% of consumers have spent more money or recommended a brand that offered a personalized experience, according to Twilio. Personalization increases CLV by making every interaction feel relevant, which boosts both conversion rate and purchase frequency.

The most impactful personalization tactics for CLV:

• Product recommendations based on purchase history. If a customer bought running shoes, show them running socks and insoles, not random bestsellers. Certain Shopify apps together with Shopify’s native recommendations make this automated.
• Segmented email flows. A customer who’s bought three times should get a different email than a first-time buyer. Segment by purchase count, product category, and average spend.
• Dynamic homepage content. Show returning visitors their recently viewed items, back-in-stock products from their wishlist, or category-specific promotions.
• Personalized push notifications. Instead of blasting the same promo to everyone, segment by purchase behavior. A customer who bought from your skincare line gets notified about new skincare arrivals, not shoe sales.

The key is using the first-party data you already have (purchase history, browse behavior, email engagement) rather than relying on third-party cookies that are going away.

6. Set Up Automatic Cross-Sells and Upsells

Once someone has made a purchase, they’ve demonstrated trust. That makes the post-purchase window the best time to sell them more.

• Cross-sells recommend complementary products. A customer buying a camera gets shown memory cards and a carrying case. A skincare customer buying moisturizer sees the matching serum.
• Upsells encourage upgrading. The customer adding the basic plan gets shown the premium version with its additional features.

The most effective placements:

• Cart page / checkout: “Frequently bought together” bundles.
• Post-purchase page: The “thank you” page is prime real estate for a one-click add-on offer.
• Email: Post-purchase emails sent 3-7 days after delivery with related product suggestions.

Brands like XCVI see 30% higher AOV in their mobile app, partly because the streamlined shopping experience makes it easier for customers to browse and add complementary items.

7. Optimize Your Post-Purchase Experience

The gap between clicking “buy” and receiving the product is where many brands lose future revenue. A great post-purchase experience turns a transaction into a relationship.

What matters the most is:

• Fast, proactive shipping updates. Don’t make customers check tracking manually. Send automated updates at key milestones (shipped, out for delivery, delivered).
• A memorable unboxing experience. Branded packaging, a handwritten thank-you card, or a small surprise sample. These are inexpensive and make customers feel valued.
• Easy returns. A frictionless return process increases the likelihood of a future purchase, even when the current one didn’t work out.
• Follow-up check-in. A simple email 7-10 days after delivery asking if everything arrived okay and if they need help. This prevents negative reviews and opens the door for repeat buying.

The brands that treat post-purchase as an active retention strategy, rather than a logistics afterthought, see measurably higher repeat purchase rates.

8. Nail the First-Purchase Experience

The biggest drop-off in customer lifetime value happens between the first and second purchase. If a customer never comes back after their first order, their CLV is whatever that single order was worth.

Strategies to maximize the first-to-second purchase conversion:

• A welcome series that starts immediately. After the first purchase, trigger a 3-5 email sequence that introduces your brand story, showcases best-selling products, and offers a time-limited incentive for the second order.
• A “second purchase” discount. Something modest (10-15% off) with a 30-day expiry creates urgency without training customers to wait for discounts.
• Prompt the app download. If you have a mobile app, the post-purchase confirmation page and email are ideal placements for a download prompt. Customers who move to the app are 5x more likely to make a repeat purchase than those who stay on mobile web.
• Ask for a review. It deepens engagement with your brand and increases the chance they return. Time the ask for 7-14 days after delivery.

9. Build a Referral Program

Referral programs serve double duty: they bring in new customers at a lower acquisition cost, and they deepen the referrer’s own loyalty. When someone recommends your brand to a friend, they’re publicly associating themselves with you, which makes them more likely to buy again themselves.

Structure matters. The most effective referral programs reward both sides (the referrer and the new customer), use a clear dollar-off incentive rather than percentage discounts, and make sharing frictionless (unique referral link via email, SMS, or social).

There are a number of cost-effective apps you can install that make setup straightforward. For more on what works, see our roundup of Shopify referral program apps.

10. Increase Your Prices

This is the most direct way to increase CLV: if each order is worth more, the customer’s total lifetime value goes up proportionally.

If your average order is $20 and customers buy three times, your CLV is $60. Raising your price to $22 (a 10% increase) bumps CLV to $66, assuming purchase frequency holds steady.

The risk is that higher prices reduce conversion or purchase frequency. But most brands undercharge, especially in DTC where consumers are often willing to pay more for quality, better packaging, or faster shipping. 

Test incremental price increases (5-10%) on a subset of products and measure the effect on conversion rate and repeat purchase rate before rolling it out broadly.

11. Sell Complementary Product Lines

If your catalog is narrow, customers run out of reasons to come back. Expanding into complementary products gives existing customers more to buy.

A shoe brand adds socks, insoles, and shoe care products. A supplement company adds protein bars and shaker bottles. A skincare brand adds body care and tools.

The key is staying adjacent to what your customers already buy from you. Don’t diversify into unrelated categories. The goal is more purchases from the same customer, not a different customer base.

12. Collect and Act on Customer Feedback

Asking customers what they think, and visibly acting on it, is one of the cheapest retention strategies available.

• Post-purchase surveys. A short NPS or CSAT survey 7-14 days after delivery. Focus on 1-2 questions, not a 20-question form.
• Review solicitation. Customers who leave reviews are more engaged and more likely to repurchase.
• Close the loop. When customers report issues and you fix them, follow up to let them know. This turns detractors into promoters.

The brands that treat feedback as a real retention input (routing complaints to CS, adjusting products based on repeated criticism, publicly responding to reviews) see measurably higher loyalty than those that collect feedback and ignore it.

13. Win Back Lapsed Customers

Not every customer who stops buying is gone permanently. Many just need a reason to come back. Win-back campaigns target customers who haven’t purchased in a set timeframe (typically 60-120 days, depending on your purchase cycle).

Effective win-back tactics:

• Automated email sequences triggered by inactivity. Start with a “we miss you” message, follow with a product recommendation based on their purchase history, and close with a time-limited discount.
• Push notifications for app users. A well-timed push to a lapsed app user is more visible than an email and costs almost nothing to send.
• Retargeting ads. Show lapsed customers their previously browsed or purchased products on social media.

