Building E-commerce App With Flutter – A Comprehensive Guide

Developing an e-commerce app is essential in business, and you can start your online store even with little investment. 

Because of intense competition, you must create a market-winning app that aligns with your customer preferences and makes you stand out. 

Research studies from Statista say that the e-commerce app market has grown significantly, and mobile e-commerce sales have reached $2.2 trillion in 2023.  

Such sales will continue to grow in the coming years, and if you are not hoping for this, you are significantly missing out on a massive amount of revenue. 

This blog discusses creating an e-commerce app with Flutter, the popular e-commerce platform that works with Flutter, and whether Flutter is a good choice for app development. 

Why is The Main Screen For E-commerce so Important? 

The main screen on the e-commerce page is the home page, a significant page on your e-commerce website. People made up their minds by assessing the first page and deciding whether to invest in your product. 

Here are some reasons why the main screen for e-commerce is so important-  

• First impression matters the most. The home page is the first page visitors will most likely see. They are not interested in purchasing from your brand if the design of the main screen is not visually appealing and easy to navigate. 

• You can showcase your brand and make your e-commerce store unique by adding high-quality images and videos to display your products.  
• Using clear and concise navigation makes it easy for visitors to find the products they seek.  
• Improve the user experience by keeping design and layout consistent across all website pages.  
• Offer exciting promotions and discounts on the main page to let customers browse your products and learn more about your promotions.  
• Use clear and concise CTA on the main page to guide them on what to do next, such as “Shop now,” “Add to cart,” etc. Placement of such CTAs on the main page drives conversions for your business.  

• If you have a mature product, content should be adjusted as per user. In such a case, setting promotions would annoy your customers. Train the ML model and let it decide which products would attract your target audience. 

Payments in E-commerce 

While setting up an e-commerce app, you must enable online payments to finalize customer purchases. 

Payment methods differ from business to business, so selecting the right payment method is necessary for you. 

You can offer various payment alternatives to customers when building an e-commerce app with Flutter and help them make purchases-  

• Credit card/debit card payment: You can contact international buyers when accepting payments through a credit card/debit card.  
• E-wallet: Enhance your customer experience by accepting payments from customers through e-wallets.  
• Mobile payments: Make it more convenient for customers by offering mobile payment options.  

Note: Provide various payment options to customers so they won’t get demotivated during checkout.  

The graph below indicates that most customers are likely to make purchases through credit cards. 

So, you might lose many customers if you have not added such a payment method while creating an e-commerce app.  

What Are The Best E-commerce Platforms That Work With Flutter?  

Here are the best e-commerce platforms that work with Flutter-  

1. Shopify 

Shopify is considered a popular platform for building e-commerce apps. Such a platform offers various features and functionalities, such as multiple payment methods, shipping options, inventory management, etc. Such features make it a good choice for businesses of all sizes.  

Shopify can be integrated with Flutter, making it easier for developers to create and deploy e-commerce apps.  

2. Magento (Adobe Commerce) 

Magento is an open-source platform for creating beautiful websites. Though Magento is more complex than Shopify app development, it offers more flexibility and customization options. In addition, it comes with various advanced features such as Wishlist, product reviews, and others. 

Furthermore, Magento can be integrated using various extensions, including Flutter Magento Commerce, Flutter Magento 2, etc. 

Features of E-commerce Mobile App

If you are wondering about what are the necessary features that should be added while developing an e-commerce app using Flutter, here are the main features you need to take care of-  

1. Easy Navigation 

The key to building an e-commerce app with Flutter is that it is easy to navigate, and products should be easily categorized.  

Refrain from overloading the content on an e-commerce app; otherwise, it may overwhelm the users. Your aim is to satisfy users by creating an easy-to-navigate interface. 

2. Easy Login and Registration  

Make onboarding easy so users can simply log in using their e-mail address. Having an easy onboarding process drives higher conversion rates. 

3. Offers Convenient Sorting and Filtering of Products 

If you are dealing with various products, add product sorting and filtering so that users can find the products on the go.  

Enhance your customer experience by providing users with multiple search options and filters. 

Such a feature is helpful for searchers as they can search for exactly what they want. 

