How to Outsource Mobile E-commerce Development

Customers expect smooth, fast shopping experiences on their phones. But building and maintaining a mobile e-commerce app that can handle everything from secure payments to real-time inventory isn’t simple.

Maybe you’re watching sales drop because your mobile experience isn’t keeping up with competitors. Or you’ve got plans for new features, like one-click reordering, but can’t find developers with the right skills locally.

You’re not alone. More companies are turning to outsourced development to build better mobile shopping experiences without the massive costs of hiring specialized talent in-house. Whether you work with a full-service development firm or bring on individual developers through a staffing partner, here’s how to do it right. 

Why Outsource Your E-Commerce Mobile Application Development?

E-commerce apps have become incredibly complex—they need to handle everything from secure payments and real-time inventory to personalized recommendations and seamless checkout flows.

Finding developers who understand both mobile development and e-commerce best practices is tough.

Outsourcing mobile e-commerce development means that you’re hiring an external remote team or agency to design, develop, or maintain your mobile app.

So, instead of building an in-house team of developers from scratch, you outsource to gain access to the experience in mobile e-comm development you need.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make outsourcing worth considering: 

Cost savings that make a real difference

Let’s break down the cost advantages of outsourcing mobile commerce development:

Outsourcing vs. In-house Development

When you build an in-house team, you’re not just paying salaries. You’re taking on recruitment costs, benefits, office space, equipment, training, and project management overhead. Plus, you need enough ongoing work to keep developers busy full-time.

Outsourcing to a development firm lets you:

• Only pay for the development time you actually need
• Avoid the overhead costs of managing an internal team
• Benefit from their existing development infrastructure
• Easily scale resources up or down based on project needs (without additional costs of hiring or layoffs)

Additional Savings with Offshore Development

If you choose to work with offshore talent—for example, in Latin America, Eastern Europe, or Asia—whether through a development firm, staff augmentation, or direct hiring, the savings get even bigger.

A mobile developer typically expects to earn $80,000 to $161,000 annually in the US. In Latin America, you can outsource work to developers with the same skills and experience for $60,000 to $84,000—saving you 25–50% while maintaining quality.

These aren’t just cost cuts—they’re savings you can reinvest in your business. Many companies use these savings to accelerate development by hiring additional developers or invest in other business areas.

Access to specialized expertise

Mobile commerce development requires specific technical expertise—from integrating payment gateways to building mobile-first checkout flows. When you outsource, you gain access to teams that specialize in e-commerce development and have built similar apps multiple times.

Development firms and specialized developers bring valuable experience in:

• Mobile payment processing and security
• Real-time inventory syncing
• Shopping cart optimization
• Order tracking systems
• Push notification implementation

This expertise is particularly valuable because e-commerce development has unique challenges around security, scalability, and user experience that generalist developers might miss.

Faster time to market

Look, everyone says “speed matters” these days. It’s become one of those phrases that’s true but overused. Yes, having a poor mobile experience costs you sales. But the real question is: How does outsourcing actually help you move faster?

Here’s the practical reality:

With any outsourcing partner:

• Skip the lengthy process of building an internal team
• Leverage existing development workflows and processes
• Get a full team working immediately rather than hiring one by one
• Benefit from their experience with similar projects

With offshore teams:

• Take advantage of time zone differences for round-the-clock development
• Access larger teams within your budget
• Scale up resources quickly when needed

When you work with developers who’ve built e-commerce apps before, you avoid a lot of the trial and error that slows down projects. They’ve already solved common challenges like payment processing, shopping cart functionality, and inventory syncing. Instead of figuring it out as you go, you can build on what works.

7 Steps to Successfully Outsource Mobile App Development for E-Commerce

Mobile app development outsourcing for e-commerce doesn’t have to be complicated. 

Whether you’re looking to hire a development firm or work with individual developers, here’s how to make it work:

1. Define your project goals and requirements

Before talking to any development partners, get crystal clear on what you need. Document:

Business requirements:

• Target customer experience
• Must-have features vs nice-to-haves
• Integration needs (payment gateways, shipping, inventory)
• Performance expectations
• Launch timeline and budget

Technical specifications:

• Platform requirements (iOS, Android, or both)
• Backend system integrations
• Security requirements
• Scalability needs
• Maintenance expectations 

2. Choose your outsourcing approach

You’ve got two key decisions to make here.

First, pick your development model:

• Full project outsourcing: Hand over the entire project to a development company. Best when you need a complete solution and don’t have internal tech expertise. You get simplified management but less direct control.
• Staff augmentation: Add individual developers to your existing team. Works well when you have technical leaders who can guide the work. More control and flexibility, but requires more internal management.
• Hybrid approach: Keep core development in-house and bring in specialists for specific features. Good for when you need particular expertise like payment integration.

Then, decide where your team will be based:

• Onshore (US-based): Easiest communication and cultural alignment, but highest costs. Makes sense if real-time collaboration is crucial or you have specific compliance requirements.
• Nearshore (Latin America): Similar time zones and strong cultural alignment with the US. Developers often have extensive experience with US companies and strong English skills. You get significant cost savings (30–70%) while maintaining easy collaboration.
• Offshore (Asia, Eastern Europe): Biggest potential cost savings but requires managing significant time zone differences. Works best if you have experience managing remote teams and can handle asynchronous communication well.

Many companies find that mixing these approaches works best. For example, keeping project management onshore while building your development team in Latin America, or using a US-based firm that has their own nearshore development centers.