The economics make sense: re-engaging a lapsed customer is significantly cheaper than acquiring a new one, and they already know and (presumably) liked your product.

14. Segment Customers by Value and Use Predictive Analytics

Not all customers contribute equally to your revenue. Segmenting by CLV lets you allocate your marketing budget and attention where it matters most.

A practical starting point: RFM segmentation (Recency, Frequency, Monetary value). Score each customer on how recently they bought, how often they buy, and how much they spend. This gives you clear tiers:

• High-value loyalists: Reward them with VIP treatment, early access, and exclusive offers. These are your app users, your loyalty program top tier, your brand advocates.
• Mid-value customers with growth potential: Nudge them toward higher frequency with targeted campaigns. Loyalty program enrollment, subscription offers, and app download prompts work well here.
• Low-value or one-time buyers: Automated win-back sequences and second-purchase incentives. Don’t over-invest manually; let automations do the work.

Beyond RFM, cohort analysis helps you track how CLV evolves over time. Group customers by their acquisition month and compare their spending patterns at 30, 60, 90, and 180 days. 

This reveals whether your retention efforts are actually working and which acquisition channels produce the highest-value customers.

The next level is predictive CLV modeling, which uses purchase history, browse behavior, and engagement signals to forecast a customer’s future value before they’ve finished buying. 

Tools like Klaviyo’s predictive analytics, Shopify’s customer segmentation, and Google Analytics 4’s predictive audiences can identify customers likely to churn or likely to become high-value, so you can act before the outcome is decided.

The insight from segmentation is often surprising: a small percentage of customers typically drives a disproportionate share of revenue. Junior Couture illustrates this perfectly: just 5% of their users are on their app, but those users generate roughly 50% of their sales.

How Mobile Apps Drive the Highest CLV Gains

Several of the strategies above (push notifications, personalization, loyalty programs) work even better inside a mobile app. That’s not a coincidence. Apps create a different kind of relationship with your customers than a website does.

Here’s why apps consistently produce the highest CLV numbers:

• Your store is always one tap away. When your app icon sits on a customer’s home screen, you’re next to the apps they use every day. There’s no searching, no typing a URL, no navigating browser tabs. That accessibility translates directly into higher purchase frequency – app users average 2.1-4.7 sessions per user, compared to 1.1 on mobile web. 
• The shopping experience is faster and more focused. Mobile browsers are cluttered: other tabs, bookmark bars, cookie consent popups. An app is a dedicated environment for your store. Saved login credentials, stored payment methods, and no distractions. That’s why apps deliver 1.7-3x higher conversion rates and 10-50% higher AOV.
• Push notifications are a direct line to your best customers. Push notifications appear on the lock screen, cost effectively nothing to send, and lead directly into your app when tapped. That’s why automated cart recovery pushes generated $10K-$200K+ monthly for the brands in our benchmark study.
• Apps self-select your highest-value customers. Someone who downloads your app is signaling real intent. They’re invested enough to give your brand permanent space on their phone. That’s why the revenue-to-traffic ratio is so lopsided: Kiokii sees 10% of users in their app generating 35% of total online revenue. Pharmazone drives 63% of online revenue from their app.

“We find that users who prefer to interact via an app are more loyal, buy from us more often and spend more time with our content.”
— David Cost, VP of Ecommerce & Marketing at Rainbow Shops

For more data on how apps compare to mobile web, see our full breakdown of ecommerce mobile app statistics.

Turn Your Website Into a CLV-Driving Mobile App

If you already have a mobile-optimized website, you don’t need to rebuild anything to get a native app.

Vendrux turns your existing website into native iOS and Android apps that keep all your features, integrations, and design intact. Your loyalty program, subscription flows, search, checkout, everything works in the app because it’s powered by the same website your customers already use.

That means no maintaining two separate systems. When you update your website, your app updates with it.

The process is simple:

1. Book a strategy call. Fill out the form with your website URL. We’ll discuss your goals, assess fit, and answer your questions. No commitment.
2. Get a custom app preview. Our team builds a personalized preview so you can see exactly how your store looks and feels as a native app.
3. Launch in about 30 days. We handle the build, App Store and Google Play submissions, and go-live. You focus on your business.

Curious whether a mobile app makes sense for your brand? Book a free strategy call or try our app revenue calculator to estimate the impact it could have on your business.

In this article, we’ll share some of the best tips to increase conversion rate for your Shopify store.

Conversion rate is one of the most important metrics for any online store. Anything you can do to boost conversions will have a direct impact on your bottom line and profitability.

Increasing your conversion rate is doable with some careful planning and thinking. Keep reading to learn our top 13 ways to increase your Shopify store’s conversion rate.

Three Things to Know About Conversion Rates

Before you start reading into your conversion rate, make sure you know what a conversion is, how conversion rate works, and a little context around conversion rate.

A conversion can be anything you want it to be; sometimes an email signup or a form submission can count as a conversion. But with ecommerce websites, a conversion usually means a sale.

Aside from knowing what a conversion means for your business, here are three more things you should know in the context of your Shopify conversion rate.

How to calculate your conversion rate percentage

The formula used to calculate conversion rate is:

Conversion rate = (number of orders / visits to your ecommerce store) * 100

So if you have 2000 visits to your ecommerce store and 75 of them buy something, then your conversion rate is (75/2000) * 100 = 3.75%

Conversion rate is based on visits, not users

Generally, conversion rate is based on visits (meaning each time someone lands on your site), rather than users (each unique visitor to your site).

One user can record multiple visits to your Shopify store. If you take calculate it by user rather than visit, you can end up with an inflated conversion rate compared to the average.

Unless you specifically want to calculate how many users (i.e. unique website visitors) convert into customers, make sure you take the number for “visits” in your analytics when calculating your Shopify conversion rate.

Even a good conversion rate is still relatively low

The average conversion rate for ecommerce is 1.89%. This is important context to know when looking at the conversion rate on your Shopify site.

You might think, for example, a 3% conversion rate is low. But this would actually be significantly above average.

Also understand that the average conversion rate varies depending on industry and many other factors. Check out this post to find benchmarks on conversion rate by industry, device, traffic source and more.

