Services · Mobile app development · Ecommerce apps

Mobile commerce for Manchester brands that grew up online and now want their own app.

Codeeo offers ecommerce app development Manchester brands turn to once a website on its own is no longer enough. We build iOS and Android apps for online fashion and beauty labels, Northern Quarter independents, and retailers with units in the Arndale or the Trafford Centre. The focus is on what moves sales here: fast product drops, size confidence, social-led traffic, student shoppers and returns that do not swallow your margin.

We are a team of 80+ across Dubai, Riyadh and Karachi, with 200+ projects delivered across the UAE and the US. Manchester clients work with us remotely, and every workshop, review and demo happens by video call with written follow-up.

Built for
Online-first fashion and beauty brands, Northern Quarter independents and multi-store retailers across Greater Manchester.
Typical timeline
Shaped in discovery around your drop calendar, platform and warehouse setup, then fixed in a written plan before design begins.
What you own
The full codebase, both app store listings, your admin tools, product data, customer lists and analytics, in accounts your business controls.
Rated
4.7 / 5 from 23 Google reviews

200+ companies servedFrom a first store to an ADX listed developer

Modon
Majid Al Futtaim
HP
Belkin
Dulsco Group
OneClickDrive
Hanayen
HMS
Clocksprings
Ghezlan

Inside a Manchester commerce app

Capabilities built around drops, fit and repeat buyers.

Greater Manchester has a deep bench of brands that started as websites and social accounts before they ever had a shop. Their customers arrive from a creator's video, buy within minutes, and often return what does not fit. Alongside them sit vintage and independent stores in the Northern Quarter, premium shops along King Street and Spinningfields, and the big malls at the Arndale and the Trafford Centre. Universities across the city add a large student audience who shop on their phones and live in halls or shared houses.

An app earns its place when it does things the mobile site cannot do as well: alert loyal buyers to a drop, remember their size, store their details for a one-tap checkout, and make returns painless. The capabilities below reflect that. We start with the few that move your numbers and keep the rest on a planned roadmap.

Explain your project
  • Drop calendar and early access

    Customers follow upcoming releases, set reminders and get a push the moment a collection goes live. Members or top customers can be given early access windows before the public launch. The backend is load tested for the spike that follows a creator post, so the app stays responsive when thousands open it in the same minute. Countdown screens can carry styling video and lookbook content to build anticipation.

    Drops sell through to fans first, without crashing.

  • Fit and size confidence

    Size guides tied to each product, fit notes from other buyers, the customer's own saved measurements and a recommendation based on what they kept or returned before. For beauty, shade finders compare against products the customer already owns. Every recommendation is explained so shoppers trust it. Customers can update their measurements at any time from their account.

    Fewer returns caused by the wrong size or shade.

  • Social and creator links

    Links from social posts, creator codes and affiliate links open the exact product inside the app if it is installed, or the web page if not. Attribution follows the order, so you know which creator or campaign actually drove each sale rather than guessing from clicks. Creator codes and campaign tags appear in your reports next to revenue and return rates.

    Clear credit for the content that sells.

  • Self-serve returns and exchanges

    Customers choose items to return, give a reason, pick a drop-off point or a courier collection and track the refund. Exchanges for a different size can be reserved while the original is in transit. Return reasons flow back to your buying and product teams as structured data. Refund timing follows your policy and the cancellation rights customers have under UK consumer law.

    Returns cost less and teach you something.

  • Student and halls delivery

    Address fields that handle halls of residence, flat numbers and porters' lodges, plus delivery to parcel lockers and pickup points near campus. Delivery notes reach the courier intact, which matters when one block houses hundreds of students receiving parcels in the same week. Term dates can drive campaigns timed for freshers' arrivals and the end of the academic year.

    Parcels reach students rather than a reception backlog.

  • One-of-a-kind stock

    Vintage and preloved sellers list single items with condition notes, measurements and several photos. Items are held for a short time once added to a basket, then released automatically, and sold pieces drop out of every list instantly so two customers never pay for the same jacket. Sellers can photograph and publish a new piece from a phone in a few minutes.

    Unique stock sold accurately, without double selling.

  • Fast checkout

    Apple Pay, Google Pay, saved cards and pay later options where your payment provider supports them, with strong customer authentication handled without dumping the shopper out of the app. Address lookup and saved details keep checkout to a handful of taps. Express payment buttons appear on product pages for customers who want to skip the basket altogether.

    More orders completed on the first attempt.

  • Shop-floor mode for stores

    For brands with a store in the Arndale, the Trafford Centre or the Northern Quarter, the app can switch to an in-store view: scan a tag for sizes in stock, request a size from the stockroom, or order online for home delivery if the shop has sold out. Staff see the same stock data, so they can answer questions without leaving the customer.

    No lost sale when the rail is empty.

  • Warehouse and fulfilment link

    Orders flow to your warehouse system or third party logistics provider, and stock levels flow back. Dispatch, tracking and return receipts update the customer automatically, so your service team spends less time answering questions about where a parcel is. Split shipments and partial dispatches are shown clearly rather than as a confusing single status.

