How iPhone Mobile Apps are Transforming Retail

The iPhone is a game-changer when it comes to the smart phone industry. Even in the earliest days of its release in 2007, it started off with a record sale of one million units within three days – and till today, it remains one of the most coveted gadgets. Retailers too have woken up to the power of this smartphone which comes with features that makes it a great option for Mobile Commerce. Some of the best features of the iPhone include: its geolocation ability which allows users to locate shops, and its navigation mode of flipping from page to page, which is similar to the way users would handle a retail catalog. In addition, apps developers have constantly been developing iPhone mobile apps across a variety of categories and this makes it extremely flexible when it comes to accommodating a retail customer’s needs.

One of the biggest advantages of smartphone applications is the interactive format. Amazon, the popular virtual book store, has an iPhone mobile app called Amazon Remembers. This software program allows customers to click images from their phone at a retail store and send it to Amazon, which identifies the item for the customer and provides the option to buy the item from the Amazon website. Apart from this, the app also serves up a useful price comparison list feature, a strategy more and more mobile commerce experts are using as a hook for customers who like the ability to get price comparisons in real time as they shop.

Another popular tool is an ecommerce website called Tiger Commerce. Designed for merchants and companies, this site allows users to access a variety of real time information on retail online. The users can also utilize Google Analytics to get updated feed on the visitors pouring in to their shops. Thus not only are apps being designed for customers, a small section of the market also has begun to produce apps for retailers online.

Social networking is one of the biggest phenomenons on the Internet, and the iPhone has Facebook Connect, which integrates the popular social network with the device. Thus users who have this product from Apple can easily share what they buy with friends and peers.

There are also value-added mobile applications such as the Snow Report app which gives users information for up to three resorts in terms of the snow condition at these places. Getting information about snowfall and conditions at the resort in real time helps customers make practical decisions. The multimedia abilities of the smartphone allow the app to offer a variety of information such as weather forecasts and real-time webcam images.


Simplicity, ease of use, and accessibility are some things users look out for – and as the example of the above applications show, real time is a huge benefit that these have over traditional media of exchange and communication. As mobile application development evolves and developers incorporate more and more utility-driven iPhone mobile apps in their offerings, the retail market set for a transformation.