9 Aug 2024
Updated on December 3rd, 2024
How To Build An App Like Shein? A Comprehensive Guide
Shaun Bell
The whirl of fashion—never stopping, constantly updating itself with new trends, innovative designs, and fresh aesthetics. Influences from past decades reappear, mixed with modern touches that ensure fashion keeps moving. This circle fuels creativity and holds the industry’s appeal—charming audiences and setting new standards without an end.
The technological industry has beautifully blended with the fashion industry through several mobile app development companies and entrepreneurs investing in the hot market to develop apps, making it convenient for shopaholics to go overboard buying their favourites from their homes.
When trends change within the blink of an eye, staying stylish seems impossible. Yet, in this digital age, the solution lies in your hands. Fashion apps are changing how we discover, shop, and share our style, thus revolutionizing the fashion industry. Imagine a personal stylist, a cutting-edge boutique, and a lively fashion community in your pocket.
Welcome to the new generation of fashion—where technology meets style, and your next outfit is just a swipe away. Shein is one such fashion app that has taken the world by storm with their trendy styles and affordable fashion by offering a massive variety of clothes for men, women, and children.
With its user-friendly interface, frequent sales, and keeping up with the newest trends, it was bound to become fashion lovers’ favourite place to shop globally. Over time, online shopping has become the new norm, and fashion is no exception to the ongoing changes, with more people leaning towards using mobile apps to shop from the comfort of their homes over waiting in long lines for their turn in a brick-and-mortar shopping place.
Entrepreneurs are interested in developing similar apps to generate enormous profits after observing the remarkable success that Shein, a clothing and accessory app, enjoyed in the global market.
The market is packed with entrepreneurs looking to make a place for themselves in people’s hearts with their unique apps offering something unforgettable to the users to ensure their apps remain in the market amidst the growing competition. An app like Shein that endures in the market for a long time rather than failing among consumers can be created with the assistance of a trustworthy mobile app development business.
What Is Shein App?
Founded by Chris Xu in 2008, Shein is a widely popular clothing and apparel app, making everyone from youngsters to older people go crazy over trending styles at affordable prices. Over time, the clothing app has grown widely popular among people from different nations by allowing individuals to shop for their favourites from their homes without spending big bucks. The app offers a seamless shopping experience, featuring a user-friendly interface, personalized recommendations, and an immense pool of items updated in line with the latest fashion tendencies.
It can deliver new styles daily, thus serving diverse tastes and preferences. With the use of advanced algorithms and data analytics in the prediction of fashion trends and the tastes and preferences of customers, it ensures that its inventory is pegged toward what is in demand at that particular time in the market.
Besides, direct-to-consumer selling and an efficient supply chain enable Shein to offer competitive prices without compromising quality.
It has earned and retained its brand image among users because it delivered what was promised: affordable, trendy clothes and apparel without compromising their quality. With a marred reputation due to endless criticism over its environmental and labour practices, Shein is still going strong in the fast fashion industry, expanding globally and capturing more customers daily. Collaborate with a leading app development company to create an app like Shein to ensure it is an instant hit in the market.
Growth Of Shein-
Shein’s growth, as tracked by Statista, projects its remarkable rise within the global fast fashion market. The growth was exponential, beginning in 2008 with the power of e-commerce and digital marketing. According to Statista, Shein’s downloads for the app increased drastically, particularly during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic when people started shopping more frequently online. In 2021, Shein became the most downloaded shopping app in the US, overtaking giants like Amazon.
According to Statista, Shein’s revenues surged to about $10 billion in 2020 from previous figures. This is justified further by Statista data, which shows that the reasons for its success include Shein’s social media presence and engagement.
With millions of followers on all social media, including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, this firm is effectively building awareness and securing customer loyalty. This digital-first strategy, combined with aggressive marketing methods, positioned Shein at the forefront of fast fashion, where it outperform its competitors in market share and consumer engagement.
Why Are Apps Similar To Shein Popular?
Shein’s meteoric rise to the forefront of fashion has gripped consumers and competitors alike. From a humble beginning, later becoming a global phenomenon, Shein changed how people shop for clothes and accessories.
It enjoys a general appeal and growth that is hard to deny, being able to capture customers from all walks of life around the globe. Shein established new benchmarks in fast fashion and continues to be unrivalled with its distinctive fusion of style, affordability, and convenience.
