MobiCart offers free storefront builder for iOS and Android
It also re-defines the notion of so-called ‘cookie cutter’ apps, as MobiCart offers a fully customized storefront that can operate standalone or tie into a website’s existing e-commerce content management system via the startup’s open API. In other words, it’s a lot less trivial than pulling in an RSS feed.
But where’s the business model, I hear you cry. MobiCart’s attempting to borrow from the open source model of charging for additional services around the core (and free) product, in this case handling the App Store submission process and additional partnerships/support. Though not stated, I suspect they’ll also take a cut of any add-ons sold through MobiCart’s marketplace (they’d be silly not to).
In terms of competition, MobiCart is obviously up against bespoke mobile app development houses for hire as well as similar more automated app e-commerce storefront creators, such as e-commerce platform Magento, but these usually charge for their wares. In that sense, MobiCart has adopted a potentially very disruptive but risky and perhaps limited revenue model. On that note, the company hasn’t received investment, reports Venturebeat, instead relying on funding from a $80,000 private loan.