Shopify was founded in 2006. Merchants use it to create their online stores. This Canadian eCommerce company provides a platform for numerous eCommerce businesses to develop customized online stores per their needs.
Many enterprises hire eCommerce developers for their Shopify application and website development. Professional help leads to getting more efficient software solutions.
But they also need to do market research. It is a vital step in developing a viral Shopify app in 2023. You can get answers to all your questions with the help of intense research. Research is the first step, whether it is app or website development for any sector. To create a viral Shopify app, you need to follow some profitable steps to market research.
7 Steps to Market Research for Shopify App Development
When you hear the name research, it feels boring. But accurate information about the customers and their demands is found with the help of research. What is the trend, and what do customers like to buy? You can know everything with the proper steps of analysis.
You can lose customers to your competitors if you avoid research before Shopify app development. An app should be robust, scalable, innovative, and user-friendly to survive the fierce eCommerce competition. So, enough talking about the importance of research, now move ahead and learn the steps to market research from a professional Shopify app development company.
Make It as Easy as Possible
Research is not a daunting task. You have to make it simple so that you also don't get afraid of research and follow it thoroughly. Filter some sources and find critical sources for research from them. If you are not aware of some strategies for research, check out this video, ‘fast and easy marketing research strategies.' This video will help you know the simple and fast steps for market research. It includes examples of big brands and ideas for their marketing research.
Focus on Your Target Audience
This is one of the most essential steps for research. Who are you making an online store for? It can be next to impossible to make a user-friendly Shopify Store If you don't know your target audience. Conduct effective research to understand your possible customers and create your app development plans accordingly. It will also help you include user-friendly features in the app. So, focus on your target audience and research their demands and needs.
Identify the Opportunity
Why are you building an app? Is it going to solve a problem? Before beginning Shopify app development, you must know the answers to these two questions. It is possible by identifying the opportunity through research. Conduct a survey and ask some questions to people and find their problems because people know about their problems better than you. This way, you can identify opportunities for your business and start working towards them.
Follow Competitor Analysis
Competitor analysis is a crucial part of effective market research. More than 70% of new mobile app-based products fail to perform better because of inadequate market research. If you don't want your app to be counted in the list of failed apps, find what your competitors are up to. This is how you can understand what you need to do differently to compete and ensure the online store's success.
Conduct SWOT Analysis
Well, this can be a part of the previous step, but I presented it here to avoid unnecessary chaos in your research. You should conduct a competitor analysis by considering some criteria and then move to a SWOT analysis. It is an inevitable part of the research, so let's move ahead and read about SWOT.
- Strength: Find the power of your app idea. Research what makes your app different from others.
- Weakness: Find what are the drawbacks of your app idea. If you ignore weakness, it can become a big problem and hinder the growth of your business.
- Opportunity: Well, I have talked about the chance already. Conduct market research and find out why anyone would use your app or online eCommerce store.
- Threat: List all the challenges you might face during and after the app development. Identify what can harm your app idea and how to deal with it.
Building an App Development Plan
Once you are done with research and collecting all the information, you can move to build an app development plan. It includes all the factors that can affect the app development process. You must look for Shopify developers online and hire them for your app development. But it's not that easy! Focus on the below points for an effective app development plan.
- Should I outsource the Shopify app?
- How to find cost-effective developers?
- Do I need a prototype of an app?
- How to make an online store SEO-friendly?
- Are developers provide maintenance and support services?
Create a Plan for Promotion
This step should be part of your research because you must know what you need for the promotion in the initial stage. You will know various ideas for promoting a product or app during study and SWOT analysis. Please make a note of them so you will not struggle much while creating a plan for your app promotion. You can avoid conducting independent research to market the product and save time. Follow the best practices for advertising like social media, content marketing, Short-video, and others.
Conclusion
The eCommerce platform market share of Shopify stands at 11%. Shopify has more than 2 million active stores, which shows businesses are choosing this eCommerce platform effectively. However, without app development research for the Shopify store, you can't make a competitive store. Research makes your tasks easy and ensures the success of the online store. Follow the profitable steps mentioned in the blog and be ready to create an effective online eCommerce store.