1. Trendy And Affordable –
The prime reason behind the popularity of apps like Shein is the affordability of trendy clothes with good qualities, as not everyone can afford the latest clothing.
Apps like Shein allow individuals on a tight budget to shop for chic clothes without spending big bucks to help them stay within their budget. With a very extensive catalogue, Shein holds the latest fashion trends so that users can rest assured that they will have the most contemporary styles every season.
With frequent updating and diverse collections, it caters to the current taste of fashion customers, thus helping shoppers stay stylish and updated with minimal effort. The application has competitive pricing and frequent promotions that make it very pocket-friendly.
2. Market Size And Scope –
Substantial advantages are associated with the massive market size and scope of the Shein app. Having an enormous inventory, which gets frequently updated, helps Shein provide the latest fashion at an affordable price to its global customers.
Together with personalized recommendations and improved app navigation, the user-friendly interface of the app improves the whole purchasing experience. Its extent ensures that there are styles to suit the tastes and needs of shoppers.
Moreover, given the leanness of the supply chain and frequent promotional activities, Shein can offer an inexpensive way for fashion lovers to keep themselves current without overspending their money. There are a number of app development companies available on the market that may assist you in creating an app similar to Shein.
3. User Generated Content And Influencer Marketing–
Shein is one of the brands that encourages users to share honest feedback about their products with authentic photos to help other users trust their brands and purchase their goods. Apart from this, Shein regularly collaborates with popular influencers to promote their products and broaden their reach by leveraging the large followers of these influencers and celebrities.
Authentic insights into the quality and fitting of products are acquired from customer reviews and photos, thus helping customers make informed purchasing decisions. Influencer marketing does this by showcasing the newest styles at Shein to their followers.
It drives brand awareness and trust, which builds a community around the brand. Having woven in real-life testimonials and trendy fashion endorsements, Shein has developed a lively, interactive platform that speaks to customers, explaining why they prefer the site to buy clothes online.
4. Engaging And Strong Social Media Presence-
An engaging and robust social media presence at Shein enhances the shopping experience to a great extent. Through platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, Shein connects with a large audience by showcasing new fashion trends and styles. Due to this constant engagement, shoppers will never miss out on new arrivals or other promotions.
This creates community, trust, and interest in trying out Shein products among more people. Besides, shopping has become convenient, enjoyable and socially connected with interactive features like live streaming and fashion shows. This flashy online presence has made Shein a go-to destination for fashion lovers.
How Does App Like Shein Work –
Imagine getting trendy clothes without breaking the bank to fulfil your fashion dreams. Thanks to the invention of Shein, this dream of millions of girls has turned into a reality with their good-quality products at affordable prices.
Apps like Shein provide an easy and enjoyable shopping experience with an updated, vast catalogue of trendy clothes and accessories according to the latest trends in fashion. Users can effortlessly scroll through various categories, get product details, and view high-resolution images to decide on purchasing the goods.
It includes personalized recommendations and curated collections that allow shoppers to find items that suit their style. Some of the very convenient features of the app are wish lists, order tracking, and easy returns, all aimed at enhancing customer satisfaction and making shopping efficient and pleasurable.
1. Log In/Sign Up
Once the Shein app has been downloaded, users must register by creating an account on Shein using their email address or social network account. A brilliant, smooth and safe shopping experience is presented to users through the registration and log-in features.
Users can log in to get tailored recommendations, track orders, create wish lists, and get special promotions after registering on the app. Hence, Shein has made it much easier to handle customer accounts with better convenience and a more personalized shopping experience.
2. Browsing And Login-
Shein has made it effortless for shopaholics to shop for their favourites using their filters, which let customers view only their favourites and then pick one out of them.
Different products have been segregated into various categories to help customers select their favourite ones without scrolling the whole collection of unwanted goods.
Some of the features at Shein for browsing and shopping are user-friendly. The application maintains a neat catalogue of trendy clothes and accessories, updated daily with new arrivals. High-resolution images and detailed descriptions provide options to make informed choices. Further facilitating shopping are the personalized recommendations and curated collections.
3. Product Selection-
The product selection feature at Shein includes a comprehensive, updated catalogue to represent current fashion trends. All products are categorized into understandable groupings like clothing, accessories, beauty products, etc., detailing filters by size, colour, and style preference.