13 Ways to Increase Conversion Rate for Shopify Stores

Now let’s dive into some of the best ways to increase conversions on your Shopify store and get more sales from your traffic.

1. Make sure your store is mobile-friendly

More than half of the US population have made at least one purchase using their phone. And mobile commerce in the US is projected to be worth more than $710 billion in 2025.

Today, your store needs to be mobile-friendly. You’re leaving too much money on the table if you give a sub-par user experience to approximately half of your potential customers.

To really optimize your store for mobile, take it one step further and create your own mobile app. Only 12% of consumers think shopping on the mobile web is convenient; mobile apps make it much easier for shoppers on mobile devices.

Mobile apps boast even higher conversion rates than mobile websites. An app icon on a user’s phone screen is a constant reminder of your ecommerce store. It also is far easier to use than a mobile website and lets you send push notifications and offer other things, such as exclusive mobile coupons.

To learn how you can turn your Shopify store into a mobile app (without development experience or a huge budget), click here to book a demo of Vendrux, together with an interactive preview of your site as an app.

2. Get email signups

Email might seem old-fashioned, but it is still extremely powerful.

One important stat to note is that the average conversion rate from email is 5.20% – significantly higher than the overall average of 1.89%.

The more traffic you’re able to send to your site from your email list, the higher your conversion rate should be, as you’ll have more warm, familiar customers coming to your site.

Using emails, you can send exclusive offers, remind shoppers of what you offer, and keep your brand at the front of your customers’ minds.

3. Personalize everything

Another great way to boost conversions is to personalize the shopping experience for your customers.

Taking what you know about your customers and using that info to target content directly at them can help deliver huge benefits. It’s particularly useful for existing customers. Once someone creates an account on your store, you can take advantage of their shopping habits and past purchases.

Use this info to recommend additional purchases, target your audience more closely by offering different products to different groups, or send customized emails to your biggest customers. The possibilities are endless, so start brainstorming what data you have and how you can use it.

4. Show shoppers what other people are buying

Social proof is a powerful way to boost conversions. And the simplest way to show social proof is to give an idea of what other shoppers are doing on your site.

A “best sellers” or similar section in your app and website is a great way to take advantage of this. If space is at a premium, even a “best seller” badge attached to a product can make a difference.

5. Make your call to action (CTA) clear and concise

It should be simple, quick and obvious for anyone to add a product to their cart from any product page.

This could be a “Buy Now” button or “Add to Cart”. Whatever wording you use, make sure it’s clear and stands out on the page, leaving no confusion for shoppers.

6. Make checking out easy

Keep your checkout simple and hassle-free. A complicated checkout experience is sure to end up with frustrated customers and high cart abandonment rates.

You can do a few things to avoid this and ensure your checkout experience always meets a certain bar.

That includes accepting multiple payment options, simplifying text inputs (saving information for repeat customers), and keeping your whole checkout flow on one page.

7. Offer guest checkout

As mentioned earlier, a great way to get data on your shoppers is by having them create an account with your Shopify store. However, forcing them to do this can hurt conversions.

Offering a guest checkout option will increase conversion rate and reduce cart abandonment by capturing potential customers who don’t want to create an account.

8. Have accurate product descriptions

This might sound basic, but make sure you describe your products accurately. That means their names, what they can do, and how they could benefit buyers.

Don’t exaggerate – this often turns people off. Instead, be clear and direct about what a product does and how it could help someone if they purchased it. Remember to clarify why the product is unique to you and why they should buy it from you and not elsewhere.

9. Display high-quality product images

Images are the first thing people look at on your product pages, and they do a large part of selling the product.

Make sure you include relevant lifestyle product photography along with more standard product images – especially for brands competing in competitive categories.

These help shoppers see the product being used in real life, and gives a better idea of the size, shape and dimensions of the product.

10. Reviews and social proof

Customers trust other people, not brands. That’s why displaying customer testimonials and reviews is an essential part of conversion rate optimization.

Product reviews should be clearly written by real users and available on all your product pages. Make sure the reviews on the page match those specific products, too.

Don’t curate your reviews; showing a mix average or negative reviews alongside good reviews helps make your best reviews feel more trustworthy.

11. Use urgency and scarcity

Play on human psychology to boost conversions by using urgency and scarcity.

This makes the customer feel like they have to act immediately to take advantage of a time-sensitive discount, or a product that’s running out of stock.

Try indicating low stock numbers, time-limited coupons, or offers that only apply to the next 100 shoppers. These tactics are widely used by ecommerce sites and proven to deliver higher conversion rates.

12. Make it easy to find things

Make it easy for shoppers by providing clear navigation and a smooth search experience.

Searching for products on your website should be simple and fast. A universal search bar on every page is a good start. Also, ensure it offers methods to filter search results, such as by price, rating, or other attributes.

Make sure your product hierarchy makes sense and that your categories are relevant. This helps people dig around and find what they’re looking for in your Shopify store, which will translate to a higher conversion rate.

13. Clear and honest pricing

Unexpected fees or add-ons are a major driver of abandoned carts in ecommerce. It dissolves trust and hurts your conversion rate if your Shopify store shows one price upfront and another upon checkout.

Shipping is a common offender. Offer free shipping to reduce sticker shock; clearly state your shipping charges in product descriptions if you can’t.

Include relevant fees like taxes in the product’s price, instead of hitting the customer with unexpected fees once they reach checkout.

Final Thoughts on Conversion Rate Optimization for Shopify Stores

Increasing Shopify conversion rates is big business. Shopify store owners pay a lot of money for agencies, marketing professionals or apps that claim they can increase conversion rate for their store.

Yet doing so is not rocket science; it doesn’t require four years of college, or a special set of skills. It only requires you to understand user behavior, and apply this, along with some best practices, to your Shopify store and product pages.

If we were to pinpoint one thing to do right now to increase conversion rate for your Shopify store, it would be to provide a better mobile experience.

The average conversion rate for mobile is about half that of desktop. Many ecommerce businesses are not mobile friendly. If yours is, you’re ahead of the curve.

Building a mobile app is the best way to mobile-optimize your business. And it doesn’t take a huge investment or a specialized team of developers to build one, if you use Vendrux.

