Forty one per cent of shoppers say that a major factor which would motivate them to download a retailer’s mobile app is the availability of functions that make store visits easier to manage.

This is according to a new study from Apadmi, which also found that 43 per cent of consumers choose to use m-commerce apps if they offer them the ability to make purchases via safe shopping online in a quick and convenient manner.

Apps have become a core feature of multichannel retail, enabling companies to sell items directly to customers while also letting them make the most out of their in-store experiences. But this also means that retailers need to create apps that include a multitude of capabilities if they want smartphone owners to actually download and use them.

Forty per cent said apps would appeal to them if they came with exclusive access to offers and discounts, while 29 per cent said that they would pick an app over an e-commerce site, if the former was simpler to harness for safe shopping online.

A quarter of those questioned said that they would only download a retailer’s app if it made a tangible difference to the experience offered both in-store and online. And so expectations are clearly increasing in this area, putting more pressure on shops to live up to them.

Even retail apps which have achieved a high number of downloads still have some obstacles to overcome. For example, if users open an app once only to find that it does not meet their needs, it may lay dormant on their device for months or get deleted immediately.

Most major retailers now offer transactional apps for online shopping, but integrating in-store benefits is a trend that has been slower to gain momentum.