How much does it cost to build an eCommerce app like Namshi?

Online shopping apps are a few of the most sought-after means for customers to access a wide range of lifestyle brands without leaving the comfort of their homes. By creating an online shopping app, retail businesses can provide their customers with the utmost convenience.

One of the successful retail and eCommerce ventures, Namshi has been able to grow its businesses to become the most sought-after eCommerce app in the UAE. From presenting thousands of products across hundreds of global brands to providing customers with a vast array of payment options and flexible policies, Namshi offers it all.

Another factor that made Namshi, the eCommerce startup witness $33M in funding, is a user-friendly interface that provides customers with a seamless shopping experience. Customers can easily browse products, add them to their cart, and make payments securely.

Further streamlining the shopping experience for its local customers, the app offers Arabic language support, local currency payments, and customer service in the UAE region.

Since the young and tech-savvy population of the UAE region is the major reason for the increasing penetration rate for eCommerce apps, it is the ideal time for startups to dive into the eCommerce market space and guarantee a constant revenue stream for their business.

Now if you are an entrepreneur based out of UAE, this article will help you understand everything related to Namshi eCommerce app development cost. We are also going to dive into the details of eCommerce mobile app development cost in UAE by looking into the many factors that go behind building a robust platform and their monetary impact. To make it easy to follow through, we will approach this by keeping Namshi-like app development as the base.

To give you a brief idea, the cost of developing an app-like Namshi varies between $30,000 to $150,000. There are further several factors that ultimately impact the overall costs such as the location of the app development agency, the UI/UX design of the app, the underlying platform, its features, etc.

So, let’s start by giving you a top-down clarity on what leads to deciding the final estimate of cost to build an app like Namshi.

Understanding Namshi eCommerce app development costs

The total cost to develop an eCommerce app like Namshi is typically divided into four segments, which also acts as the process for Namshi-like app development.

Ideation

This is the stage where the eCommerce app idea is finalized after competitor and market research. The result of this stage is usually a wireframe where the platform’s look and feel, user movement is defined.

This part of the Namshi eCommerce app development costs anywhere around $1000-$2,500.

Design

App’s user interface and experience design typically acts as one of the critical eCommerce app development cost factors. What businesses should aim for is building an intuitive interface with AI-based search functionality and a user flow that feels organic. All of these, however, come at a cost. The design-only eCommerce app like Namshi costs anywhere between $10,000 to $20,000.

Development

At this stage, the concept of the eCommerce app becomes functional. All the designs, features are coded to bring forth a robust application that would run seamlessly across smartphones, web, and smart home devices. It is here when eCommerce app developers integrate high-end technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain into the platform.

The Namshi like eCommerce app development cost can range anywhere between $30,000 to $80,000.

Testing

Once the application is developed, the next stage that comes is app testing. This is a crucial part of Namshi-like app development as it is what ensures that the application will run smoothly across devices without any security breaches and glitches.

Usually, the cost of testing and maintenance takes up 10% of the overall eCommerce app development cost factors.

Deployment

After the app is thoroughly tested for bugs, functionality and compatibility with the multiple operating systems, devices and screen sizes, it is then deployed on the app stores to make it readily available for the users. The cost to publish an app on Play Store or App Store usually ranges from $25-$99.

[Know how to submit an app on Google Play Store and App Store]

Now that we have looked into the different factors that go behind eCommerce mobile app development cost in UAE, on a high level, it is necessary to know the many elements that will work on the backend to define this cost range.

Must-have features of Namshi eCommerce application

Building an app like Namshi requires a merger of three modules – Shoppers, Sellers, and Admin. Having an understanding of all the three parts and their individual features list can help in the successful development of the Namshi eCommerce platform.

Seller side of Namshi online shopping app development

Product listing

One of the must-have features for the seller side of eCommerce app development lies in the ability to create, modify, and delete their product listings. Your application must make it easy for the sellers to take charge of their product listings without having to contact the app’s admin team.

Dashboard

The dashboard part of Namshi online shopping app development gives sellers a comprehensive view of how their products are performing – ratings, top user complaints, average sales, etc. The best practice when it comes to building the dashboard functionality is to keep it graphics-centric for an easy visualization of the product’s and store’s performance.

In-app messaging and forum posting

When building the Namshi eCommerce platform, it helps to have a functionality where the sellers can connect with shoppers to answer their queries. The function comes in even more handy when you offer personalized products through the application.

Shoppers side of Namshi eCommerce app development

Advanced search

One of the critical, revenue impacting eCommerce app features lies in an advanced search functionality where the customers are able to find products as per their short description, name, usage, or a characteristic. Modern day eCommerce businesses prefer using AI software development services here to make it easy for the brand to understand what customers are searching for, irrespective of how they describe it.

Product details

The product details page typically comes after the product listing screen when the users click on a particular item. While the product listing should also carry details like cost, ratings, and delivery timeline, the individual product pages are a lot more detailed. They carry information around specifications, quantity, user reviews, etc.

Add to cart and wishlist

The next feature that acts as a must-have feature when you build an eCommerce app is adding products in the wishlist and in cart for buying later. What helps here is creating an omnichannel experience wherein irrespective of which device or platform they visit your app in, they are able to see the products in the cart of wishlist.