Get started with a free preview of your app, or schedule a free, personalized demo to find out how easy it is to create a mobile app based on your existing website with no coding required, and get a higher average conversion rate, along with improvements in many other key metrics for your Shopify site.

In business, there are three ways to make more money:

1. Get more customers;
2. Get your existing customers to buy more often;
3. Get customers to spend more in each order (increase average order value).

The third is the low-hanging fruit – getting more money from each sale.

Increasing your average order value (AOV) will typically result in higher profit, better return on ad spend, increased cashflow, and more overall revenue, without increasing acquisition cost.

Ultimately, your business will have more potential for growth if you know that the average customer pays you more in each transaction.

In this article, we’ll help you scale your AOV. Keep reading for ten proven tips on how to increase average order value for eCommerce stores.

Want to see the benchmarks for average order value and average item sale price across various industries in eCommerce? We broke it all down in this article.

How to Increase Average Order Value

There are many actions you can take to increase average order value.

Generally, this means enticing customers to buy more products, or pushing them towards higher-priced products.

At a strategic level, you can test a lot of things, and see which have the biggest impact for your store.

Here are ten tips we recommend for online stores to boost average order value:

1. Set a free shipping threshold
2. Create product bundles
3. Cross-sell and up-sell
4. Show personalized recommendations
5. Use urgency and scarcity
6. Create a loyalty program
7. Sell higher-priced products
8. Offer BNPL
9. A/B testing
10. Launch a mobile app

These are all actionable strategies that can result in a higher average purchase amount.

Let’s dive in now.

1. Set a Free Shipping Threshold

Free shipping is a powerful psychological lever for eCommerce brands.

Today’s shoppers really don’t want to pay for shipping. And it’s not always logical – I’m sure you’ve seen the memes.

Jokes aside, it works.

Setting a minimum spend for customers to receive free shipping will mean a lot of customers add extra products to their basket to avoid the shame of paying for shipping.

It doesn’t have to be free shipping, either.

It could be a free gift, or a discount, or any other incentive you think will pique your customers’ interest.

You want to set this threshold a little above your current average order value.

So if your AOV right now is $35, and you might set the minimum spend for free shipping to $40.

Do this, and watch a lot of those $30-$35 customers scramble to spend more money to save on shipping.

2. Create Product Bundles

Don’t just sit and hope that your customers will find more things to buy. Give them ideas.

You probably sell multiple products that go well together – shoes and socks, pots and pans, toothpaste and orange juice (ok maybe not the last one).

Put these products in a bundle, and display these bundles on your site with a convenient “buy now” button to allow the customer to add all the products to their cart at once.

You could offer special pricing for the bundle to make it more attractive.

Amazon features a “Frequently bought together” section on every product listing, which recommends complementary products in what is essentially a bundle.

Another option is to offer a bundle where customers can save by purchasing multiple units at a time, as Tessemae’s does:

3. Always Cross-Sell and Up-Sell

“Would you like fries with that” is a six-word combo that has made billions of dollars for McDonalds over the years.

This strategy works. Once someone’s already in the mood to buy, and they’re ready to check out, it becomes much easier to convince them to buy some more.

Like McDonalds, you can suggest small add-ons that go well with what they’re already going to buy.

Something that makes the customer think, “sure, why not?”

You can also up-sell the customer to a premium or more expensive version of whatever it is they’re about to buy (“would you like to make that a large?”)

The trick is to recommend items that logically go well together (such as accessories/add-ons to their main purchase), and don’t push too hard on up-selling to where it becomes intrusive or annoying.

4. Show Personalized Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are a ubiquitous part of any eCommerce website today, whether they’re similar products, complementary products, or otherwise.

Recommended products give customers more options to compare, letting them shop around to find the perfect buy without leaving your site.

They also act as a cross-sells or up-sells, giving shoppers ideas for other items to add to their cart and boost their order value.

But the key to product recommendations is to use personalization and ensure that what you recommend is relevant to each customer.

“Personalization is no longer a nice to have, it’s an expectation. When we tailor product suggestions to each customer’s preferences and past behavior, we see significantly higher engagement and conversion rates,” says Saulius Meilutis, CEO of leading print on demand provider, Podbase.

Use customer data, such as order history and browsing history, to show hyper-relevant recommendations that have a higher chance of catching their attention and learning in their cart.

5. Use Urgency and Scarcity

Urgency and scarcity are classic CRO tactics that are still super-effective.

The reason they work so well is because they play on human nature – our natural inclination towards FOMO (fear of missing out).

If you want extreme examples of how urgency and scarcity can be used to boost sales, see Shein and Temu, the two new heavyweights of eCommerce, both of whom use urgency and scarcity tactics throughout their site and marketing channels.

The words “limited-time sale”, “limited stock available”, “almost sold out” are all plastered across their websites and apps, making shoppers feel like they need to act fast to get the great deals in front of them.

You don’t have to use it as overwhelmingly as these stores do. But simple limited-time offers, or displaying a notice on products with stocks running low, will convince a lot of customers to act quickly rather than face the terror of missing out.

6. Create (and Promote) a Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are another classic tool that works for increasing revenue and AOV.

When customers earn points on the money they spend, they’re incentivized to spend more money.

It makes recommending cross-sells and add-ons much easier. The product itself might not be as exciting to the customer as the prospect of earning more points.

Many customers scrape, scrounge and hoard points – but don’t even use them. That’s how powerful the psychology of earning points is.

If you don’t offer a loyalty program, you’re basically leaving AOV on the table, particularly with the many apps that make setting up a loyalty program so easy.

However, don’t just set up a loyalty program and hope customers figure it out. Make sure you promote it as well.

Let customers know how much they’ll earn if they buy something, and constantly update them on their point balance, in places like their account page, as well as updates via email and push notifications.

7. Sell Higher Priced Products

You don’t necessarily need to get people to add additional products to their order to boost AOV. You could just get them to spend more on each item they buy.

There are a couple of ways to do this.

First, you could simply increase your prices. If you sold shirts, for example, at $25, you might be able to increase the price to $27 without hurting conversion rate, and make the easiest $2 ever.

But you have to make sure that your price increase doesn’t have such a negative impact on sales velocity that you make less money as a result.

Another option is introducing new products at a higher price point.