Detailed images, descriptions, and reviews can help make up one’s mind. Personalized recommendations and collections improve this shopping experience even further to find items for users.
4. Shopping Cart And Check-out-
Before changing their cart at checkout to include their favourite products, consumers can add all of their selected products to the cart. Users can add items to their cart while scrolling through, view the items selected, and finally edit them before checking out. The checkout process is also user-friendly, guiding customers through entering shipping information, choosing payment methods, and reviewing order details. Shein also offers different ways of payment, like credit cards and digital wallets, thus ensuring that every transaction for the customers is safe and efficient.
5. Payment–
Shein’s payment function has been engineered to be usable yet secure.
It supports a variety of ways to pay, from credit/debit cards and PayPal to some local ones—almost any specific method works anywhere in the world.
Checkout is relatively painless, and transaction processes are encrypted to secure sensitive information. Furthermore, Shein periodically offers discounts and promo codes that are simple to use at the time of purchase. Also, clarity and transparency in the return policy make the overall shopping experience seamless and reliable.
6. Order Confirmation –
The order confirmation feature of Shein allows users to obtain a clear and detailed summary of what a customer has purchased upon every executed order.
Right after every purchase, an email or in-app notification is sent to the user that includes the order number, items purchased, their respective quantities, and total cost. It has an approximate delivery date and the delivery address.
This information can be accessed in the application or website under order history. This feature allows customers to track their purchases and follow up on an order’s status, meaning there is clarity and accuracy in the purchase.
7. Order Tracking –
Shein’s order tracking keeps customers updated regarding their purchases in real time. Thus, the customers have a smooth and transparent shopping experience.
Right after placing an order, a tracking number is provided to the user so they can trace the package’s journey from its exit at the warehouse to the user’s doorstep. It includes shipping status and estimated delivery time; all information down to every delivery phase is provided to the user.
Any change or delay in the shipment process gets updated to the user about their orders. This feature enhances customer satisfaction, allowing the tracing of shipments to customers, increasing transparency, and reducing uncertainty.
Business Model Of Shein –
The business model of Shein has been one of the most dynamic and has been one of the innovations in fast fashion. The DTC business model is intrinsic to Shein’s activity; that is, the organization sells its products directly to consumers through its online platform, bypassing the intermediaries involved in retailing. It assists in keeping overheads at a minimum while maximizing profit margins.
Inventory turnover and supply chains—this is the real secret behind Shein’s success. That is to say, data analytics, combined with consumer insights, helps the firm effortlessly identify rising trends in fashion and turn them into products within no time.
The staff at Shein keeps a keen eye on social media and fashion influencers to see which styles are most popular. Such a feedback loop enables Shein to develop new items quickly, within weeks.
Another critical component of Shein’s business model is its pricing strategy. With the ability to keep the minimum production cost through effective supply chain management and strategic sourcing, Shein offers very competitive prices for fashionable products, allowing this affordability to attract a large customer base of, in particular, price-sensitive and fashion-conscious consumers.
The brand’s marketing strategy focuses extensively on digital platforms. Shein runs targeted advertisements online and across social media while partnering with influencers to get their products out to prospective customers. It enhances the customer experience by engaging through recommended options, limited-time promotions, interactive content, and other ways of generating sales and ensuring customer loyalty.
Another major growth factor has been the global expansion strategy. Shein was able to penetrate new markets all across the world through localization and international shipping, covering different styles and tastes in fashion.
Key Features To Offer In An App Like Shein-
A shopping app such as Shein should focus on being friendly and engaging to its users. Major features would include navigation, which is user-friendly and allows easy searching of products across various categories. Then, there is the need for personalization, where relevant recommendations based on user preference and behaviour are provided to users.
1. User Registration-
The foremost feature you need to offer your users if you want to build an app like Shein is user registration, allowing individuals to register on your platform using their social media details or email ID. Ensure that your app provides users with an easy sign-up or login option, requiring a minimum number of actions, facilitated by options like social media integration or email registration.
Safe authentication, such as two-factor verification, protects user data. In addition, the seamless and continuous login experience with easy recovery options empowers user retention and satisfaction. It opens a reliable gateway to individual fashion content and shopping experiences.
2. Product Browsing And Description-
If you plan to create a fashion app like Shein, integrate a product browsing and description feature in your app, allowing users to scroll effortlessly through the clothes and accessories with filters and searching options, making choosing easier by category, size, colour, and style. High-resolution images and detailed descriptions are necessary for making informed decisions.