4. Convenient Payments  

Streamline the payment processes so customers can use the products and make instant payments. Provide various payment methods because if they are not getting their preferred mode of payment, they are likely to leave your e-commerce app and never return. 

Include most payment methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, debit card/credit card payment, PayPal, etc.  

While selecting payment methods in an e-commerce app, think about your target audience first and their preferred mode of payment. 

For Instance – People living in Western Europe prefer making payments using debit cards, while Eastern ones prefer to make payments using cash on delivery method. 

5. Reviews and Ratings  

These are the MUST-HAVE features to be included in your e-commerce app because they will provide proof to shoppers and let them buy products. Flutter allows you to build your review system using Flutter widgets. 

Such reviews are important if you run an e-commerce store because they will help you understand where you stand and know your audience’s needs. 

6. Shipping Options 

If you want to delight your customers and provide them with a best-in-class customer experience, consider adding different shipping options. Go the extra mile by giving customers more shipping choices to choose the more convenient ones. 

Thus, it will enhance their experience and smoothen their buying process. 

New Trends in Flutter ECommerce Apps

The popularity of e-commerce apps with Flutter is growing significantly. 

Here are 5 trends you should leverage while developing your next e-commerce apps with Flutter-  

1. Live Stream Shopping 

LiveStream shopping is a popular trend that most businesses use in their e-commerce apps. This trend has skyrocketed in the last few years, allowing businesses to connect with customers more personally. 

You can develop live streaming e-commerce apps with Flutter because it provides various features you can integrate into your app, such as real-time chat support, video streaming, etc. 

2. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality 

You can create engaging shopping experiences for customers with the help of AR/VR development services. Studies from Statista suggest that one-third of shoppers use AR technology when buying products online. 

Various e-commerce apps, such as Amazon, enable shoppers to try AR assistance features within an app before making a purchase. 

As far as Flutter is concerned, you can create immersive e-commerce apps using that framework, which supports 3D graphics and sensors.  

3. Voice Commerce 

Leveraging Voice search for e-commerce will be a game changer for your business.  

Half of internet searches happen because of voice searches. 

Research studies suggest that nearly 55% of US households use voice-enabled smart speakers when purchasing.  

So, it’s a profitable option for you to develop voice commerce e-commerce apps with Flutter. 

How Do You Build e-Commerce Apps With Flutter? 

Here are the exact steps you need to follow to develop e-commerce apps using Flutter- 

1. Project Planning and Research 

The first step in creating an e-commerce app with Flutter is to identify which type of products you want to sell, the features you want to include, and the target audience you want to serve. 

2. Set Up a Flutter Environment  

Make sure you have installed Flutter on your development machine. To install Flutter on your development machine, follow the steps mentioned in the installation guide. 

To create a new Flutter project, use the command “flutter-create.”  

3. UI/UX Design 

The next step in creating an e-commerce app with Flutter is to design the user interface for various categories of apps, including product listings, shopping carts, checkout, user profiles, etc. 

For designing the UI/UX of an app, you can either create the UI/UX design from scratch or use Flutter UI libraries. 

Do you want to create interactive UI/UX designs for your application? 

4. Backend Development  

Here, you must choose a backend technology such as Node.js, Firebase, Ruby on Rails, Django, etc. In addition, integrate a payment gateway like PayPal or Strike for handling secure payment processing. 

5. App Development 

Now comes the stage of developing an app wherein you are required to work on the following tasks: –  

• Create screens and widgets to display a list of products and add search and filtering options to help users discover products on the go. 
• Using the Flutter navigation system to provide a smooth experience for users  
• Adding shopping cart functionality allowing users to add and remove products  
• Creating a smooth payment process and integrating an e-commerce app with various payment gateways such as PayPal, stripe or another mode of payment  
• Implement a rating system so users can leave product reviews on the app. 

6. Perform Testing of an E-commerce App 

Once you have added app functionalities, it’s time for you to test the app thoroughly on different emulators to ensure that it works perfectly on different devices.   

Developing an e-commerce app using the Flutter framework helps you perform various types of testing, such as unit testing, widget testing, and integration testing. 