If these products sell, even at a lower volume than your other products, you will still come away with a higher basket value on average.

8. Offer Buy Now Pay Later

What about those customers who want to spend more, but get anxiety about the large number coming out of their bank account?

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) is becoming a normal part of our lives today.

Services like Afterpay, Shop Pay, Klarna, Affirm and more make it easy for customers to pay a smaller amount up front, and easier for brands to convince customers to purchase more in each order.

Some experts suggest that Buy Now Pay Later will be used for 12% of total eCommerce spend in 2025. Globally, more than $350 billion per year is spent using BNPL services.

By reducing the price barrier for larger purchases, adding BNPL to your checkout flow may be all you need to add a few dollars to your AOV.

9. A/B Test Everything

Whether you’re looking to increase conversion rate, average order value, pages per session, or any other metric, the best way to find out what works is to test it.

Want to know whether people buy more when you advertise product bundles? Test, and see the results.

Want to know whether people are more likely to spend more if you offer BNPL in checkout? Test it.

Want to know if people add more products to their cart if your add to cart button is blue or black? Test it.

There are so many little things you can test in your store.

Some won’t make a difference, but others, though seemingly insignificant, might add up to make a sizable impact.

And as much advice we can give you, the only way to truly know what will deliver results and resonate with your customers is to test, and see what the data tells you.

10. Launch a Mobile App For Your Store

One more powerful way to increase average order value is to launch your own mobile app.

Modern shopping tendencies are moving more and more in favor of mobile. Mobile commerce makes up 38% of all digital spending in the US, and 57% of all eCommerce sales worldwide.

Having a well-optimized mobile website is the first step, but the mobile web experience still isn’t ideal.

In general, people prefer to use apps – 88% of mobile web usage comes on apps, vs mobile websites.

By offering an app, you offer shoppers a better mobile shopping experience, with fewer distractions, and everything set up for users to spend more time in your store and buy more products.

Along with 157% higher conversion rates, mobile app users view 4.2x more products per session than on mobile websites.

With users spending a longer time shopping, and less likely to be pulled away by distractions, brands typically see anywhere from 10-20% higher average order values in apps, compared to their websites.

With many more incredible benefits to having your own app, like increased brand authority, higher mobile conversion rates, and higher LTV, launching an app might be the one thing on this list that will move the needle the most.

Want to see how much value you can add? Use our free App Revenue Calculator to get an estimate of how much new revenue your brand can make by launching an app.

How Vendrux Helps eCommerce Stores Increase Average Order Value

Once upon a time, it took a six-figure investment or an in-house team of 5-10 specialist developers to launch your own mobile app.

That’s why shopping apps were originally gated to only the biggest brands – the Amazons, Nikes, H&Ms of the world.

Today, any brand can launch their own app and compete with these heavyweights, with Vendrux.

Vendrux lets you convert your website into mobile apps, which are fully synced with your website at all times.

Your apps retain all the same features as your website, with the addition of mobile-specific features like native menus and push notifications.

The content on your apps update with your website, meaning any changes you make only need to be made once, and automatically reflect across all your platforms.

Vendrux does all the building, testing, deploying, and ongoing maintenance for you. There’s no need to hire additional staff, or make any changes to your existing workflow.

Your app can be live in less than a month, for a low-four figure investment up front. With the done-for-you service, plus the cost structure (launch for low-four figures, then just a few hundred per month then on), it’s completely risk free, and easily the best way for your brand to branch out into the world of mobile apps.

Boost Your Average Order Value Now

Vendrux has helped over 2,000 businesses, including many high-revenue eCommerce brands (such as John Varvatos, Jack & Jones, Rainbow Shops, and many more) build their own mobile apps with a low investment and little to no overhead.

Your brand can do the same.

You don’t need to be a billion-dollar company to launch an app – all you need is a website that works well on mobile, and we’ll turn it into an app that looks like it cost a million dollars.

In doing so, you’ll launch a great vehicle to increase your average order value, and boost profit, revenue, and much more.

If you want to see what’s possible for your brand, get a free demo now and we’ll explain the process, show you real examples of similar branded apps, and help you understand if Vendrux is the right option to launch your mobile app and grow your business.

While new customers are important for growth, long-term success banks on your brand converting a significant percentage of your buyers into returning customers.

This is where the real profit is. Returning customers cost less to sell to, convert at a higher rate, and spend more.

For each repeat sale, your operating and marketing costs related to that sale go down; and you keep a larger percentage of what the customer spends.

Someone who has bought from your brand more than once is also more likely to spread the word and tell others about your brand (leading to more high-margin word of mouth sales).

If you don’t have a regular flow of returning customers, you’re wholly reliant on first-order profitability, which is getting harder and harder to consistently achieve, with CACs steadily rising.

Brands that master the art of turning one-time buyers into loyal fans are the ones building businesses with staying power.

Want the latest insights into how 7, 8 and 9-figure brands are driving sustainable growth? That’s what you get with our weekly newsletter, The Retention Edge. Subscribe for free today.

Three Pillars of Retention (How to Increase Repeat Customers)

There are many things you can do to drive repeat sales (send an email; post a letter; knock on the customer’s door).

But building a profitable retention engine at scale comes down to three key pillars, which maximize the chance of newly acquired customers turning into loyal, repeat buyers.

Let’s dive into these pillars now.

Pillar 1: Post-Purchase Experience

The moment after checkout isn’t the end of the customer journey; it’s just the beginning.

This is a critical window to put forward an amazing experience that gets customers excited to buy from you again.

Miss this window, and you become just another online brand, and you’ll need to invest all over again to rekindle the relationship.

Key touchpoints in the post-purchase experience include:

Post-purchase emails

Your post-purchase email flow (the same can apply for SMS and push notifications) plays a huge role in the customer experience.

• Order confirmation: Reassure and excite the customer.
• Shipping updates: Build anticipation.
• Unboxing guide: Educate them on how to get the most from their purchase.
• Personalized follow-up: Ask for feedback, introduce the next product.

The product experience

The best retention hack is a product—-and a product experience—that sparks joy.

When your customer has an awesome experience with your brand, they’re much more likely to come back.

