AUSTIN, Texas — May 9, 2017 — Shopgate, Inc., the leading SaaS shopping app platform, today announced it is entering the Australian market, providing the country’s merchants with a cutting-edge mobile shopping platform that allows them to quickly launch and maintain native iOS and Android apps. With access to the leading mobile commerce platform, retailers will be able to drive long-term improvements in customer retention rates, improving lifetime customer value and revenue. With mobile purchasing expected to surpass desktop transactions in the next three years, it’s vital that retailers approach their mobile strategies proactively and aggressively to combat eCommerce giants like Amazon.

With the announcement that Amazon is launching delivery services in Australia later this year, a recent insights report from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia indicates the majority of local retailers are not prepared to compete with the retail giant. According to the report, only 14% of Australian merchants have a business plan in place to be able to compete with Amazon. As well, PayPal reports that while 71% of Australian consumers use their mobile phones for purchases, only 49% of online businesses are optimized to accept mobile payments.

“There is an obvious gap between consumer behavior in Australia and the mobile readiness of a significant number of local merchants. With Amazon’s entry into the market, retailers will face increased competition, especially with regard to mobile purchasing, and it’s become more important that retailers have the right tools and strategies in place to retain customers on mobile devices,” said Marc Biel, CEO, Shopgate. “We’ve seen first-hand with our extensive client base that mobile stores, especially mobile apps, provide a clear advantage in shopper retention, as they drive top-of-mind awareness simply by being present on a shopper’s home screen, and allow merchants to reach users with targeted communications, delivered right to the most personal device they own. We are excited to now offer merchants in Australia a solution that will significantly enhance their mobile strategies.”

Upon its entry into the Australian market, Shopgate now supports the Australian dollar and integration with its largest partners including Magento, Shopify and BigCommerce. Shopgate also provides the option for the country’s merchants to integrate with custom carts. Features of the Shopgate mobile platform include:

• Rapid launch – Truncated development timelines let retailers have total control, without the need to wait for agencies or developers to implement features or updates.
• Predictable costs – Significantly reduced investments over traditional app building, with a subscription-based SaaS model that keeps costs low and includes app launch, updates, features releases and maintenance.
• Advanced user segmentation – Target users based on app activity or profile data to craft relevant messages to drive engagement and purchasing.
• Real-time design updates – Marketers and merchandisers have full control of their app’s look and feel, using Shopgate’s comprehensive widget system that allows for ongoing updates without any coding required.

For merchants interested in learning more about the Shopgate mobile shopping platform, the company will attend the Online Retailer Conference in Sydney, July 26-27. To meet with Shopgate at the event, contact [email protected]. Shopgate will also host a product tour webinar, June 6 at 12 p.m. AEST. Click here to register.

About Shopgate:

Shopgate’s leading SaaS platform enables online retailers to easily create, maintain and optimize native apps and mobile websites for the iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tablets. Shopgate uses cutting-edge marketing features such as one-click payments, mobile coupons and advanced push notifications to help merchants connect with consumers on the go. Shopgate is headquartered in Austin, TX and has a team of more than 200 employees in Europe and the U.S. Learn more at: www.shopgate.com/en/.