7 Worst Grocery Mistakes Your Customers Hate: Creating a “Right” Mobile App Experience

To compete you need to meet customers where they’re already shopping.

This checklist will help you avoid common pitfalls and put your customers front and center as you start configuring your app. 

According to Statista, more than 2 billion people worldwide used online shopping apps. This number is only expected to grow. Everyone from teens to retirees has discovered the joy and ease of online shopping. 

Thirty percent of all online shopping happens on mobile phones, meaning that your business’s mobile app should be designed to grab attention and keep customers coming back. A well-designed app will offer:

1. An intuitive UI that’s quick and easy to navigate

2. Easy and clear instructions

3. Frictionless payment methods 

4. An overall pleasant interface

But first, let’s look at the seven worst grocery mistakes your customers will hate, that way you can avoid them.

7 Worst Grocery Mistakes Your Customers Hate

These are seven of the worst grocery mistakes you can make. These mistakes will irritate and upset customers, so take note and be sure to provide the best experience possible for your customers.

1. No App.

In 2023, you need an app. Customers want to purchase products when, where, and how they please. If you don’t offer an app, you will lose potential customers and therefore revenue. Not having an app as a food retailer is a huge mistake in the modern era.

2. No Online Ordering.

What good is an app if you can’t use it to order products online? Online ordering is the main reason customers want you to have an app, and it can help you boost sales and expand your customer base. Be sure to include online ordering with your app.

3. No Free Delivery.

Thanks to Amazon, online shoppers now expect free delivery. It might not be a dealbreaker for every customer, but it is for many. Offering free delivery, while it may be costly, pays itself off in the long run due to increased sales and improved brand reputation.

4. No Same-Day Delivery.

For food retailers in particular, same-day delivery is essential. How often have you gone to the grocery store, and picked up everything you need for a recipe, only to realize you forgot one key ingredient? That’s exactly why you need same-day delivery; sometimes customers need something that day, and if you don’t offer same-day delivery, they’ll buy from somewhere else.

5. Hard to Find Offers and Promos.

Who doesn’t love a good offer or promo? But your offers and promos are of no use if your customers can’t find them. Your coupons, discounts, specials, and promos should be easy to find and use. Having them front and center will encourage customers to buy those products and take advantage of the sales.

6. No Promo Codes, Coupons, Discounts, and Specials.

The only thing worse than hard-to-find promos is not having any at all. Your competitors will be offering discounts and sales, and you’ll lose customers to them if you don’t compete. Offering promo codes, coupons, discounts, and specials can help you drive sales, clear out older inventory, and attract new customers.

7. No Push Notifications for Deals.

Lastly, your promos and specials aren’t helpful if customers don’t know about them. Customers want to know when you’re having a sale or promo on products they love, so let them know. SMS and email push notifications are the perfect way to keep your customers informed about deals, as well as your store in general; use them to your advantage.

Mobile App Creation Guide

With the common mistakes covered, let’s move on to the essentials you need to know to create a powerful and efficient app that your customers will love.

Don’t Underestimate Looks

The best shopping apps are visually appealing.

Think about the websites you visit most often. Chances are the sites you enjoy spending your time on have a certain visual je ne sais quoi that makes them special. They may have lots of beautifully aesthetic photos, great infographics that break down complicated information, or use of color and font that makes the layout pleasant to navigate.  

Getting it right visually isn’t as hard as it may look. Let’s break down the basics:

1. Don’t be afraid to use color. Your brand should have its own color scheme with multiple complementary colors. Choose hues that reflect your brand, and play around with them to create visual consistency in your app. You might find it helpful to refer to color theory, a popular tool used by UX designers.

2. Use fonts for appearances AND functionality.  The font you choose for your app is important. Cursive serif fonts are beautiful, but they’re not quite as legible as sans serif fonts. Think like Goldilocks—avoid typography that’s too large, but don’t make it so small your customers have to zoom in on their mobile device to read it. 

3. Get visual. Utilizing visual elements such as icons and images, especially your own original photographs or videos, can be very effective. In contrast with images you download, your own work can be manipulated to fit the color scheme and overall feel of the brand. 

Focus on UI

Looks only go so far; your app has to work too.

Your page already looks great—congratulations! But there’s still work to be done. From your own experience shopping online, you probably know how frustrating bad UI is. Here are some of the worst offenders:

1. Pages that load at a snail’s pace.

2. Product images that are poor quality or don’t show the product from all angles.

3. Intrusive pop-ups asking users to register with their email—before they’ve even initiated a purchase!

Think of your favorite food delivery apps. Each step of your user journey on their apps takes no more than 2 seconds. Make sure your page loads quickly and provides a thorough view and description of each product. A glitch-free app that is respectful of your customers’ time goes a long way!

If your business is in the food industry, read about some of the best apps to help you manage your online store. 

Prioritize Adaptability Across Devices

Shoppers use various different devices, so accommodate them.

Another thing that differentiates a great mobile app and a mediocre one is its adaptability to various devices. For instance, your page could look great on mobile but not adjust to a tablet or laptop screen size. Perhaps you’ve created your app primarily for iOS devices. It’s important to consider people who use Android, Windows, BlackBerry, etc. 

User behavior is different from device to device. Sure, iOS and Android support similar actions like swiping, tapping, zooming, and pinching. Yet a swipe down from the top results in a different outcome on iOS than it does on Android. So think thoroughly about your page functionality and where you place your buttons for each system. Doing so will make your brand more inclusive and accommodating.

Don’t Stop Improving

Your app may be ready to go live, but that doesn’t mean you’re done.

Looking for some other ways to level up your game? Here are several more tips to help you. 

1. Show your customers that you put them first. What sets brands like Local Express apart is their great customer support. Don’t just make it available—make it super easy to locate wherever your customers are in their buyer’s journey. 

2. Make it easy for people to register using their existing accounts on Google, Facebook, or Twitter. This means one less password to remember, which everyone can appreciate. 

3. Encourage feedback from your customers. Enable reviews and comments and give people space to voice their appreciation, concerns, and complaints. How else will you know if you’re achieving your goal of providing valuable services to your customers?

Build a Powerful and Functional Mobile App

Customers rely on your app, so make it good.

Now you’re equipped with some amazing tools that will help you build the ultimate shopping app and boost your sales. Let’s recap:

1. Create a visually pleasing color scheme and add quality visual content.

2. Ensure a fast-loading, glitch-free system.

3. Consider all operating systems and adapt your app accordingly.

4. Showcase your excellent customer support.

5. Encourage feedback.

Our best tip though is to stay up-to-date. Knowing your audience and what they care about, and constantly improving upon feedback is all anyone can really do.

Get a demo to learn more tips and tricks about running your online and mobile store.