• Invest in custom packaging, QR codes for exclusive offers to build an awesome unboxing experience.
• Surprise and delight: Free samples, handwritten notes, VIP discount codes. (Do the things that don’t scale.)
• User guides: Actively help customers get more value out of your product.
• Use post-purchase surveys to understand friction points and improve your buying experience.

Customer support

Support isn’t just about answering questions or solving problems.

It can be a revenue driver too (especially for complaints).

68% of people are willing to pay more to buy from a brand that’s known for great customer service, and 93% are more likely to make repeat purchases from a brand if they receive good customer service.

Even if the support request comes from a problem with the product or the order (such as a defect), dealing with a complaint in a positive manner (and going above and beyond expectations) can turn what would have been an unhappy customer into a new fan of your brand. 

Pillar 2: The Offer (Getting the Second Purchase)

The second pillar is the offer that convinces a one-time customer to buy for a second time.

Purchase #2 is a key milestone. Once you break this barrier, the floodgates open, so to speak, and it becomes much more likely this person will buy a third and fourth time as well.

So this should be your core goal—not getting someone to buy ten times and spend thousands of dollars with you, but just convincing them to buy twice.

The rest will take care of itself.

But to get a second purchase, you need to offer the customer a reason for them to buy again.

You can provide an amazing experience in the first purchase, and send beautifully constructed emails to the customer every week, but it won’t matter if there’s no good reason for them to make another purchase.

There are three ways to craft an offer that gets someone to come back and buy a second time.

Product offers

Let your products be a natural reason for the customer to buy again.

• They ran out and need to re-up (consumable products, such as supplements or beauty products).
• They loved the first and want to buy another (products where it makes sense for the customer to buy multiple units; apparel, yes. Mattresses, no.)
• Complementary products (cross-sell products that go well with the original purchase; accessories, non-competing product lines like pants and shirts.)

Convenience offers

Customers pay for quality; they also pay for convenience.

Is it convenient for them to buy from you again?

For example, subscription products work because they’re convenient. The customer doesn’t need to think about running out and then having to go and buy again; it happens automatically, saving them from having to think about it.

A mobile app works well here too, making it more convenient to buy again from you (by opening the app rather than searching and finding another brand via the browser).

Learn more: How Mobile Apps Affect Profitability for DTC Brands

Discount offers

The third type of offer is a discount or financial incentive.

In competitive categories this is often a necessity. And it’s usually worth it, as it’s cheaper to reach out to an existing customer (usually through low-cost channels like email or push), and because of the value of extracting that second purchase.

This could be a discount (15% off, $10 off), a free shipping offer, a “Buy One Get One”, a discounted bundle, or any other type of financial incentive.

This also includes loyalty programs, where the customer earns points (and eventually discounts or freebies) for making multiple purchases.

Your goal is to make it worth their while to buy their next shirt from you, not some other brand that pops up on their feed.

Timing it right

Timing your offer makes a big difference in whether you’re successful in getting the second purchase.

For most products, the sweet spot is within the first 30-60 days. But it depends on what you sell. 

If you’re offering add-ons (like accessories for a gadget), it’s best to promote them right after the purchase, while the excitement is fresh. 

For consumables like supplements or beauty products, wait until they’re likely to need a refill (e.g. 25 days after delivery if it’s a 30-day supply). 

And for higher-ticket items like apparel or electronics, give them time to fall in love with their first purchase before pitching the next one. 

Use data to figure out the right cadence, and test different timings to see what works.

Pillar 3: Long-Term Retention

The third pillar is your long-term retention strategy.

How are you keeping your customers engaged and coming back consistently?

This is where your owned channels print money over time. These channels work constantly to convert new buyers into loyal, returning customers.

Emails

• Regularly email your list (multiple emails per week.)
• Personalized product recommendations based on past purchases.
• Winback email campaigns for lapsed customers.
• Regularly test and optimize your emails.

SMS

• Costs more than email; use for VIP customers, high-value offers.
• Restock reminders for consumables.
• Some customers will respond better to SMS. Test this.

Mobile apps & push notifications

• Launch an app to create a direct line to your customers.
• Regular push notifications (multiple per week at least) keep your brand top of mind.
• App-exclusive offers and product drops.
• Goal is to build a shopping habit with your app. Make it the first place they go.

Communities & UGC

• Encourage customers to share their experience and tag your brand.
• Build a loyal following of fans on social media.
• Consider launching dedicated communities (e.g. Facebook groups) for followers of your brand.

Loyalty programs

• Exclusive discounts & perks for repeat customers.
• Reward customers for coming back and buying again.

Read more: Why Email, SMS & Push Are Your Brand’s Most Dependable Revenue Channels

Tactics to Boost Retention for Different Business Models

Not all retention tactics work for every business.

Craft your retention playbook to your product type:

High AOV, Low Frequency (Luxury, Furniture, Electronics)

For high-ticket items that people don’t buy often, focus on creating a white-glove experience. 

Offer concierge-level support, like personalized thank-you calls or product tutorials to help them get the most out of their purchase. 

Extended warranties and VIP programs are also great for building trust and loyalty. 

Send a thoughtful follow-up gift to encourage repeat purchases, especially around holidays or birthdays.

Low AOV, High Frequency (CPG, Beauty, Apparel)

For products with a lower average order value but higher purchase frequency, focus on convenience and engagement. 

Replenishment reminders via email or SMS are a no-brainer for consumables, and a “Subscribe & Save” option with flexible delivery can lock in recurring revenue. 

Apps work great at providing a low-friction, easy way for customers to come back and make subsequent purchases.

Gamify your loyalty rewards to keep things fun—think points for purchases, referrals, or social shares. The goal is to make buying from you a habit, not a one-off.

Seasonal & Trend-Driven Products (Fashion, Holiday Items)

If your products are tied to seasons or trends, you need to keep the excitement alive year-round. 

Offer pre-sale exclusives for repeat buyers to make them feel special, and use personalized styling recommendations via email or SMS to inspire their next purchase. 

And don’t underestimate the power of “surprise and delight”—toss in a bonus gift or a limited-edition item for returning customers to keep them coming back.

Execution Playbook: Quick Wins vs Long-Term Strategies

If your business is struggling to keep up with rising CACs and increasingly saturated acquisition channels, converting a greater percentage of your new customers to repeat buyers will make a massive difference.