    Customers see accurate status without chasing.

  • Trading and insight console

    Your team schedules drops, edits homepages, segments push audiences and reviews sell-through, returns and app ratings from one console. Permissions separate marketing, customer service and warehouse users, and every change is logged with who made it. Scheduled changes can be previewed on a test device before they go live.

    Trading decisions made from live data, not exports.

Who this is for

Four Manchester situations where an app makes sense.

Not every Manchester retailer needs an app, and we will say so if a better mobile site would serve you more. These four situations are where an app usually pays its way, because repeat customers, notifications and stored preferences change how often people buy. Each needs a different first release. We look at your repeat customers, average order patterns and return rates before recommending a starting point, so the decision is based on your own figures rather than a general rule.

01

Online fashion brands with a loyal following

If a large share of your revenue comes from repeat customers who already follow you on social media, an app gives you a direct channel that does not depend on an algorithm. We start with drops, saved sizes, fast checkout and returns, then add loyalty once you see how app customers behave compared with web customers. We also make sure your web store and app share one customer account, so nobody has to choose between them. Lookbooks and styling video get room to breathe on product pages.

Repeat customers decide whether an app is worth building.

02

Beauty and skincare labels

Beauty customers reorder favourites and try new shades cautiously. The app can remember routines, prompt a reorder when a product is likely running low and help match shades. Ingredient lists, allergy information and usage guidance must be accurate and easy to find, so product data quality becomes part of the project plan. Subscription reorders can follow once you know how often customers replace each product. Routine builders let customers save the products they use morning and night, and bundles can be offered when a routine is complete. Reviews are tied to verified purchases.

Reorder reminders work best when they are rare and accurate.

03

Northern Quarter independents and vintage sellers

Small shops around Oldham Street and Tib Street often sell one-off pieces and rely on regulars who visit every week. An app built for a small team lists stock quickly from a phone, holds items for collection and lets regulars know when new pieces land. We keep the admin light so it fits around running the shop. Collection in the shop keeps regulars coming through the door rather than waiting for a courier. Regulars can save searches for a size or a brand and get alerts when a match arrives.

04

Retailers with stores across Greater Manchester

With branches in the city centre, the Trafford Centre and towns such as Stockport or Bolton, you need stock visibility by store, collection and returns to any branch. We connect the app to your tills and stock system so staff and customers see the same numbers, then add delivery rules once demand patterns are clear. Returns to any branch keep stock moving and give customers a reason to visit. Store teams can also use the app to complete an online order for a customer when the right size is in another branch. Results can be compared branch by branch.

From brief to launch: how we build Manchester commerce apps.

  1. 01Look at your numbers firstWe review your sales, repeat purchase rate, returns and traffic sources with you on a video call, to judge whether an app will genuinely add revenue and which features matter most. Sometimes the honest answer is a better mobile site.
  2. 02Map platform and fulfilmentWe document your ecommerce platform, warehouse or logistics partner, payment provider and marketing tools, and agree which ones the first release must talk to. Gaps in product data are flagged early.
  3. 03Design around your brandScreens follow your visual identity and tone of voice, with product imagery and video given room, and accessibility checked against WCAG 2.2 from the first draft. Prototypes are shared for comment before build.
  4. 04Build and load testDevelopment runs in short sprints with demos every cycle. Before launch, we simulate the traffic of a big drop so the app and backend hold up under pressure. Monitoring alerts are set up at the same time.
  5. 05Beta with real customersA group of loyal customers tries the app before public release. Their feedback on sizing, checkout and returns usually catches problems no internal test would. Beta testers receive the build through TestFlight and Google Play testing tracks.
  6. 06Grow after launchWe track installs, repeat orders, returns and ratings, and plan each new release around the features app customers use and ask for most. Each release note explains what changed and why.

Technology

What we build this with.

We build on frameworks that suit commerce well and fit your current platform, whether that is a hosted store or a headless setup. The choice weighs speed of delivery, performance under heavy traffic and who will look after the code in the years after launch.

01Mobile

  • Swift
  • Kotlin
  • Flutter
  • React Native

02Data and cloud

  • PostgreSQL
  • MySQL
  • MongoDB
  • AWS
  • Azure
  • Docker

03Marketing and tracking

  • GA4
  • Google Tag Manager
  • Search Console
  • Meta Pixel
  • Looker Studio

Questions Manchester brands ask before building an app.

When repeat customers drive a large part of your sales.

An app shines with people who buy again: they install it, allow notifications and use saved details. If most of your sales come from first-time visitors, improve the mobile site first. We look at your repeat purchase data in discovery and give you an honest view, even if the answer is to wait. Sometimes a smaller app focused on drops and loyalty is the right first step. We would rather tell you now than build an app nobody opens. A mobile site and an app can share one backend, so work on one is never wasted.

Tell us what the business needs. We will tell you what to build first.

Schedule a free consultation and get a written recommendation, with costs, before you commit to anything.

Get in touch

PROVEN RESULTS

4.7 / 5from 23 Google reviews