Ecommerce App Development Company That Ships Stores, Not Slide Decks

Why a custom ecommerce app is a different build from a mobile-web wrapper

The ecommerce project we get called into most often follows the same pattern. A brand launches on Shopify or WooCommerce, hits ₹50 lakh to ₹5 crore in monthly revenue, and realises the mobile conversion rate on their responsive website is a third of what a real app would give them. They try a template WebView wrapper from a marketplace, ship it, and the App Store rejects it inside two weeks under section 4.2. Or they go with a plugin that generates a "native" app from their Shopify theme, and the Play Store reviews start filling up with "checkout not working", "product images blurry", and "add to cart does nothing".

That is the wall a real custom ecommerce app is built to solve. A proper app is not a wrapper around your website — it is a native (or Flutter) client that talks to your commerce backend through its official API, renders the product experience the way iOS and Android users expect, and unlocks the mobile-only levers a website cannot: push notifications, deep links from Meta and WhatsApp ads, biometric login, saved cards with device-level tokenisation, native payment sheets, and offline browsing of the last-viewed products.

Fruxinfo has been building custom software from Ahmedabad since 2012 and dedicated ecommerce apps since 2013 — through the Shopify Objects API era, the Storefront GraphQL API era, and the current headless commerce shift with Medusa, Saleor, and BigCommerce. What we ship today is a proper native or Flutter app on top of the commerce backend you already run (Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Medusa, Saleor, or a custom Laravel or Node backend), priced fixed in INR, handed over with source code you own, and submitted to the App Store and Play Store by our team — not left as a checklist for your marketing lead.

Cost to build an ecommerce app in India — the real INR ranges

Ecommerce app pricing is the single most-asked question on the first call, and the honest answer is: it depends on whether you already run a commerce backend, whether you need a marketplace or a single-brand app, and how many custom modules sit on top of the standard shopping flow. Below are the ranges we quote after a proper discovery — not a range pulled from a marketing blog. Every number assumes a Flutter build (one codebase, iOS + Android), source code in your Git, and App Store plus Play Store submission handled by us.

A Shopify or WooCommerce companion app for a single D2C brand — customer app that consumes your existing Shopify Storefront API or WooCommerce REST API, no new backend, no seller side — starts at around ₹2.5 lakh and ships in eight to twelve weeks. A custom D2C app on your own Laravel or Node backend — customer app plus admin, one brand, no marketplace logic — sits in the ₹4-9 lakh range and ships in ten to fourteen weeks. A multi-vendor marketplace app — customer app, seller app or web panel, admin, catalogue moderation, seller onboarding, and payout flow — lands in the ₹9-22 lakh range and ships in fourteen to twenty weeks. A large-scale marketplace with AI-powered search, personalised feeds, subscription commerce, live commerce, and international multi-currency is quoted after discovery and starts at ₹22 lakh.

Recurring costs are honest and small. Razorpay and Cashfree charge 2 percent on domestic cards; UPI is free for merchants under the current MDR rules. Shiprocket runs on a per-shipment fee starting at ₹25-45 per order plus courier charges. Firebase for push and analytics is free for most launch traffic and rarely crosses USD 100 per month before fifty thousand MAU. WhatsApp Business API conversation cost runs ₹0.85-2.85 per notification, cheaper for utility templates. Shopify plans start at USD 39 per month; if you go headless on Medusa or Saleor, the backend is open source and your infra bill is roughly USD 40-200 per month on a small VPS. App Store fees are USD 99 per year for Apple, USD 25 one-time for Google — we set up both developer accounts under your business name.

Everything is fixed-scope. The number in the quotation is the number you pay, and every change request during the build is estimated in writing before work starts. Post-launch, an optional support retainer covers bug fixes, dependency upgrades, iOS and Android version updates, and a 24-hour SLA on standard tickets.

• ›Shopify or WooCommerce companion app (single brand) — ₹2.5-5 lakh, 8-12 weeks
• ›Custom D2C app on your own backend (single brand) — ₹4-9 lakh, 10-14 weeks
• ›Multi-vendor marketplace app (customer + seller + admin) — ₹9-22 lakh, 14-20 weeks
• ›Large-scale marketplace with AI search, subscription, live commerce — from ₹22 lakh, quoted after discovery
• ›Grocery / q-commerce dark-store add-on module — ₹6-14 lakh on top of a base ecommerce app
• ›iOS + Android via one Flutter codebase — no separate native quotation unless the brand insists
• ›App Store USD 99/year + Play Store USD 25 one-time — accounts opened under your business name
• ›Razorpay MDR + Shiprocket per-order + Firebase + WhatsApp — real running cost of ₹8,000-45,000 per month at launch scale

Tech stack and integrations a live ecommerce app runs on

An ecommerce app lives on the reliability of about ten integrations. Miss one and the app fails the launch-week fire drill. Below is the reference stack we ship, and the integrations Indian and cross-border ecommerce brands actually ask for on the first call. Every line item plugs in through the vendor's official API, so nothing is a scraped hack that breaks at their next release.

The frontend is Flutter for iOS and Android (one codebase, native performance), with Next.js for the admin dashboard on the web. Native Swift and Kotlin builds are available when the brand insists (typically premium fashion, jewellery, or hardware-heavy categories). The backend is either your existing commerce platform — Shopify (Storefront API + Admin API), WooCommerce (REST API + custom endpoints), Magento 2 (GraphQL + REST), BigCommerce, Medusa, or Saleor — or a custom Laravel / Node.js (NestJS or Express) backend for founders who want full control. Storage is PostgreSQL or MySQL for transactional data, Redis for cart and session state, Meilisearch or Typesense for typo-tolerant search, and S3-compatible object storage for product images and videos. Push runs on Firebase Cloud Messaging plus Apple Push Notification Service.

