The retail market looks vastly different more than it did five years ago. Let it be a website, mobile app or social media, companies and businesses are getting more creative in the ways they can deliver their product to their customers in quick, easy and cost-effective ways.

The finance app industry is experiencing growth in global adoption and due to rapid digitalisation people have been on their mobiles constantly. From 16% in 2015, it grew 4x by 2019. Worldwide consumers downloaded 204 billion mobile apps in 2019 and it has grown by +60 billion more than in 2016.

Companies build robust desktop websites and statistics have shown that mobile apps allow them to reach a diverse audience in a smaller span of time. Unsurprisingly, the youth between the age of 15 and 49 make up the largest percentage of ownership as an average of 94% owns a smartphone. But, those belonging to the age group of 50-64 are competing hard as far behind, with an average of 79% owning some form of a smartphone. As the future of the app industry is growing with the number of mobile users. A large amount of revenue from app downloads and consumer spending keeps on getting better. Studies have shown that by the end of 2022, the expected number of mobile app downloads will reach 258 billion and that is a 45% increase since 2017. The increased usage of mobile apps can expect the generation of $156 billion in consumer app spending by the end of 2022.

People are glued to their phones more than ever!

And what does this indicate? It simply means that your target audience is increasingly likely to be spending the major chunk of their time in-app rather than on your website or social media channels

The immense and diverse growth in mobile technology has been amazing and truly astounding – and we can expect them to be existent for a long time. These apps are becoming increasingly powerful, useful and convenient, so much so that many people are starting to ditch their desktops entirely and rely solely on their phones for accessing information, doing business, gaining any sort of insight and making purchases online. With the help of these apps, companies are reaching global and lifting themselves above the bar without needing to be physically present in every location. And, people love it! Well, they have every reason to do so…

It allows them to make purchases and access services without ever having to leave their homes—or even get out of their bed! On the other hand, with these apps, companies have access to data about their customers that they never could have dreamed of getting before. Hence, these apps increase customer engagement while serving as a platform for collaboration and sharing information with one another. Thus, changing how businesses and customers interact with each other.

People are now looking for solutions in the palm of their hands and these mobile applications have started to improve their way of doing so. Mobile users are becoming the next significant set of connected customers as upon downloading the specific app, they log in, allowing companies to collect user-specific data related to their recurring purchases, duration of browsing, the preferred platform to share information, and so on. Based on such collected information supporting their own marketing functions.

Apps have changed the way of thinking as it has changed the way of doing business. Now, every single app is available that you think of and are in need of. From ordering food to booking a movie ticket or maybe checking your account balance and paying for your groceries and bills – everything is possible through mobile applications.

Technology has further lifted hectic and tedious tasks off our shoulders by producing and supporting high-quality applications, thus, reaching the correct audience at the need of the hour.

How mobile application helps to grow your business?

Reach everyone –

Inbuilt with a number of unique features, quick accessibility right at your palms helps to reach beyond barriers. Businesses that have included their own personal apps have witnessed a rise in the number of registrations, more new customers, increased sales revenue and a number of received orders in every other sphere. These numbers tend to keep moving upwards leaving you to expect nothing but growth.

Address customers’ needs –

For those who buy your services, time and convenience are the keys. Offering them quick and easy solutions makes your business more popular among them. Besides providing them with the needful, adding features for easy payments, detailed descriptions, answering queries and all are bound to make your app every customer’s favourite.

Build brand value –

Your own personal designed app gives and leaves a strong brand impression in your customer’s mind. Offering them things and solutions no one ever has in your industry will definitely make you popular among them.

A survey once revealed that more than 57% of consumers use a mobile app to seek out and learn more information about the product or service. And this rate leads to positive growth with more than 51% of those inquiries leading to a conversion. Therefore, it becomes important to build the value of your brand.

Keep innovating –

There could be a lot happening in the market and it may keep it in store for future. As technology evolves it continues to challenge companies to innovate to better suit and address the needs of their customers. As customers are transforming how they make purchases or anything about the buyer journey, it becomes essential to provide inventive solutions to suit their needs.

A single app can change the entire game. You need more than just marketing and business-promoting strategies to expand your business now. You have to simultaneously expand your mobile app for the needs of the future.

Mobile app versus web, which one is the better pick for your business?

The answer might seem very clear to you, but however, it is not the case. Both have some sorts of advantages and disadvantages and both tend to create different impacts on your business.

While mobile apps have more convenient access, mobile websites are easier to maintain and update.

One shouldn’t mistake mobile apps and mobile webs for the same things however they do follow the same principles. A mobile app is built specifically for a single platform (iOS, Android), however, on the contrary, a mobile web is a website that can be accessed through a web browser on any device.