Here’s a simple playbook to execute to first drive quick wins by addressing low-hanging fruit, as well as building a long-term retention strategy that sets your brand up for sustainable growth.

Quick Wins (Next 30 Days)

1. Set up win-back and second-purchase email flows. Use your email platform to automate these—trigger a “We miss you” email for lapsed customers and a “Thanks for your purchase, here’s your next deal” email for new buyers.
2. Implement post-purchase follow-ups (SMS and push notifications are best for this). Send a quick “How’s your [product] treating you?” message a week after delivery, with a link to customer support or a survey.
3. Audit your purchase flow and find opportunities to decrease friction and improve CX.

Long-Term Retention (3-12 Months)

1. Look at your product lines—is there a good reason for customers to buy multiple times? If not, consider launching new, complementary product lines. Set up a subscription model for consumable products.
2. Launch a mobile app to make regular purchases easy, and unlock push notifications for engaging past customers (check out Vendrux for a way to do this with minimal effort and maximum upside).
3. Test and optimize your email flows—look, in particular, at the timing of your post-purchase follow-ups, and improve based on the findings.
4. Optimize your loyalty program with better perks. Look at your data to see what rewards drive the most repeat purchases, and double down on those. Add tiers or exclusive benefits to make it irresistible.
5. Build community around your brand; encourage happy customers to post about their experience, and share UGC across social media.

Retention is the key to long-term profitability. 

Acquisition is important, but turning new customers into repeat buyers is where the bulk of your profit comes from.

In this article we’ve given you an A-Z overview of how to build a high-margin brand by increasing return customer rate.

Use this playbook as a guide for your own brand to start relying less on expensive new acquisition and more on dependable, sustainable retention revenue.

Marketplaces can be a phenomenal business model. Whether it’s an ecommerce marketplace like Amazon or eBay, a service marketplace like Upwork or Airbnb, or any other form of platform connecting buyers and sellers, the upside is huge.

But the biggest hurdle: getting and maintaining activity. For a marketplace, this is everything.

In this article, we’re going to explain how to launch the asset that every marketplace needs: a mobile app.

We’re assuming that you’ve already got a functioning marketplace on the web, and want to bring it to life as a mobile app. If this is you – keep reading. We’ll explain how to do it in just a few weeks, without sacrificing any of the features that make your marketplace great.

Why Every Marketplace Needs a Mobile App

Three words define whether your business thrives or withers away: The Network Effect.

Marketplaces live and die by activity. The more buyers on your platform, the more sellers. The more sellers, the more selection, the more likely for buyers to come back. 

This flywheel depends on one thing: how easy it is for both sides to show up, repeatedly.

That’s exactly what mobile apps do better than any other channel.

A mobile app puts your marketplace one tap away on your users’ home screens. There’s no URL to type, no search to run, no bookmark to dig up. 

The result is measurably higher session frequency: brands with mobile apps typically see 3-7x more sessions per user compared to mobile web visitors (via Vendrux’s Mobile App Benchmark Report). 

According to Adjust’s 2025 Shopping App report, marketplace apps have the highest Day 1 retention of any shopping app category at 24.8%, and the longest average session length at nearly 11 minutes.

For a marketplace, that higher session frequency has a compounding effect. When buyers check in more often, they discover more listings. When sellers see faster responses and more inquiries, they list more inventory. 

The marketplace gets more liquid, and both sides get more value.

Push Notifications: The Biggest Reason to Build a Marketplace App

Push notifications are the single best reason for a marketplace to have a mobile app. They’re also a channel that literally does not exist without one.

Think about what notifications mean for a two-sided marketplace:

• For buyers: new listing alerts, price drop notifications, back-in-stock updates, order status, personalized recommendations
• For sellers: new order alerts, buyer inquiries, review notifications, inventory reminders, payout confirmations

These aren’t marketing emails that sit unread, getting lost in a secondary inbox, or only seen two days after they’re sent.

Push notifications show up instantly, directly on the lock screen (and cost nothing to send).

For marketplaces specifically, faster seller response times mean better buyer experiences, which means more transactions, which means more sellers want to join.

Higher Conversion Rates and Larger Orders

Mobile apps consistently outperform mobile web on conversion metrics. Apps convert at roughly 3x the rate of mobile websites in ecommerce (Criteo), and across Vendrux’s customer data specifically, apps deliver 1.7-3x higher conversion rates and 10-50% higher average order values compared to mobile web.

Apps load faster, have fewer distractions (no browser tabs, no URL bar, no competing sites), and offer a focused experience that keeps users engaged longer. That leads to more completed transactions (and higher AOVs when people do check out).

The Marketplaces Setting the Standard

Look at the most successful marketplaces in the world, and you’ll notice something they all have in common: their app is the primary experience for most users.

Your users have the same expectations. They expect to browse, buy, and communicate from their phone, with the same speed and convenience they get from the apps they already use.

Luckily, you don’t need Amazon’s engineering budget to do it.

What Your Marketplace App Needs

A common misconception is that a mobile app needs to be a brand new channel, reinventing how you do business.

If your marketplace website already handles the full buyer and seller experience, then your app needs to do exactly the same thing.

Your core goal isn’t to think up a whole new user experience. It’s feature parity with your website.

Here’s what that means for a marketplace:

Buyer experience:

• Search and filtering across listings
• Detailed listing pages with images, descriptions, reviews
• Messaging with sellers
• Secure checkout and payment
• Order tracking and history
• Wishlist or saved items

Seller experience:

• Vendor dashboard (listings, orders, earnings)
• Inventory and catalog management
• Buyer communication
• Analytics and sales data
• Payout tracking

Marketplace-wide:

• Push notifications (for both buyers and sellers)
• Home screen icon and app store presence
• Multi-language and multi-currency support (if applicable)
• Location-based discovery (if applicable)

How to Build a Marketplace Mobile App

There are a number of different ways to build and launch a mobile app. But not all are necessarily the right fit.

You might already be making thin margins as you try to grow your marketplace, putting money into acquisition and keeping fees low to incentivize activity.

So you want a solution that’s not another massive expense denting your profitability. Yet at the same time, it needs to be powerful enough to grow and scale with you.