Commerce backend integrations decide how much of the build is app work versus backend work. Shopify Storefront API covers 90 percent of a companion app's needs (products, collections, cart, checkout, customer, orders); the Admin API covers what the storefront cannot (inventory adjustments, order edits, refunds). WooCommerce REST API is similar in scope, with the WooCommerce Store API layered on top for headless carts. Magento 2 exposes both GraphQL (for the customer-facing app) and REST (for admin workflows). Headless commerce backends — Medusa and Saleor — expose GraphQL end-to-end and are the shortest path to a modern, unopinionated storefront.

Payments plug into Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, PhonePe, and Paytm — one primary gateway with an optional secondary fallback so a gateway outage does not stop orders. UPI, cards, netbanking, wallets, and EMI are surfaced in one checkout. Cross-border checkout adds Stripe, Adyen, or PayPal, with dynamic currency conversion. COD is handled with an OTP verification on WhatsApp Business API to cut RTO. Refunds fire back to the original payment method inside 3-5 working days, and RBI-mandated card tokenisation is handled at the gateway layer.

Shipping and logistics integrate through Shiprocket, Delhivery, XpressBees, Bluedart, DTDC, and Aramex APIs for pincode-serviceability checks at cart, live AWB creation on order, tracking-status polling, and RTO reason capture. For international shipping, Aramex, DHL, and FedEx integrate the same way with country-specific customs and duty logic. For q-commerce and grocery categories, Dunzo, Porter for Business, and BorzoAPI plug in for hyperlocal fulfilment.

Marketing, retention, and analytics round out the stack. WhatsApp Business API through AiSensy, Interakt, Gupshup, or Wati for cart recovery, order confirmation, delivery updates, and review requests. Klaviyo, MoEngage, Braze, or CleverTap for email, SMS, and in-app messaging. Meta Pixel + CAPI, GA4, and Firebase Analytics for attribution. Mixpanel or Amplitude for funnel and retention reporting. Sentry and Datadog for production monitoring. DPDP Act 2023 consent capture and a data-deletion route are built at launch, not retrofitted.

• ›Flutter iOS + Android or native Swift + Kotlin — one Flutter codebase is the default
• ›Backend: Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento 2, BigCommerce, Medusa, Saleor, or custom Laravel / Node.js
• ›PostgreSQL or MySQL + Redis + Meilisearch or Algolia + S3 — the boring, battle-tested data stack
• ›Razorpay, Cashfree, PayU, PhonePe, Paytm, Stripe, Adyen, PayPal — dual-gateway fallback available
• ›Shiprocket, Delhivery, XpressBees, Bluedart, DTDC, Aramex, DHL, FedEx — pincode + AWB + tracking
• ›WhatsApp Business API (AiSensy / Interakt / Gupshup / Wati) — cart recovery, order updates, review flows
• ›Firebase FCM + APNS push, Klaviyo / MoEngage / Braze / CleverTap for lifecycle messaging
• ›GST invoicing, DPDP Act consent, RBI card tokenisation, ATT for iOS — compliance built in

Who this build is for — the four ecommerce app client types we ship for

Every ecommerce app enquiry that lands on our contact form fits into one of four patterns. The scope, the timeline, and the price map to the pattern — knowing which one you are running lets the first call move quickly to numbers.

The single-brand D2C founder runs a Shopify or WooCommerce store doing ₹30 lakh to ₹5 crore a month, and mobile web is their weakest funnel. They want a proper native or Flutter app that lifts mobile conversion 3x and gives them push, deep links, and saved cards. Scope is a companion app on top of their existing storefront API — no new backend. Typical build is ₹2.5-5 lakh, ships in eight to twelve weeks, and pays back inside three to six months at their run rate. We have shipped this pattern for a Gujarat-based cotton apparel D2C, an Ahmedabad ayurveda brand, and a Delhi footwear label.

The premium D2C brand — often fashion, jewellery, home goods, or a curated marketplace of Indian designers — wants an app that reads as premium, not templated. They insist on native Swift and Kotlin, custom animations, editorial content, and a checkout that feels like Apple's. Scope is a custom-designed native app on either their existing headless backend or a fresh Laravel or Node backend. Typical build is ₹8-16 lakh, ships in twelve to sixteen weeks, and the value shows up in average order value and repeat rate more than raw conversion.

The multi-vendor marketplace founder is building a category-specific horizontal — a designer marketplace, a B2B wholesale marketplace, a re-commerce marketplace, or a hyperlocal community marketplace. Scope is a two-app system (customer + seller) plus admin, with catalogue moderation, seller onboarding, payout flow, and dispute management. Typical build is ₹9-22 lakh, ships in fourteen to twenty weeks. Success depends less on the app and more on supply density — we point every marketplace founder at the operating challenges before the build starts.

The large-scale commerce operator is an existing retail chain, a well-funded startup, or an enterprise going direct-to-consumer. Scope is a full ecommerce app plus advanced modules — AI search, personalised feeds, subscription commerce, live commerce, international multi-currency, or a q-commerce dark-store add-on. Quoted after discovery, starts at ₹22 lakh. Timelines run six to nine months for the first production release, then a copy-and-scale cadence.

If your build does not fit cleanly into one of these four, that is normal — most real projects sit at the boundary between two. The blueprint call is where we place the project on the map and quote against the closest reference.