In terms of digital ad spending, mobile has officially beaten the desktop. It seems that mobile-first really is the norm today. According to Clickky, shopping apps have received a boost in popularity as an increasing number of consumers are using their devices to search for and purchase products online. It’s much more convenient to shop from your mobile device than to shop from your laptop anyway. Plus, while the shopping mall can be great for meeting friends and hanging out, no one likes mad crowds or spending an hour hunting down the perfect parking spot. Instead, just pull out your phone–which, you probably already have in your hands anyway and tap for your purchase.

Lifestyle changes

There are changes in perception and mobile design fueling the growth of shopping apps. Advances in technology have made it much easier to view clear images of anything you want. Like that new H&M jacket in the store, but you don’t like rushing over to buy it? No problem, mobile retailers have come to the rescue.

Not to mention, there are many mobile apps that offer discounts and off-season sales of inventory that can cost too much to keep in a physical store. So, the retailer saves money by listing the items on their app instead of paying a premium in commercial rent to place them in a store with declining physical visitors.

The most popular global shopping apps

Currently, China has the highest number of shopping apps at 32,367. The United States is just behind at 32,106. The one thing global shoppers have in common is everyone seems to like eBay–it is one of the top shopping apps in China, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. It should go without saying that most of us love a good deal.

In Germany, the U.S. and the United Kingdom, Wish was also a popular shopping app. In China, it is all about Taobao, while Japan loves Rakuten. In terms of the top third-party SDKs installed, Android developers often utilize Google Analytics, Flurry, Fabric, Facebook Analytics and Crashlytics.

App languages

When building an app, there is certainly a mobile programming languages list that is deemed the most useful and popular. Based on research from codeeval, Python was the most popular coding language in 2014. Yet, others include:

  • js
  • Java
  • PHP
  • Swift
  • C#

If you’re planning on building a shopping app, the time is now as they have never been more well-received. Just make sure your app is customized to clearly fit the needs of your target audience.

Larger selection in one place

Shopping via mobile device gives you access to thousands of products, in various designs, styles and colors, within your specified price range without having the need to ask a salesperson for help or walking miles throughout a supermall. Yet, even the largest shopping mall could not give you the selection you can get through mobile apps.

Often, there are times when you need to shop for the entire family. Instead of traveling to multiple stores, spending money on gas, dealing with crowds and trying to figure out where everything is–you can simply shop from your device. Plus, you can shop from multiple stores simultaneously. This is why the vast majority of consumers are using mobile shopping apps and will continue to do so.

Even during the crazy holidays or any time of year, shopping via mobile apps is truly the way to go in terms of convenience, price and selection. You have a shopping mall in the palm of your hands.