Should Shopify Brands Develop Mobile Apps In-House?

Mobile commerce has become impossible to ignore for growing Shopify brands. More consumers are shopping on their phones every year – in fact, mobile purchases are expected to make up around 59% of all online retail sales (over $4 trillion) in 2025. This means that providing a smooth mobile shopping experience is no longer optional. Many Shopify merchants are turning to dedicated mobile apps to engage customers with features like push notifications, loyalty rewards, and quick checkout that a website alone can’t easily offer. These apps can deepen customer loyalty and boost conversion rates, as app users tend to spend more and shop more frequently than mobile website visitors.

So, what’s the best way to build a Shopify mobile app? Broadly speaking, there are three main approaches: developing your own, using a Shopify app builder, or hiring an agency. If you’re an established or rapidly scaling brand, you may be considering an in-house build due to the flexibility and customisation it affords.

In this article, we’ll focus on in-house development - how it works, the costs involved, and the key advantages and drawbacks - to help you determine if it’s the right choice for your e-commerce mobile app development project. We’ll also explore a hybrid alternative that offers the flexibility of an in-house approach without the high costs and technical complexity.

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How to Develop a Shopify Mobile App 

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Building a Shopify mobile app in-house means using your own development team (or hiring developers directly) to create a custom app from the ground up. This route offers maximum control and flexibility – but it also requires the most effort, time, cost and technical expertise. Here’s what it entails:

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Shopify API integration

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Your app must connect to your Shopify store’s data (products, orders, customers, etc.) via Shopify’s APIs. Shopify offers GraphQL APIs, alongside a Mobile Buy SDK that your app will use to fetch products, update carts, handle checkouts, authenticate customer accounts and more.

The storefront API is the one that’s most relevant if you’re looking to create a mobile app for your Shopify store. This API is designed to enable headless eCommerce, which means decoupling the backend and frontend of your store, allowing you to build a custom UI.

Your developers need a strong understanding of Shopify’s backend and API capabilities to ensure they set up your app in a way that pulls in all the data from your online store. They will then need to build out the app’s frontend in a mobile programming language, ensuring as much design continuity with your website as possible.

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Third-party software integrations

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Alongside integrating Shopify’s backend, your developers will also need to integrate with any third-party software providers to replicate all the online store functionality in your app. Since a mobile app can’t simply “install” a Shopify App like your website can, any third-party Shopify plugins or apps you rely on (reviews, wishlists, loyalty programs, etc.) will require additional integration via their APIs.

In other words, each feature from your website must be rebuilt or connected in the app. This can be a significant undertaking and in-house developers will have to find solutions or workarounds for any Shopify platform or third-party vendor limitations.

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Mobile App Development frameworks and languages

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You'll need to decide on the right approach for mobile app development, and while there are cross-platform options, native development is often the superior choice. Native apps are built separately for iOS (using Swift/Objective-C) and Android (using Kotlin/Java), delivering the best possible performance, responsiveness, and platform-specific features. Yes, this means maintaining two codebases, but the trade-off is a polished, optimised experience that cross-platform frameworks struggle to match.

Cross-platform tools like React Native or Flutter allow you to write a single codebase for both platforms, potentially speeding up development. However, they introduce performance limitations, inconsistent UI elements, and reliance on third-party libraries that may not keep up with OS updates. If your goal is a truly seamless user experience, native development is the way to go. 

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Infrastructure & backend support

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While Shopify handles your e-commerce backend (product database, order processing, etc.), a custom app may still need additional infrastructure. For example, to send push notifications, you’ll need to set up Apple Push Notification service and Firebase Cloud Messaging for Android. If you plan on implementing third-party functionalities (anything outside of Shopify’s capabilities), you will need a separate backend server.

You also have to ensure the app can handle high traffic and scale with your user base. Your app should be efficiently coded to avoid slowdowns during peak periods such as during sales, new product drops or BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday).

Don’t forget about testing and deployment infrastructure too – you’ll need to manage app builds, QA across devices, and the App Store/Google Play submission process (including meeting their guidelines). These operational aspects often surprise teams new to mobile development and prove a significant frustration.

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Why develop a Shopify mobile app in-house?

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Advantages:

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Control and ownership

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The biggest advantage is complete control and ownership - you are not limited by a third-party platform’s feature. 

You also own the source code outright, a long-term asset. If your brand has very unique requirements or you consider your mobile app a core part of your IP, in-house development ensures you build exactly what you want. Some large companies (think Gymshark or Alo Yoga) with robust tech teams have taken this route, preferring to invest in internal capability rather than rely on outsiders. 

