Our app team is going full throttle – with the Community by their side

In 2021, Digitec Galaxus decided to set up its own app team – partially also in response to the app’s numerous poor reviews. How are things today?

Jasmin: the app team is almost complete. We’ve been well positioned and fully operational since autumn 2022. Since then, we’ve done a lot of groundwork and have already implemented a number of features visible to app users, on top of improving the shopping experience in the app.

One point of criticism at the time claimed the app was merely a website mirror for phones and offered no added value as a result. What specific improvements and features have you implemented since then?

Jasmin: it’s true, the app essentially displays what’s also on the website. On the plus side, however, this also meant that we didn’t have to start from scratch, but had a solid foundation. To start, we invested a lot of effort in the interface between website and app. One of our main goals was to revise all navigation elements in the app, for example by making important areas such as the shopping cart more easily accessible. The users were right, after all – the app should feel like an app, not a browser window.

Alexander: we’ve also added many native features. For example, you can activate push notifications to be informed about daily offers each time or to find out immediately when the price of a product on your watch list has dropped. We’ve also completely revised app login. Many users complained that they were inadvertently logged out far too often. Fixing this was unexpectedly difficult and took a long time. But it was worth it, as the fix led to higher login numbers and more positive ratings.

Speaking of ratings: to start the year, the average rating for the Galaxus app was 3.2 stars – now, six months later, it’s 4.8 stars, and 4.7 for the Digitec app! What happened?

Alexander: easy, we’ve simply been doing a great job over the last few years (laughs). No, in all seriousness, we had a concrete plan to improve the app right from the start. On the one hand, we started looking at the many bad App Store and Google Play Store reviews individually very early on, grouping them according to problem areas. We’re still working through these one by one. On the other hand, we started actively asking users for reviews this year, and realised that most of them like the app – which is why the overall rating has now improved so dramatically.

So the Community and its feedback still play an important role in your work?

Alexander: Yes, definitely. Two years ago, we started by addressing the most serious concerns from reviews first. Even today, we still look at every single review across app stores and check how we can solve any problems. We also carry out regular user tests to find out how the app is being received and what we can improve. And, of course, we’re also looking forward to input in the comments below this article.

Jasmin: the Community is a great plus for us since it allows us direct access to our users and vice versa. It’s important to us that we actively take on board feedback from the Community. After all, we aren’t making the app for ourselves, but for our customers.

Which app feature do you like the most as a user?

Alexander: last year it would’ve been Dark Mode. But by now it’s actually the speed and efficiency of the app. With just one tap, I can access my watch list or my shopping cart. I can also quickly check an order status. It’s really cool.

Jasmin: it’s the same for me. The best thing about the current app is that everything is quickly accessible in one place.

Seven out of eight positions in your team are currently filled. What should a candidate bring to the table to fit into your team?

Jasmin: definitely plenty of passion for native app development. For us, however, it’s not just about driving the app forward technically. We also want to bring in new ideas and our own flair. We’re a highly motivated team setting ambitious goals. After all, the app is our baby.

Alexander: this drive to want to develop the app is extremely important. As a team, we choose our direction together. A potential new team member can and must be keen to get involved.

Are there any projects or features you’re particularly looking forward to in the future?

Jasmin: We’re all very much looking forward to implementing the barcode scanner we developed at Hackfest into the app. We also definitely want to pursue image search, but we don’t really know exactly what’s possible yet.

Alexander: ditto. We’re also still missing an Easter egg, i.e. a hidden special feature or surprise in the app. It’s about time we did something cool.

What motivates you personally to continue working on the app?

Alexander: I’m motivated by the fact that user numbers continue to climb. They clearly show we’re on the right track. But it’s the people here too! We’ve got such a great team, striving to make the app better every day. And Galaxus also gives us the time and confidence to constantly improve and further develop the app. That’s not a given.

Jasmin: There’s massive potential that we haven’t even realised yet with the app. In the future, I look forward to taking every single step to make the shopping experience even faster, better and more enjoyable for our customers. We don’t yet know where the journey will take us, and that’s exciting. We just let ourselves drift, see what needs there are and where we end up.

Thank you very much for the conversation, Alexander and Jasmin, and good luck for your future success!

App-Download:
Galaxus iOS & Android
Digitec iOS & Android

Fancy joining us? One position in the app team is currently still open:

Android Engineer