The retail industry is drastically different than just five years ago. Between 2019 and 2024, the shopping landscape was completely disrupted—online shopping erupted out of necessity, and there is no going back.
To run a successful grocery retail business today, you must have a robust digital presence. This leads to a pressing question: should develop Native Mobile apps for your grocery store and supermarket or rely on ecommerce marketplaces?
Native mobile apps vs Marketplaces: What’s the difference?
Before you digitize your supermarket and create an online grocery store, you must decide: will you opt for a native app or list your store on an online marketplace? To learn which works best for your business, you need to understand the difference between the two.
What is a native mobile app?
A native mobile app is a custom-built application for specific operating systems (e.g., Android, iOS), offering high flexibility, advanced features, and superior user experience.
What is a marketplace?
A marketplace is a platform where multiple stores and customers converge, providing a convenient, easy-to-access shopping experience with limited customization and shared platform features.
Where do native mobile apps and marketplaces differ?
- Ease of launch
- Customer base
- Availability
- Business hours
- Functionality
- Versatility and flexibility
- Design and functionality
- User experience
- Customer retention
- Brand exposure
- Customer discovery
- Logistics
- Cost and ease of entry
- Impact on business
Listing your business on an established online marketplace is a relatively easy way to launch a grocery ecommerce store.
These platforms are where stores and shoppers come together, and customers can easily buy products from different sources in one session. Getting listed on a marketplace can significantly increase exposure for all the featured stores.
At the other end of the ecommerce spectrum are native apps. They differ from web-based applications, which run on a browser, and hybrid applications, designed for multiple operating systems.
Native apps are meant for a specific operating system, like Android or iOS, and this foundational compatibility makes them much more flexible and versatile.
You can add more ecommerce features and functionalities to a native app than in an online marketplace.
Main key attributes of native mobile apps and marketplaces
How to choose between Native apps & Marketplaces
Native apps and marketplaces can add value to supermarkets by increasing customers and sales. The two are not mutually exclusive; you can use both if that’s what your supermarket needs. But it is worth knowing what you can achieve with either one to allocate your resources effectively.
Advantages of Native mobile apps for supermarkets
We’ve covered how native mobile apps give users more freedom and better control over design and functionality. They also tend to have a better user experience, which makes shoppers more comfortable and helps retain customers over time.
If you have the resources to invest in developing a native app for your supermarket, you will quickly see how it positively affects your business.
Benefits of listing on online marketplaces
Even if they lack customizable features, online marketplaces are valuable sales channels for ecommerce supermarkets. They tend to have a larger user base, increasing the supermarket’s brand exposure among its target audience.
It’s much easier for new customers to discover a supermarket through an online marketplace than downloading an unfamiliar app on their phones.
Some online marketplaces also offer delivery fulfillment, which frees up retailers from having to focus on logistics.
Listing your supermarket in an online marketplace is a relatively easy and cost-effective way to enter a competitive ecommerce arena.
Native mobile apps vs Marketplaces: A supermarket-centric comparison
As the number of online grocery shoppers continues to rise each year, supermarket owners must find a digital solution that keeps them relevant and at the forefront of shoppers’ minds.
Let’s look at some figures that highlight just how valuable native apps and online marketplaces can be for supermarkets in ecommerce:
The data used to make these observations were collected from over 5 million shopping sessions conducted through Wave Grocery.
1. Total number of submitted orders
Regarding submitted orders, native apps and marketplaces are almost neck-and-neck. Data shows that most customers (57%) still tend to rely more on web-based apps for shopping, but the number of users for native apps and marketplaces is increasing.
Of the five million sessions monitored, 21% of orders were submitted through native apps, and 22% were through marketplaces.
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2. Average basket price
There’s something about a pleasant shopping experience that encourages users to spend more money than they would if they were unsatisfied.
Perhaps that is why native apps, with their attractive designs and additional features meant to serve shoppers, see customers checkout orders with a higher average basket price.
When shopping for supermarket and grocery items, the average basket price on native mobile apps is a remarkable 67% higher than on online marketplaces, highlighting the premium shopping experience and added convenience offered by these apps.
3. Average number of products added to basket
Since native apps are better designed and more aesthetically pleasing than most online marketplaces, they encourage shoppers to spend more time browsing and engaging with the product catalog.
Tracking online grocery shopping sessions has shown that native app shoppers tend to add more products to their baskets than online marketplace shoppers.
On native apps, customers add an average of 22 items to their basket in every shopping session. Meanwhile, marketplace shoppers add 14 items to their basket per session.
Striking the right balance
As you can see, native apps and online marketplaces can add value to an ecommerce supermarket. However, the data shows that native apps have more potential to boost your online sales and satisfy your customers.
The journey towards digital excellence involves being present in marketplaces and creating a distinctive brand experience through native mobile apps.
It's time for supermarkets to embrace the future and harness the full potential of their digital presence.
