A retail mobile application development platform
Client:
GPShopper
Industry:
E-Commerce and Retail
Type of work:
Staff Augmentation,
E-commerce Solutions
Technology and Platforms:
Android Studio, Xcode, SSO, Swift 2.0, Cocoapod
Few industries are changing faster than retail. Each year, a greater percentage of purchasing decisions are made on smartphones. To adapt to these new customer preferences, retailers have scrambled to swiftly adopt mobile-first, omnichannel shopping experiences to meet their customers wherever they are.
GPShopper, a retail mobile application developer, helps major retailers such as Foot Locker, Lane Bryant, and Crate&Barrel navigate their digital transformation by helping them create mobile-first e-commerce solutions. GPShopper’s platform helps companies build branded apps, which can then be operationalized with marketing automation and reporting tools. However, just as every retailer is unique, so too are their needs from an application. An out-of-the-box software platform must be custom-tailored to those needs. GPShopper has a state-of-the-art mobile platform but needed a full-service partner to help customize, integrate, and implement the platform for its retail customers. Forte Group became that partner.
Background
- Many of GPShopper’s clients are large-scale retailers who manage brick-and-mortar and online businesses.
- Given the complex nature of their business operations, retailers often require a custom integration.
- Given the varying needs of each retailer, GPShopper was challenged to find a full-service partner who could address individual clients’ unique needs until it found Forte Group.
Results achieved
- The success of GPShopper garnered the attention of Synchrony Financial, a Fortune 500 consumer financial services company, which acquired GPShopper in 2017.
- With platforms like GPShopper and integrators like Forte, retailers of all sizes are armed with the tools and teams they need to chart their path to becoming digital-first commerce companies.
- GPShopper and Forte Group began working together in 2014 and have partnered on dozens of applications since then.
Business Challenges
- Expand location-based marketing capabilities
- Overcome delivery stagnation and piled-up quality assurance issues
- Offer built-in loyalty programs to increase engagement and customer retention
- Remove any quality assurance and testing bottlenecks
Featured-based Challenges
- Create an omnichannel experience that connects mobile
and in-store activities
- Develop an exceptional UI/UX design that matches a retailer’s brand
- Enable customer data profiles to better engage with shoppers’ buying habits and preferences
“Forte Group has been an instrumental long-term partner in building custom integrations of our platform that help companies transform their business. Forte’s teams have been a significant contributor in helping us create innovative mobile solutions for our retail partners and their customers.”
Dan Mojonnier,
Vice President of Delivery and PMO at
GPShopper
Solution features
Geofencing technology:
many retailers are now tapping into the potential of IoT and location-based services. Retail apps allow customers to select the products they want to purchase, then locate where those products can be found in a brick-and-mortar store.
UX must-haves:
almost all e-commerce applications require sophisticated and intuitive search, sort, and filter functions. Forte developed custom search UIs, adding filtering options that allowed users to browse and sort products by category, price, style, and other custom parameters.
Push notifications:
the teams implemented push notifications, which give retailers an additional opportunity to engage their customers with special deals, product announcements, and other promotional tools designed to increase sales and retain customers.
Instant payment:
Cart and checkout experiences that aren’t seamless and easy result in higher abandonment rates — and lower sales.
In-app payment options: they allow customers to make quick, easy, and secure purchases conveniently and securely.
Analytics Tools:
each mobile application incorporated analytics tools to gather customer feedback and create a tailored experience based on their shopping preferences.
Extended loyalty integration:
GPShopper and Forte designed mobile applications that integrate with popular payment and wallet tools. This allows shoppers to use coupons, tickets, loyalty points, and gift cards in store or on their mobile devices.
Outcomes
Improved customer experience and retention
Digital transformation and application design for major retailers
Integration of GPShopper’s platform with dozens of major retailers