Moreover, display options on the model or in styled looks can further enhance the browsing experience and even aid a customer in rationalizing their potential purchase. A trustworthy app development company can help you provide brilliant technical solutions to create an app like Shein.
3. Wishlist–
Wishlist is another pivotal feature you should integrate into your app to allow users to save their products in the same place, making it effortless to visit their favourites later and make an informed decision. Enabling users to add products to their wishlist provides an easier way for users to return to wanted items, rather than having to find their favourite items all over again. It enhances the customer experience by keeping one’s interests at hand, informing them of price drops or restocking, and giving better planning time. It also enables engagement by letting users curate and manage their style preferences personally.
4. Shopping Cart-
Another feature you need to integrate into your app is the shopping cart feature to streamline the buying items process since it is easy to throw items into a cart, see them, and then manage their selection and move through the purchase process. Product details, quantity, and options for deletion are all just a touch away. Running totals of costs, including discounts and taxes, are shown in the cart. This feature enhances convenience so one can make informed decisions and ensure the checkout is smooth and efficient.
5. Payment –
Ideally, the payment feature of your fashion app should be smooth and secure, providing various payment options like credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and buy-now-pay-later services. As such, it must ensure fast and secure processing, with strong encryption, to safeguard users’ data.
They should have an easy interface for feeding in the details of the payment to save the payment options for the future, clear and complete confirmation of payment details, and a detailed receipt at the end. Hire an Android app development company or an iPhone app development company depending on your needs to help your create a successful Shein like app.
6. Push Notifications –
The simplest method for Fashion app owners to keep their target audience interested in their product is to use push notification features to keep people interacting with the brand. A notification feature on a fashion application is designed to retain a user by ensuring the latter is kept apprised of new arrivals, exclusive sales, and customized offers.
With the update mechanism, the user is notified of new stocks of popular items and changes in the status of the items they ordered. All this makes the customer aware of what is happening with their purchase. This feature drives sales through purposeful marketing and nurtures loyal customers because users are in the loop for follow-up and updates.
7. Rating And Reviews –
In a fashion app, the most influential feature is the rating and review feature for a user of the application in question. Customers share their opinions about the products, which provides pivotal insights for others. Users can rate items based on quality and fit, provide written reviews and detailed feedback and share personal experiences. It guides buyers to make the right purchase decision and acts as a channel through which the brand can address concerns and enhance its offerings based on user input. An app development company can help you integrate brilliant rating and review features to help you understand the changes you need to make in your app.
8. Customer Support –
Another pivotal feature of a fashion app is customer support, which is implemented with the purpose of bettering user satisfaction. Your app should provide multiple channels for assistance, like live chat, email, and phone support. There should be an effortless way for a user to reach for help when needed.
Prompt response times, supplemented by knowledgeable representatives, are the keys to effective resolution. Furthermore, this would foster the ability to have an FAQ section and allow one to self-serve to answer their questions independently. Responsive and accessible customer support builds trust, thus enhancing the overall shopping experience.
Step To Build An App Like Shein-
Developing an application like Shein is a beautiful blend of market analysis, user-oriented design, and solid development. Begin by researching the trends in fashion and the tastes of users.
Then, invest some time into the making of a seamless and intuitive interface that includes personalized recommendations, efficient order tracking, and engaging content to attract and retain users.
1. Market Analysis –
Understanding your target market, your rivals, and industry trends can be achieved through a market research study. To better understand your audience, examine customer behaviour, preferences, demographics, etc. Know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors to learn what makes them successful and where they fall behind.
Current industry trends can be studied to project and forecast future developments and changes in demand. Identify any market gaps and innovative opportunities so you can tailor your app to satisfy unsatisfied needs, offer unique features, and bring in users.
2. App Design-
Develop an attractive UI and UX with a clean design, simplicity, and intuitive usage for your app. Consider layout, typography, and colour schemes that work in harmony for smooth and engaging user interaction.
Use clean and simple layouts that allow effortless navigability, with typography that facilitates readability. Instead of selecting colours that will only work toward brand identity, choose those that give the space its invitation. Demonstrate user-centric design principles that make the app enjoyable and engaging for everyone.
3. App Development-
Write the mobile app in programming languages and relevant frameworks for a specific platform, either iOS or Android. Use either Swift or Objective-C for iOS and Kotlin or Java for Android.