A few quick benefits of mobile apps are as follows –

Easy usage and accessibility
Help attract new customers
Can be updated whenever you want
Gives more value to customers
Lower wait times
Scalability and security
Reach and appeal to large group of public
Offer instant, better customer service
Build a personalised and direct marketing channel
Increased website traffic in a shorter span of time
Increased customer engagement and enhanced visibility
Creates a strong and positive impact on your business and brand image
Offer better user experience as compared to traditional desktop websites
Can be used anywhere, everywhere, whenever and forever (you don’t need to be a couch potato to use a particular app!)

Well, now how about the mobile webs then?

They too have advantages you know…

Mobile webs are quite handy and easier to use if you want to check something quickly or in case your battery is running low, it won’t put much strain on it. You can also use it for sites that aren’t optimised for small screens as they don’t need extra work done to make them work well with touchscreens

However, as every action has an equal and opposite reaction, similarly every advantage has a disadvantage –

Apps have a high cost of maintenance and development
Being a little difficult to manage, it becomes difficult at times to keep up with changes in technology and every individual user need
Can drain your phone’s battery life
Needs a long-term investment of time and money for app development
Tend to be more limited at times

And, mobile webs have their own disadvantages too!

Designed for small screen sizes they can be a bit tricky to use. Hence, mobile websites are so made that the user can easily see what’s going on without having to scroll all over the place. One of the major drawbacks of mobile web is that these types of sites can’t load as fast as desktop or laptop computers because there aren’t many resources available to them.

Furthermore, mobile websites don’t have as much functionality as their full-sized counterparts, thus in turn making them less functional than their larger counterparts. As a consequence, it becomes less engaging for users who want more options when visiting a website.

As mobile apps play an indispensable role in our daily routine, the living standard of human life has become much easier by producing high-quality applications undergoing such a huge transformation.

Types of mobile apps for your business -

Despite the primary goal of your app is increased interaction with your customer base, the goal of the interaction often differs from one company to another and how such apps are used to conduct business –

Task Resolution Apps:

Task resolution apps help users to execute tasks or enjoy services of their business remotely and conveniently. Most mobile apps include task resolution as a basic element. It can be also used as a tool for remote workers to access customer databases or control things remotely.

Loyalty Apps:

Mobile applications these days can be used in a smart way to boost and instil loyalty among your customers. At times, brands run loyalty programs and offer incentives to reward their customers. Following this, customers keep coming back to the brand to enjoy and exchange for those benefits.

Entertaining Apps:

Apps necessarily always don’t have to aim for performing tasks alone. Adding entertaining features for your users through your brand’s app will help to keep the majority of them hooked, even without outright offering incentives or rewards.

Customer Service Apps and Chatbots:

Such apps are developed to follow the basic communication model. These apps serve as a bridge for troubleshooting purposes between the brand employees or simply the software and the users.

Customers who come across issues can report their problems and find solutions. While brands can also notify users of updates and new services to facilitate a smoother customer journey.

Content Apps:

Content serves as the basic foundation of digital marketing and a few certain mobile apps focus on such content to boost engagement on their platforms.

Why should you invest in a mobile app?

If you wish to compete with others in a highly competitive market, you must consider investing in a mobile app. An app will instantly give a boost to your brand and give it a strong mobile presence.

An app makes your brand more reliable and makes you and your services more accessible to users, thus making it the most attractive and smart investment option for your business.

4 smart things a mobile app does for your business:

Build and cultivate customer loyalty
Enhance accessibility and interaction
Make your brand more human and approachable
Helps you to build a database of prospective clients for your business

5 things your mobile app must include:

To make your mobile app more effective, ensure your app has the following benefits

Simplicity and easy navigation
Quick loading time
Social media integration
In-app payments
User feedbacks

Takeaway:

As digitalisation is growing, the dependence on mobile apps is becoming the new frontier in business. And apps contribute more than just your virtual presence, it also helps them get acquainted with who you are, what your brand values are, what you mean to help them, what they need from you and how you are exactly offering them what they looking for.

The mobile app revolution is not a current thing though, it has been happening for years now, however, it is getting the needed recognition now as these apps have more to offer and are more than just an online brochure or store catalogue. Sure, they have made customers’ lives easier and even more fun!

Undoubtedly, apps have covered all sectors and keep on making tasks easier and faster. If you are looking for opportunities to make your business run smoother and bring in more revenue, it’s about time you embrace this trend by creating or developing your own mobile app.

Therefore, in a nutshell, apps have higher response rates, are available around the clock, and require low maintenance and worldwide businesses are embracing the trend of creating mobile apps.

So, if you’re looking for ways to improve your business processes and boost your profitability significantly in the long run, a mobile app might just be the thing you’re looking for!