Turn Your Existing Marketplace into a Native App with Vendrux

If your marketplace already works on the web, the most practical way to launch a mobile app is converting what you’ve already built into native iOS and Android apps.

Vendrux takes your existing marketplace website and turns it into native apps that are published to the Apple App Store and Google Play. 

Everything your site already does, your checkout flow, vendor dashboards, search, messaging, reviews, all of it works in the app because it’s powered by your existing website.

On top of that, you get the features that make native apps valuable in the first place: push notifications, a home screen icon, and full app store distribution.

Vendrux works with any web platform. Whether your marketplace runs on WooCommerce with Dokan, Magento, CS-Cart Multi-Vendor, Sharetribe, or a fully custom build, Vendrux can convert it into a fast and powerful mobile app.

The timeline is roughly 6-8 weeks from kickoff to app store launch. Pricing starts from $1,499/month, with a one-time setup fee that covers custom design, configuration, testing, and app store submission. 

Vendrux handles the full build and all ongoing technical maintenance, so there’s very little for you to worry about regarding the app. You just keep running your website, and the app looks after itself.

Kazderni, an Airbnb-style booking marketplace for Lebanon, built their marketplace on WordPress and WooCommerce, then used Vendrux to launch their mobile app. The result: 400,000+ downloads and the #1 travel app in Lebanon.

“17 apps in Lebanon do what we do. We have more downloads than all of them combined.”
— Mohamad, CEO, Kazderni

Their CEO put it well when explaining why they went web-first: “The web market is just so much more mature, and it’s so much easier to build a website than it is to build an app.” Vendrux let them get both without building twice.

Vendrux vs Custom Native Development

The traditional way to build a mobile app means coding it from scratch, and building custom APIs to link all the backend data with your website.

Custom native development gives you full control over every screen, animation, and interaction. 

But it also costs a lot. And ultimately, for a marketplace, there’s little you really need that absolutely has to be built natively.

You’re looking at likely a $150K+ development cost, 6-12 months to go live, then significant ongoing maintenance costs. All to more or less recreate what your website already does.

You’ve built everything already. Vendor dashboards, checkout flows, search, messaging. Rebuilding it in an app means a huge cost, but more importantly, adds a lot of ongoing complexity, because you’re now maintaining two separate surfaces.

Vendrux’s approach eliminates that duplication. When you update your website, your app updates automatically. One codebase, one team, two platforms.

Alternative Marketplace App Solutions

Full-stack marketplace platforms like Sharetribe, Arcadier, and CS-Cart Multi-Vendor bundle the web marketplace and mobile app together. If you’re starting a marketplace from scratch and want an all-in-one solution, these platforms can be a convenient starting point.

However, if you’ve already built your marketplace on a widely used ecommerce platform (WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify) or a custom stack, rebuilding on a full-stack marketplace platform to get an app doesn’t make much sense. 

You’d be migrating your entire business, including all your data, seller relationships, and integrations, to a new platform just to get mobile functionality.

It’s generally more scalable to build your marketplace on established, flexible infrastructure and then use Vendrux to extend it to a mobile app. 

You keep full control over your web platform, avoid vendor lock-in, and benefit from the much larger ecosystem of plugins, integrations, and developer talent that comes with mainstream ecommerce platforms.

These full-stack solutions also tend to have limitations in customization and scalability compared to building on open platforms. What works at 50 sellers may not work at 500 or 5,000.

Marketplace App Cost: Vendrux vs Custom Development

Here’s a straightforward comparison of what it costs to build a custom marketplace app, and what it costs with Vendrux:

The total cost of ownership for a custom app can easily exceed $1 million when you account for the initial build, ongoing maintenance, feature parity updates, and the team required to manage it all. 

Vendrux’s total cost over the same period is a fraction of that, and you launch months sooner.

For the majority of marketplace operators, the web experience IS the product, and Vendrux is the most efficient way to turn it into an app.

Even some of the world’s biggest marketplace apps don’t use a fully custom approach with their mobile apps. They integrate parts of their website with native elements, like Vendrux does.

That should tell you all you need to know about which approach is the most effective way to launch a mobile app.

How To Launch Your Marketplace App with Vendrux

Vendrux’s process is designed to get marketplace operators from website to live app as efficiently as possible. Here’s what it looks like:

1. Free consultation and app preview. Vendrux’s team walks you through a preview of what your marketplace would look like as a native app. You’ll see your actual website, rendered as it would appear in an app, discuss any customizations, and get an exact quote on the cost.
2. Vendrux builds the app. The Vendrux team handles everything: app design, configuration, native feature setup (push notifications, deep linking), and thorough testing across devices. You’re involved in the design process, but you’re not managing developers.
3. App store submission. Vendrux submits your app to both the Apple App Store and Google Play, handles the review process, and ensures approval. We’ve done this for 2,000+ brands, so we know what the app stores expect.
4. Ongoing maintenance. After launch, Vendrux handles all technical maintenance, OS updates, app store compliance changes, and infrastructure management. When you update your marketplace website, your app updates automatically. No separate deployment process.

For marketplaces, the most important detail is that you get full feature parity with your web marketplace, by default.

Your vendor dashboards, checkout flows, search functionality, buyer-seller messaging, review systems, and whatever else your website does, all of it works in the app, because the app is powered by your website.

On your free strategy call, you’ll get an interactive preview of your site as an app, so you can see for yourself how Vendrux ensures all of these crucial elements carry over to your app.

Build the Perfect Mobile App for Your Online Marketplace

If your marketplace already works on the web, you don’t need to hire a development team and spend six figures rebuilding it from scratch.

Vendrux turns your existing marketplace into native iOS and Android apps, with full feature parity, push notifications for buyers and sellers, and app store distribution. Your web team keeps managing one codebase. Vendrux handles the rest.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Book a free strategy call. Vendrux’s team will walk you through a free app preview, answer your questions, and break down the business case for your marketplace app.
2. Vendrux builds the app. The team handles everything: setup, design, configuration, testing, and app store submission.
3. Go live. Your marketplace app launches on iOS and Android. Vendrux handles all ongoing technical maintenance.

Your marketplace needs an app. Vendrux is the most efficient way to launch it. Get in touch and see how we’ll help you put your brand next to Amazon and Airbnb on your customers’ phones.