Multiple payment integration

When answering how to build an eCommerce app, it helps to add multiple payment modes in the application. Apart from integrating multiple payment options, these days eCommerce businesses are also building their own payment gateways.

It helps to have a detailed market research – buyers and competitors – to understand which payment model is most preferred. Namshi, for example, offers these payment models to its customers:

Manage profile

When you build something like the Namshi eCommerce app, it helps to have a section for customers to manage their addresses, payment details, view purchases, and track open orders.

Real-time tracking

This feature typically comes as a part and parcel of every eCommerce application. So if you are building an app like Namshi, it would help to have a real-time tracking feature that would inform customers of the products’ movements.

Review and rating

Using this feature, the customers are able to share the experience of using the product with others on the application. It has been seen that ratings play a major part in the number of sales stores are able to make on the application while giving them an idea into what needs to be improved.

Customer support

Another crucial eCommerce app features can be 24*7 customer support with customers having the options of making calls, connecting through email, or having in-app chat with the executives.

Social media sharing

Lastly, there should be a functionality of sharing the product on social media, email, or a chat platform. This would make it easier for the customers to share the product with their acquaintances, while giving your business a good scope of mouth of word advertisement.

Admin-side features to consider when you build an eCommerce app

Order management

The app admin should be able to keep track of orders so that when the customers come back with a query, they are able to check and respond accurately.

Product management

There are times when a listed product or its description doesn’t meet the store’s guidelines. The same thing happens with the reviews as well. To counter the issue, the admin should be given the control to delete product listing or reviews.

Promotions and offers

Oftentimes, in order to boost conversions and get traction on the platform, eCommerce businesses launch campaigns and promotional offers. All of this should be managed seamlessly by the admin.

Dashboard

The dashboard part of the Namshi-like application contains a comprehensive view of how the app is performing in terms of new product listings, sales, returns, and complaints.

Technology stack for creating an app like Namshi

In addition to the features, the other factor that helps determine the cost to build an app like Namshi is the technology that will be used for building it. Here’s the combination that we typically follow at Appinventiv.

Location of the eCommerce app developers

The last but probably the most crucial factor affecting the Namshi eCommerce app development cost is the location of the developers or agency you are partnering with. The hourly rate of development varies as per multiple regions with Asia being the most cost-effective options for building an eCommerce app that resonates with your brand’s essence.

With this, we have looked into the different aspects of eCommerce app like Namshi cost. But what is necessary for you, as an entrepreneur, to understand is how to get a step ahead from Namshi when launching your store in the UAE.

Ways to make a better eCommerce app than Namshi

Although a popular eCommerce store in the UAE and other regions, there are some complaints which are unanimous among all the stores – product authenticity and unresponsive customer support.

By having an AI-based chatbot system and using technology like blockchain to verify sellers and check product authenticity, you will be able to sort out two of the most critical issues with Namshi. In addition to this, here are some things you can do for a better relationship with the sellers and shoppers –

• Buy Now Pay Later functionality
• Greater commission for the sellers
• Strict KYC of the sellers and shoppers
• Efficient reverse logistics
• Mechanism for product authenticity checks

[Also Read: What entrepreneurs need to know about Conversational AI]

How can Appinventiv help you build an eCommerce app like Namshi?

At Appinventiv, we have a trusted track record in helping established stores and up and coming brands set up their eCommerce journey with the guarantee of high conversion and a consistently increasing customer base. Here’s a brief look into how we have been helping some of the most renowned brands globally with our eCommerce development services.

1. Adidas eCommerce App

We worked on the end-to-end creation of the Adidas application where we worked on complex animations and video components to give it a YouTube-like interface. The app led to 2+ million downloads and the acquisition of 500k new users.

2. 6th Street eCommerce App

We helped 6th Street to lower the launch time to 3 seconds and revamp the entire app module with new features for a better user experience. The efforts led to 3+ million iOS and 1+ million Android downloads

3. Edamama eCommerce App

Our team helped the kids wear company across the end-to-end product development, resulting in $5 million funding, 20k+ SKUs home-delivered and 100k+ mothers served.

While these are our most notable clients, we have worked on multiple other use cases across the wide ecommerce space, making us the reliable digital partner of multiple startups and well-known brands. If you are looking for an ecommerce app development partner, get in touch.

FAQs

Q. How much does it cost to develop an app like Namshi?

A. The Namshi eCommerce app development cost can be anywhere between $30,000 to $150,000. It will depend entirely on the complexity of the application, the feature sets, and the location of the app development agency.

Q. How to build an eCommerce app?

A. The process of building an eCommerce app typically starts with identifying the target audience, fixing the design system, and finalizing the features and technologies. Once that is done, eCommerce app developers move to the design and development stages to convert this into a working application.

Q. How long does it take to build an app like Namshi?

A. The time frame to build an eCommerce app like Namshi depends on the overall complexity of the app. For instance, a highly complex eCommerce app with an extensive feature-set will take around 9 to 12 months for development. On the other hand, a simple eCommerce app with a minimal feature-set will require around 3 to 5 months for development.

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