• Unit testing – You are testing a single-function 
• Widget testing – Here, you are testing a single widget  
• Integration testing – Testing of an entire app is called integration testing  

7. App Deployment  

The last stage involves deploying your e-commerce app on Play stores such as App Store or Google Play Store. 

Need help in launching your app to Play store/App store? 

Is Flutter a Good Choice For E-commerce Apps?  

Here are some benefits of developing an e-commerce app with Flutter- 

• Developers prefer the Flutter framework because it takes less time to develop an e-commerce app because of the code reusability feature.  
• As Google backs Flutter, it is supported by a large community of Google users.  
• E-commerce app development with Flutter comes with advanced features for creating UI. Furthermore, it uses Skia (a graphic engine) that provides a fantastic user experience.  
• It is a perfect framework for building an MVP if you are low on finances.  
• This framework provides multi-platform support and gives you complete flexibility to convert existing mobile apps into other platforms.  
• It provides powerful design and rich animations you can add to your app with just small changes in the code.  
• It offers a hot reloading feature to developers wherein they can see the changes made in the app immediately.  

Also Read: How AI & Chatbot Apps Are Transforming Mobile Technology

Wrapping Up 

This blog gives you an idea of building e-commerce apps with Flutter and why Flutter is a good choice for e-commerce app development. 

Following the above steps, you can create a highly functional and interactive e-commerce app with the most important features you need for your business. 

To give you a quick recap of why you need to choose Flutter for developing e-commerce apps, here are some key reasons for it-  

• Developing e-commerce apps with Flutter is more cost-effective than other frameworks. 
• It provides a smooth experience for users.  
• It comes with customizable widgets.   
• As it uses a single codebase, it is pretty easy to create such a mobile app.  

Thus, all these reasons are enough for you to start your e-commerce app development journey with Flutter. 

To develop a next-generation e-commerce app, you need the support of qualified professionals who have years of experience in this niche because a single person cannot create an e-commerce app. 

So, to get started, our in-house flutter app developers are here for you to convert your visionary idea into a live app, even if you have a small budget. 

With 20+ skilled app developers, we will provide an exact roadmap for you and assess your business requirements to develop an e-commerce app that gives you massive ROI.  

FAQ

Why choose Flutter for my e-commerce app?

Selecting Flutter for your e-commerce application guarantees top-notch functionality and contented users. The native machine code generated by Flutter ensures responsive experiences, such as seamless scrolling, quick loading, and few crashes. These characteristics are essential to e-commerce since they have a direct impact on customer satisfaction, conversion rates, and user engagement. By providing a flawless buying experience, you may increase the marketability of your app with Flutter.

How much does it cost to develop an e-commerce app with Flutter?

Can I integrate my existing e-commerce platform (Shopify, Magento) with a Flutter app?
It is feasible to combine a Flutter app with your current e-commerce platform, like Shopify or Magento. Developers can access and change data from Shopify and Magento platforms via their APIs. With the help of these APIs, you can incorporate features that allow your Flutter app to communicate with your e-commerce backend, facilitating smooth integration and giving consumers a consistent experience.

What tools and frameworks do you use for Flutter ecommerce app development?

To create Flutter ecommerce apps, I use a mix of frameworks and tools. Firebase provides reliable backend services like authentication, databases, and cloud operations, while the Flutter SDK is essential for developing the user interface and functionality of the app. I also use programs like Stripe for payment integration and Provider for state management. My main development environments are Visual Studio Code or Android Studio, together with the Dart programming language.

What are the advantages of using Flutter for a Shopify Flutter app?

Flutter provides many benefits for Shopify apps. First off, Flutter makes it possible to create cross-platform apps that work with both iOS and Android devices, which increases the potential user base. Second, the development process is accelerated by Flutter’s hot reload functionality, which makes rapid iteration and debugging possible. Furthermore, the building of aesthetically pleasing and responsive user interfaces is made possible by Flutter’s extensive collection of customisable widgets, which improves the user experience in general.  Therefore, the need for developing cross-platform apps arises helping businesses achieve their goals effectively and efficiently. Let’s uncover the top advantages of Flutter in this blog.