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Cons:

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Time and cost investment

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Developing a high-quality, feature-rich app in-house is a significant investment. It can easily take several months to a year of development time for a complex app, especially if you’re essentially reproducing all the functionality of your online store in a native mobile format. 

You need to budget for developer salaries (or contractor fees), a UX designer, QA testing, and project/product management. As a rough benchmark, custom Shopify mobile apps can cost anywhere from £50,000 – £150,000 upfront depending on complexity, usage & features. In reality, for a larger brand with extensive features, the costs can be higher – often well into the six figures or more – when accounting for polish, scalability, and integration of all your store’s systems. Unlike a website (where you might iterate constantly), an app often needs a solid initial build before launch, which front-loads the cost. 

Moreover, ongoing maintenance is an important consideration: after launch, your team will need to fix bugs, update the app for new OS versions (iOS/Android updates roll out annually at least), and possibly add new features. This requires sustained developer effort or hiring support staff. Even after the initial build, ongoing monthly maintenance costs will run well into the 5 figures. All told, an in-house approach means committing serious resources to the project.

Unless you have a strong tech team already in place (or the budget to assemble one) and extensive mobile app expertise, the risk can be high. You might pour in resources only to end up with an app that underperforms or requires continuous fixes. 

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No out-of-the-box features

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Moreover, you'll miss out on the extensive out-of-the-box features that third-party mobile app builders offer. These features are designed to enhance user engagement and maximise ROI, making them a valuable asset for your app's success. If you choose to build your app in-house, replicating these capabilities will require significant development effort — and come at a considerable cost.

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In summary, developing your Shopify app in-house gives you flexibility and code ownership, but demands a large upfront investment in time, money, and expertise. It’s building a house brick-by-brick versus buying or renting one. For some brands with highly specialised needs or long-term tech ambitions, it can be worth it. But many others will explore alternatives to reduce the burden.

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If you are looking for a solution that offers the benefits of an in-house build, such as design flexibility and full functionality, without the complexity, high costs and long development timelines, Venn Apps could be the perfect fit. It provides a powerful and efficient alternative, helping you launch a high-quality Shopify mobile app without the burden of building everything from scratch.

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Alternative To In-House Shopify Mobile App Development

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After reading the above, you might be wondering if there’s a way to get the flexibility of a custom build without compromising on speed, cost-effectiveness and expertise. This is where Venn Apps comes in. At Venn Apps, we offer a flexible app-building solution combined with expert service. Many Shopify brands, especially fashion & cosmetics businesses, find that this type of solution strikes the ideal balance for a mobile app project.

Venn Apps is essentially a mobile app builder platform, but with a twist: we provide an end-to-end design, development & growth service on top of the platform. 

In other words, you’re not left on your own to drag-and-drop your app; the Venn Apps team works closely with you to create a fully native, on-brand app using our flexible app framework. This approach yields a product that doesn’t look or feel cookie-cutter – you get a unique design tailored to your brand (much like you would with a custom build) – yet underneath, a lot of the heavy lifting is powered by our proven platform.

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Advantages of the Venn Apps approach:

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• Design continuity and brand uniqueness: We allow fully customisable page layouts and dedicated design input, so your app can mirror your brand’s aesthetic and UX preferences closely. This addresses one of the main cons of typical app builders (lack of uniqueness). Essentially, you don’t have to sacrifice your design vision just because you’re using a platform. The result is closer to a hand-crafted app in look and feel.
  

• Shopify expertise baked in: Since Venn Apps focuses on Shopify stores, our platform is built to integrate deeply with Shopify’s features (including things like metaobjects & Shopify markets) which some generic builders might not support. Moreover, our team has Shopify-specific knowledge, meaning we can advise on the best ways to implement features inside the app. You get the benefit of specialists who have launched many Shopify apps before – they know what works and how to avoid common pitfalls.
  

• Faster and more cost-effective than pure custom development: Because a large portion of the app’s infrastructure is provided by the Venn Apps platform, the development time and cost are markedly lower than doing everything in-house or via a traditional agency. This is a crucial point – you can achieve a high-quality, feature-rich app for a fraction of the cost of building from scratch.
  

• Balanced ownership and support: While Venn Apps maintains the underlying platform, you as the client benefit from ongoing support and updates as part of the service. You might not “own” the source code in the traditional sense but you do own all your app’s content, designs, and the final compiled app that users download. Additionally, you receive ongoing strategic support that helps ensure your app is a commercial success and aligns with your desired business outcomes. 

