Building a Native Shopping App for a Malaysian Brand — Cost, Features and Timeline

A native shopping app for a Malaysian brand starts around RM18,000 for a launch build and around RM38,000 for a full mobile store. A realistic timeline is 10 to 16 weeks. And the thing most merchants have backwards: Apple and Google take **no** commission on your physical product sales.

The 30% commission myth

This is the first question almost every merchant asks: "If I sell in the app, does Apple take 30%?" The answer is no — and not because of a loophole. Apple specifically **prohibits** you from using in-app purchase for physical goods.

App Store Review Guideline 3.1.3(e), "Goods and Services Outside of the App", states that if your app enables people to purchase physical goods or services consumed outside the app, you **must** use a purchase method other than in-app purchase.

For a physical-goods store this means you pay ordinary payment gateway fees — roughly 2–3% per transaction for FPX and cards — and nothing else. Set that against marketplace commissions that can reach low double digits, plus in-platform advertising fees on top.

Why native rather than a webview wrapper

Some vendors offer an RM3,000 "app" that is your website wrapped in a webview. It gets an icon and a store listing, but it is not an app. The differences your customers feel:

• **Speed** — catalogue scrolling stutters in a webview; in Swift or Kotlin it is smooth
• **Push notifications** — webviews generally cannot deliver reliable push, and push is the main reason an app earns its keep
• **Offline** — customers can browse products they have already opened when the connection drops
• **Camera, biometrics, wallet** — full access to device capabilities
• **Store approval** — thin webview apps are routinely rejected by Apple for offering nothing beyond the mobile website

Store account costs and the obstacle nobody mentions

At roughly RM4.40 to the dollar, the first year across both stores is about RM550, then about RM440 a year for Apple. Small against build cost, but it belongs in the budget because these accounts are in your name, not your vendor's.

What each tier includes

If you already run an online store, integrating with the existing system is usually cheaper than building a new backend — though that depends entirely on whether your platform exposes a sane API.

When you should not build an app

Agencies rarely write this section because it argues against the sale. But a mistimed app is the most expensive item on this page.

1. 1**Your repeat purchase rate is low.** Apps pay back through returning customers. If people buy from you once a year, they will not keep your app installed.
2. 2**Your website is not finished.** If your web checkout leaks customers, the app will leak them the same way and cost more to fix.
3. 3**You have no customer list yet.** An app does not create demand. It serves demand that already exists.
4. 4**Your catalogue is small and static.** Five products that rarely change do not need an app.

The practical threshold we use: when more than a third of sales come from repeat customers and you have already moved a meaningful share of traffic to your own channels, an app starts to make sense. Before that, the same money does more in the website and in marketing.

A realistic timeline

Apple review usually takes a few days, but a first rejection is routine and not a sign the project has gone wrong. Budget for one round of corrections.

Tax treatment

Development cost for a custom app qualifies for capital allowance — 40% in year one, 20% a year after. An RM38,000 app relieves roughly RM6,460 of tax in the 17% band. Full details and how the invoice should be itemised are in capital allowance for custom software.

Still deciding whether the website or the app comes first? We compare them in ecommerce app vs website. For scope and pricing, see the Ecommerce App Development page.