Why Merchants Build a Mall Mini Program

E-commerce keeps growing, and most customers are now comfortable buying online because it is faster and easier. That habit is what pushed merchants towards building a mall mini program, and the format has grown capable enough to cover most of what a shop needs, including livestreaming.

Three advantages explain the trend, and they are worth reading in order.

1. The barrier is low

Building a large e-commerce platform is hard. Add shopping, payment and livestreaming and the difficulty goes up another level.

A mall mini program is different because it sits on top of an existing platform. The functions are already there, and the work is moving them into the mini program rather than inventing them. Compared with building from scratch, that saves a great deal of effort, which is why a small merchant can compete on the same channel as a large one.

2. The functions are complete

Small does not mean limited. Shopping, livestreaming and payment all work, and this is a mobile commerce era: people order, buy, book and arrange services on a phone because it is more convenient than going to a shop.

For a merchant, having that in place lifts the customer experience considerably, and the experience is most of what decides whether someone comes back.

3. It is easier to use, and easier to pass on

Customer service can be built in, which means questions are answered in the app rather than over a phone line, and that is an advantage a physical shop cannot match.

The social dimension is the stronger half. Sharing takes one tap, and a customer who shares sends the shop to the people they know, which is the cheapest form of business development available.

The conclusion

For the customer it is simply easier to use. For the merchant it opens up business development that was previously expensive. Both sides gain, which is the reason the format spread as quickly as it did.

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