Emphasize crucial features from the start, like order management for tracing purchases and deliveries, payment integration methods to help transactions be more secure, shopping cart functionality for fluent and problem-free shopping, and smooth product browsing by providing effective search and filter options. Add user registration to make everything more personal: customers log in to their accounts, save their preferences, and track all their orders with ease.
4. App Testing-
Test the application well for bugs, glitches, and usability. First is the alpha testing phase, which should be done by the development team in which initial errors and functionality problems are detected.
Next comes the beta testing stage, which involves a small group of real users who will give valuable feedback about their experience. Watch out for their input regarding usability, performance, or remaining bugs. Use this feedback to improve and polish the app enough before the actual launch to enhance user satisfaction and reduce issues after launch.
5. App Launching-
Test the product thoroughly and then launch it on platforms like the App Store or the Google Play Store. Every element should be polished so that it is ready to be exposed to user interaction.
After launching the app in the stores, employ robust marketing strategies to popularize and attract users towards the app. Run social media campaigns across Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to reach as large an audience as possible. Engage with influencers and endorse the application authentically. Conduct ASO for better visibility of the app on search, driving more organic downloads and making the app launch successful.
6. App Maintenance-
Keep tracking and maintaining the app for the best performance, security, and usability. Analyse the app analytics and user feedback regularly and resolve any upcoming issues. Provide regular updates for new features and bug fixing so that functionality is enhanced.
Keep up with changing times by evolving market trends and technological advancements in the app to be competitive. Keep engaging with your users about their needs and preferences. This way, the application will meet all the expectations of it all the time and provide a great user experience.
How Much Does It Cost To Build An App Like Shein In Australia?
The cost of developing an application like Shein in Australia can also be too broad, varying independently based on factors like the app’s complexities, features, and development teams. It could range from anywhere around AUD 100,000 to AUD 500,000 or more.
The estimated cost for high-quality UI/UX design will lie between AUD 10,000 and AUD 50,000, depending on the level of complexity and customization.
Development:
An e-commerce app like this needs real-time updates, payment integration, and personal recommendations that range from AUD 50,000 to AUD 300,000. This cost involves the development of both iOS and Android versions.
Backend infrastructure:
Setting up a scalable backend that can handle inventory, orders, and user data will cost anywhere from AUD 20,000 to AUD 100,000.
Testing and QA:
The application’s smooth running can be tested for AUD 10,000 through AUD 30,000.
Marketing and Launch:
The initial marketing and launch may add another AUD 10,000 to AUD 50,000.
Ongoing Maintenance:
The maintenance after launching the app will include updates and bug fixing, which costs AUD 10,000 to AUD 30,000 yearly.
These are estimates of the costs, and they may vary depending on requirements and the location and experience of the development team. A renowned app development company can help you develop a brilliant Shein like app
Conclusion–
Developing an app like Shein requires a multi-faceted approach: strategic planning, user-centric design, and robust development. It shall be initiated with in-depth market research to understand consumer preferences and competitors’ strengths. This also includes the study of emerging trends across industries, which can be applied in your app and form the base for understanding unique opportunities and gaps that your app can fill.
7 Pillars, a brilliant app development company in Australia, can assist you in researching the market to understand your competitors and users, thus helping you build an app that is an instant hit in the market.
The apparatus requires constant monitoring and maintenance after launching for perfect running. The app will get better and solve newly emerging challenges with regular updates, partly driven by users’ feedback and evolving market trends. Establishing a brand profile and facilitating user acquisition is possible through impactful marketing techniques, including influencer collaborations and social media campaigns.
Renowned app development company 7 Pillars is available to help you every step of the way, offering professional guidance. From the first thought to market research, from design to development, and even after the launch support, its expert team gives end-to-end service to bring an app to life with a seamless, successful launch that fits your specific needs and drives business goals.
Our technocrats at 7 Pillars, a leading app development company, support you in developing an application like Shein. Enable our knowledge of the latest, out-of-the-box technologies and market trends. We provide end-to-end solutions that include strategic planning, new design, solid development, and further support at every level to help your app stand out in the competitive fashion industry and yield excellent user experience.
If you are looking into developing an app like Shein, you should look no further and contact our brilliant team at 7 Pillars, a trustworthy app development company today to start your app development journey.
Have a project idea?
Let’s Discuss