3. Research and select a reliable development partner

Skip the flashy websites and marketing claims. Instead, focus on validating:

Their e-commerce expertise:

• Previous mobile commerce apps they’ve built
• Experience with the specific features you need (payment processing, inventory management, etc.)
• Understanding of e-commerce security and compliance requirements
• Client references you can actually talk to

Their development process:

• How they handle requirements and specifications
• Their quality assurance practices
• Their approach to testing and deployment
• Communication and project management tools they use

Red flags to watch for:

• Vague responses about their technical capabilities
• Poor communication during the sales process
• Inability to provide specific e-commerce examples
• High developer turnover rates
• No clear process for handling scope changes

4. Set up clear communication channels

With any development, miscommunication can be expensive. A misunderstood feature requirement could mean redoing weeks of work.

Here’s what to establish from day one:

Regular check-ins:

• Daily standups for active development teams
• Weekly progress reviews
• Monthly strategic reviews

Documentation requirements:

• Where specifications and requirements live
• How changes are requested and approved
• Where code and testing documentation is stored

Tools and processes:

• Project management software
• Code repository
• Bug tracking system
• Emergency communication protocol

5. Set clear quality standards

With e-commerce apps, quality isn’t just about clean code. It’s about making sure customers can shop and checkout without issues.

Here’s what to focus on:

Essential testing areas:

• Core shopping functions (browsing, cart, checkout)
• Payment processing
• User experience on different devices
• App performance and speed
• Basic security checks

Quality expectations:

• How smooth and fast should the app feel?
• What’s an acceptable error rate?
• How quickly should pages load?
• How do you define “good enough to launch”?

Think about it from your customer’s perspective. They don’t care about technical metrics. They care if they can easily find products, add them to cart, and check out without frustration.

Make sure your quality standards reflect what actually matters to your business.

6. Plan for launch and beyond

An e-commerce app isn’t done when it launches. That’s actually just the beginning. 

You need a clear plan for:

Before launch:

• Testing with real customers before going live
• Training your customer service team on common issues
• Setting up ways to track problems and user feedback
• Making sure your marketing team knows the app’s capabilities

After launch:

• How quickly issues will be fixed (and who handles what)
• When new features will be added
• Who monitors app performance
• How customer feedback gets turned into improvements

The goal is clear answers to “What happens when...” questions you might pose to your outsourced team. What happens when customers report bugs? When you want to add new features? When something breaks at 2 AM?

7. Set up proper oversight

Someone on your team needs to own the relationship with your development partner. Be clear about:

Day-to-day management:

• Who makes decisions about features and changes
• How often you’ll check in on progress
• What metrics you’ll track to measure success
• How you’ll handle disagreements or issues

Success metrics:

• Sales through the app
• Customer feedback and ratings
• Cart abandonment rates
• Time spent in the app
• Customer service issues

Remember, you’re not just managing a development project—you’re building a tool that needs to drive sales and make your customers happy. Your oversight should focus on those business outcomes.

Common Challenges in Outsourcing Mobile E-Commerce Development and How to Overcome Them

Any development project has its challenges—whether you’re building in-house or outsourcing. The key is understanding potential issues upfront so you can plan for them.

Here are the most common challenges in outsourced mobile commerce development and how to address them. 

Quality control at a distance

Maintaining consistent quality is a challenge in-house too. But it’s even harder to maintain quality when you can’t walk over to a developer’s desk to check on things.

So when working with remote teams, it’s even more important to have strong processes in place for quality control.

How to handle it:

• Define what “good” looks like before you start
• Set up regular demos of work in progress
• Have your internal team test features as they’re built
• Get real customer feedback early and often

Communication challenges

Even in-house teams struggle with communication. Remote development just means being more intentional about efficient communication.

This isn’t just about language barriers—it’s about making sure everyone understands what you’re trying to build and why.

How to handle it:

• Document key decisions and requirements
• Use visual tools like wireframes and mockups
• Schedule regular video calls to catch misunderstandings early
• Have a clear escalation path for urgent issues

Time zone coordination

Time zones are a factor in any global business today. With outsourced development, the key is finding a rhythm that works for both teams.

How to handle it:

• Set clear expectations about response times
• Plan ahead for key meetings and demos
• Have a process for emergency issues
• Use tools that work well for asynchronous updates

Budget management

Whether you’re building in-house or outsourcing, development costs need active management.

The advantage of outsourcing is that costs are often more predictable—if you set things up right.

How to handle it:

• Set clear budgets for each development phase
• Track hours and costs weekly
• Build in buffers for unexpected work
• Have a process for approving extra expenses

Final Thoughts

Mobile commerce development is complex whether you build in-house or outsource. The key is understanding your options and choosing an approach that aligns with your business goals and resources.

Outsourcing isn’t about finding the cheapest way to build an app. It’s about extending your capabilities and often accelerating development. Whether you decide to work with a development firm or bring on individual developers through a staffing partner, success comes down to:

• Being clear about what you’re trying to build
• Having solid processes in place from day one
• Managing the relationship actively
• Planning for the long term, not just the initial launch

Take time with the preparation steps we’ve covered. They’re often the difference between a smooth project and a frustrating experience. Many companies start small—maybe with a single developer or a specific feature—before scaling up. This lets you learn what works for your organization without taking on too much risk at once.

Remember that your mobile commerce app is a critical revenue driver, not just another IT project. Take the time to find the right development partner and set up proper processes. The investment in getting this right will pay off in better customer experiences and stronger sales.

If you’re weighing up outsourcing to mobile app developers rather than a development company, have a look at our article: “How To Outsource to Mobile App Developers in 2025: What Should You Look For?” It details the skills you should look for and lists 5 companies that can connect you with top developers.