E-Commerce App Development
Our e-commerce app development team builds shopping apps for Canadian retailers, direct-to-consumer brands and marketplaces. A retail app earns its keep through repeat buyers, so we focus on fast browsing, a short checkout and reasons for customers to come back.
- Fixed-scope quoteA written price and milestone plan before any work starts.
- From $4,999 CADTypical single-platform apps $5,000 to $12,000.
- You own the codeSource, designs and store accounts are yours.
- Reply within 24 hoursMon to Fri, Toronto time. Call +1 (365) 440-1786.
Who this is for
E-commerce app development fits retailers with a proven online store that want a faster, more personal channel for repeat customers, direct-to-consumer brands that live on push notifications and loyalty, marketplaces that need seller tools, and chains that want click and collect and in-store features tied together. If most of your buyers are first-time visitors from search, a good mobile website may still be the better first step, and we will tell you.
Apps we build for e-commerce
- Native storefronts connected to Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento or a custom backend
- Loyalty and rewards apps with points, tiers and member pricing
- Click and collect apps that tie online orders to store pickup
- Multi-vendor marketplaces with seller onboarding and payouts
- Subscription and replenishment apps for recurring orders
- In-store companion apps with barcode scanning and stock lookup
Key features
- Fast catalogue browsing with search, filters and saved wishlists
- Checkout in a few taps using Apple Pay, Google Pay and saved cards
- One-tap reorder and order history that encourages repeat purchases
- Order tracking with shipping updates pushed to the device
- Segmented push notifications for restocks, price drops and abandoned carts
- Real-time inventory sync so customers never buy what you cannot ship
Systems we typically integrate with
- Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce or a custom commerce backend
- Payment providers with Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Shipping carriers and rate services for live delivery options and tracking
- Inventory, ERP and point-of-sale systems for stock and click and collect
- Email and SMS marketing platforms for segmentation
- Reviews, search and recommendation services
Integration access is confirmed during discovery, before we quote, because vendor onboarding often takes longer than the code. Our backend and API service covers the server side of these connections.
What discovery covers for an e-commerce project
The first week or so answers these questions, and the answers set the fixed-scope quote:
- Where your repeat purchases come from today and what the app must do better than the mobile site
- Which commerce platform you run and how products, stock and orders are managed
- Whether you ship, offer pickup, or both, and from how many locations
- Which loyalty or membership mechanics fit your margins
- Tax, shipping and returns rules across the provinces or countries you sell to
- What your marketing team needs from push notifications and segments
Build custom or use an off-the-shelf tool?
Custom is not always the right answer. This is how we advise e-commerce clients in the first call:
| Need | Off-the-shelf is usually enough when | Custom makes sense when |
|---|---|---|
| A branded app for a single Shopify store | App builders can wrap a store quickly with limited customisation | Custom when you need loyalty, store features, offline browsing or integrations the builder cannot do |
| Loyalty programme | Loyalty platforms with app SDKs handle points and tiers | Custom when loyalty is tied to your own data, stores or subscriptions |
| Marketplace with many sellers | Marketplace platforms exist but constrain payouts and seller tools | Custom when seller onboarding, payouts and trust features are your product |
| Click and collect across stores | Some commerce platforms include basic pickup | Custom when stock accuracy, staff apps and curbside flows matter |
Compliance and considerations
Card payments are covered by PCI DSS. The practical answer for almost every retail app is to keep card data off your systems entirely by using a tokenised provider such as Stripe, Apple Pay or Google Pay, which is how we build unless you have a reason to do otherwise. Marketing messages to Canadian customers fall under CASL, so we build consent capture and an unsubscribe path into the sign-up flow rather than adding it later. Pricing, shipping and return terms shown in the app also need to match what your consumer protection obligations and store policies require.
What drives the cost of an e-commerce app
Most apps we build land between $5,000 and $25,000, with complex platforms from about $25,000. These drivers decide where yours sits, far more than the screen count does. See our price sheet.
| Cost driver | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Commerce platform integration | A platform with a clean API is quick to connect; a custom or legacy backend takes longer. |
| Catalogue complexity | Variants, bundles, personalised pricing and B2B rules multiply the screens and edge cases. |
| Store and pickup features | Per-store stock, staff apps and curbside flows add integrations and roles. |
| Personalisation and search | Recommendations and fast faceted search need services and tuning beyond the basic catalogue. |
| Multi-region selling | Currencies, taxes, shipping rules and languages each add configuration and testing. |
Timelines
- Focused first version. 6 to 10 weeks for an iOS and Android storefront app on a mainstream commerce platform with checkout and push.
- Full platform. 3 to 6 months for loyalty, pickup, marketplace or multi-region features.
What moves these ranges:
- Quality of your product data and images
- Payment and shipping account setup
- How quickly decisions and feedback come back each week
- Scope changes mid-build, which we quote before starting
Common mistakes we help you avoid
- Launching an app that does nothing the mobile website cannot, then wondering why nobody installs it
- Pushing notifications without segmentation, which drives uninstalls
- Showing stock that is not accurate, which turns into cancelled orders and support tickets
- Forgetting returns and exchanges in version one
- Building a custom checkout instead of using Apple Pay and Google Pay
What a first version can look like
Illustrative example: a specialty grocer with a Shopify store and three shops wants to grow repeat orders. Version one is a cross-platform app with the Shopify catalogue, saved lists, one-tap reorder, Apple Pay and Google Pay, order tracking and pickup slots per shop. Loyalty points and a subscription box follow once reorder behaviour has been measured for two months.
Why e-commerce companies choose us
- We build native-feeling storefronts, not a browser window wrapped in an app icon
- Checkout work is measured: fewer steps, fewer form fields, fewer abandoned carts
- Integration with the commerce platform, ERP and inventory system you already run
- Push and loyalty designed to lift repeat orders rather than annoy customers into uninstalling
- Fixed-scope quotes, so a seasonal launch date is a date you can hold suppliers to
- Support plans that cover peak trading periods when downtime is expensive
See every industry we serve, compare project pricing, or read how a project runs before you send us a brief.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Yes. We connect to your existing platform through its API so products, prices, inventory and orders stay in one place. Your team keeps working in the admin they already know, and the app becomes another sales channel rather than a second system to maintain.
It does when repeat purchase matters. Apps hold sign-in, payment details and preferences, so a returning customer buys in seconds, and push notifications reach people that email does not. If most of your traffic is one-time visitors from search, a better mobile site is the cheaper answer and we will tell you so.
A storefront on an existing platform sits at the lower end, while marketplaces with multiple sellers, payouts and custom logistics sit higher.
A storefront MVP with catalogue, cart and checkout usually launches in 6 to 10 weeks on iOS and Android, or 4 to 8 weeks on one platform. A marketplace or a build with loyalty, subscriptions and in-store features takes 3 to 6 months.
Yes. Tax and shipping rules normally stay in your commerce platform, which already calculates provincial rates, and the app reads the result. Where you need custom logic we build it in the backend so both web and app use the same rules.
Discovery, design, the app for iOS and Android, integration with your commerce platform and payment provider, push notifications, store submission and a warranty period. Loyalty, pickup and marketplace features are scoped as their own lines.
If most customers buy once and arrive from search, improve the website first. If you have a base of repeat buyers, an app with saved details, push and loyalty usually earns its place. We give you an honest read in the first call.
Free quote
Tell us about your app
A senior engineer reads your brief and replies within 24 hours with questions and a fixed-scope estimate. No obligation and no sales sequence.
- Written, fixed-scope quote before any work starts
- You own the code, designs and accounts
- Typical apps from $4,999 CAD
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