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In essence, Venn Apps’ model combines bespoke design and feature implementation usually associated with in-house development, the expert guidance and white glove service of an agency, and the efficiency and robustness of an app builder platform. This is why several high-revenue Shopify brands have chosen Venn Apps. It’s a collaborative process: the platform provides a robust backbone, and the service layer ensures the app matches your business goals and branding.‍

For a brand owner or e-commerce director evaluating mobile app options, this kind of solution can deliver a top-notch app without the usual trade-offs of time, cost, or rigidity. It’s no surprise that many retailers in the Shopify Plus space are opting for this route as they seek to launch mobile apps that delight customers but also make business sense.

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Examples of Large Brands That Chose Venn Apps Over building their own app

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Nothing illustrates the value of an approach better than real-world examples. A number of successful Shopify brands with substantial revenue have decided to go with Venn Apps instead of building their apps entirely in-house. Here are a few notable ones:

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• Represent (Fashion Brand, UK): Represent, a fast-growing streetwear brand, launched a highly-rated mobile app for their store with the help of Venn Apps. Rather than tasking their own team to build it from scratch, they used our platform to get a custom-branded app featuring exclusive product drops and an integrated loyalty program. The result was an app so well received that it boasts a 5.0-star rating on the App Store with over 1.7k reviews – a testament to its quality and the fan engagement it created.
  
  

• TOTEME (Luxury Fashion, Sweden): TOTEME is a luxury apparel brand that opted for Venn Apps to create their mobile shopping app. Given TOTEME’s high-end clientele, the app needed to offer more than just shopping – it provides a “concierge in your pocket” service, including personal stylist access and exclusive VIP perks. Venn’s platform was able to accommodate these sophisticated features. The app famously includes ℅ TOTEME, a loyalty concierge program accessible through the app, which is quite a custom feature for a builder to handle. Yet TOTEME achieved it without an internal dev team. The success of the app (rated ~4.9★ by users) shows that even for a luxury brand with specialised services, a flexible app platform delivered the goods, saving TOTEME from having to develop a complex app entirely in-house.
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• Anine Bing (Fashion Brand, US): Anine Bing, a Los Angeles-based fashion retailer with a global following, also launched its mobile app through Venn Apps. The brand is known for blending Scandinavian and American fashion influences, and they wanted an app that reflected their modern aesthetic and gave customers early access to new collections. Using Venn apps’ solution, they rolled out an app that offers streamlined shopping and exclusive content for app users. The app’s popularity has grown their mobile sales channel significantly.
  
  

Other brands following a similar path include Motel Rocks (trendy women’s fashion), Lazy Oaf (quirky street fashion), and AYBL (activewear), all of which also chose Venn Apps to power their mobile apps (8 Successful Shopify Brands with a Mobile App | Venn Apps) These companies range from premium to mass-market, but they share a common trait: they each had the scale and customer demand for a mobile app, and they wanted a solution that balanced custom branding with efficient delivery. 

The takeaway is that even if a brand has the resources to consider building an app themselves, it can often make business sense to use a specialised platform-service like Venn Apps. These brands got tailored apps that feel unique to their shoppers, but they didn’t have to endure the long timelines or inflated costs that might have come with a 100% custom project. It’s a compelling blueprint for other Shopify merchants of similar size: you don’t need to be a tech giant to offer a first-class mobile app – you just need to partner wisely.

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Conclusion

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So, should your Shopify brand build an app in-house or use a solution like Venn Apps? The answer depends on your needs and goals

Let’s recap:

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In House

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This path makes sense if your brand has a large engineering team (or the budget to create one) and needs extremely custom functionality. Very large e-commerce players or those with very proprietary systems sometimes go this route. However, for a £10M-£50M revenue brand, in-house development will be slower to market and require a mid six-figure budget when all is said and done. Unless you’re prepared for the ongoing commitment, the in-house option can hamper agility – you might spend a year building while competitors have already launched apps and are iterating on features. 

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Flexible App Builder like Venn Apps

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A solution like Venn Apps is often the “just right” choice for established Shopify brands. You get a custom-looking, rich-featured app with experts guiding the process, at a cost and timeline that are far more palatable than pure custom development. It’s especially suitable if you want to offer exclusive app-only experiences (loyalty programs, early access sales, content) without waiting a long time to build them. The fact that many respected Shopify brands have gone this route adds confidence that it’s a proven model. Unless you have very unusual requirements, Venn Apps will likely meet your needs and delight your customers – all while keeping the project under control in terms of cost and time.

In conclusion, the “best” approach depends on your brand’s situation: If you have a very large budget and need something completely one-of-a-kind, in-house or a top agency might be warranted. But if you’re seeking a balance of customisation, expertise, and efficiency, a hybrid solution like Venn Apps is the ideal path. Get in touch with us today to learn more!