05 Dec 3 TOP APP ADVANTAGES OVER MOBILE BROWSERS
No matter where your users are or who they are, apps drive the engagement factor. Once people have smartphones and access to apps, they use them, and many differentiating factors that typically exist in other contexts melt away. Here are 3 things to keep in mind when it comes to just how uniquely apps engage consumers.
1. Older users prefer apps as much as younger users
While younger users have grown up with mobile as a natural environment, the data shows that when you compare how much relative time users of different ages spend in apps versus on the mobile web, there isn’t a significant difference. Worldwide, users in the 13-24 age range spend 89% of their time on smartphones in apps, while users who are in the 45+ age bracket spend 85%. The figures across other mature markets shows that 13-24 year-old users using apps roughly 90% of the time they’re on their phones, and older users using apps marginally less.It doesn’t matter if your target user is 15 or 50 — if they’re on mobile and you want to reach and engage them, the best way is via apps.
2. More time is spent in apps than on the mobile web
You might think that there would be significant variation among countries (because of their cultural, technological or infrastructure differences) when it comes to how they spend their time on their smartphones. However, it turns out that there’s little variation among different markets in terms of how much time is spent in apps versus on the mobile web. So, if you want to engage users, you need to meet them where they already are: in apps.
3. Apps engage users across industries
The iOS App Store first opened ten years ago, and since then (including the evolution of Android stores), we’ve seen industry after industry “figure it out” when it comes to how to leverage apps to engage consumers. Early on, gaming apps dominated, but over time, industries that we weren’t sure could make the leap to mobile did. Remember when it was inconceivable that you could deposit a check, order a pizza, or book a flight via your phone? Innovators in banking, food, and travel worked away at delivering services via mobile apps because they knew that it didn’t matter what the industry was — it just mattered that they could deliver convenience and a great user experience to their customers via mobile. It’s no accident that in retail, for example, app users convert better than mobile-web or desktop users.
The data clearly demonstrates that smartphone users spend the majority of their time in apps. It’s critical to have a strong app to not just meet users where they are, but meet their expectations in terms of how e-commerce is done today. Done right, apps provide a point of access to your business that can work across the board with smartphone users.
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