With the launch this month of MobiCart's ecommerce platform for Android devices, MobiCart provides app developers and business owners with sufficient technical expertise the ability to develop and launch complete ecommerce solutions for iOS Apple devices and Android. Designed to work with a new ecommerce store or an existing ecommerce Web site, MobiCart is an excellent choice for a mobile commerce application.

Currently, over 10,000 businesses use MobiCart for ecommerce, from small one-person operations to large global brand names, so scaling is not an issue. Like many app development tools, MobiCart uses a mix of both native and Web app content, supporting iTunes and Google Play listings, while using Web linked content and commerce features to enable easy item management and commerce connections. API connectors are available for Prestashop, Magneto, OXID-eSales, X-Cart, and JShop at this time, enabling existing ecommerce sites using these platforms to integrate mobile and Web commerce. For anyone starting Web commerce, I would look at using one of these tools to allow for easy connection to MobiCart. In addition, PayPal is a supported payment gateway.

Development

Source code is provided for customization in Apple's X-Code and the Android SDK tools, so native app features can be added by developers. The standard features, however, are very extensive. These include a dashboard portal, Content Management System, HTML5 support, open API, and the ability to develop and sell add-ons, as well as a planned white label plan for developers.

MobiCart Dashboard Screenshot

Features

|image4| Built-in store features include versatile tax and shipping rates, a choice of any currency, push notifications, news, sales, location-based push, store locations, product search, YouTube integration, Twitter integration, RSS feed import, tracking, check order status, customer reviews, and more. All of these are usable in the mobile version, without a need to use a separate Web commerce solution.

App Building Process

MobiCart Create App Screenshot

The store building process is easy, starting with store settings and design, which can be customized for branding and matching an existing Web site. Loading products is the next step, and products can be added using the supported API or with a .csv file upload.  The source code is available for download and compiling for local control, testing, and submission. Or MobiCart offers a service for submitting the store apps and maintaining updates.

The MobiCart Web service is the portal for managing the store apps and includes screens for the dashboard, departments and items, store settings, and newsfeeds.

Pricing

All plans except the Pro plan include MobiCart branding within the app. There is no setup fee. Annual payment discounts are available on all paid plans.

Free

Limited to a maximum of 10 items, the Free plan includes all Basic plan features.

Basic $15/month

A Basic plan is $15 per month and increases the product limit to 100 items, includes the native iPhone app builder, no transaction fees, unlimited app downloads, community support, and automatic updates. Available as an option with  this plan, MobiCart will submit your app to Apple for $19 per month and includes an Apple developer account, if you don't already have one.

Starter $29/month

The starter plan increases the product limit to 2,000 items, provides email support, the Android app builder, and the HTML5 web app builder environments. MobiCart will submit up to 4 apps to both Google and Apple for an additional $29 per month and includes the Google developer account, which is Google Checkout. All features of the Basic plan are included.

Pro $49/month

The pro plan provides unlimited products, priority support by email and chat, and MobiCart branding removal, in addition to all features of the Basic and Starter plans.

Conclusion

For any mobile app that is heavily ecommerce focused, MobiCart offers a quick and low-cost hosted solution for both iOS and Android.