This month in the world of app commerce – April
We just can’t get enough of apps
Over the last few months we’ve reported regularly on the growth of apps from downloads to sales and how they continually topped the record books and this month is no different. If you’ve ever doubted the importance of apps, this month’s industry research will certainly sway you otherwise.
App Annie claim that both iOS and Android downloads in Q1 have grown 10% year-over-year, this is a pretty sizeable amount considering 27.5billion apps were downloaded in Q1 2018 alone. Not only are apps becoming more popular but the time we commit to them is growing too, we now spend on average 3 hours a day in apps (up from 2 hours 15) and access an average of 40 apps per month (up from 30) according to App Annie. The rapid growth of apps isn’t surprising considering that it now takes on average 15.3 seconds to fully load a mobile web page and user patience continues to decline. With so much of our time committed to apps, competition for user time is fierce. Retailers must ensure that they market their apps to gain valuable space on user phones and keep them coming back.
App marketing is crucial for app success
According to Think with Google, 1 in 4 users discovers apps through search and 40% of users head to app stores to search for new apps, with so many users searching on app stores, it’s important to focus efforts on driving users to download your app (through app store optimisation, smart banners, emails campaigns and social) and retaining them once acquired (using deep links drawing users straight into relevant content on your app.
According to Branch, smart banners are essential for driving mobile engagement and app indexing is particularly effective for driving users to an app if it is already installed. According to Criteo, app users view on average over 280% more products that mobile web users, so ads should focus on converting shoppers form mobile to app. With so many more products being viewed by app users, paid adverts that take users directly to content within an app can be particularly effective.
The future of tech shaping shopping
Technology is changing the way we shop and not just how we shop online. From the checkoutless experience of Amazon Go, to the fashion retailers implementing shoppable AR instore, retailers are utilising technology with native apps to enhance the omnichannel experience.
As Apple technology is one of the largest drivers for app commerce, what could we expect to see from them in the future? Catching up with Samsung, according to Digital Trends, Apple is working on curved screen technology, to help them stand out from an increasingly crowded smartphone market. They’re also developing gesture-based touchless technology, a kind of evolution from 3D touch, that looks likely to be 2 years away.
What implications does this have for app commerce? These technology trends are likely to change the way we interact with shopping apps, making it easier to shop on the go.
For more information on how you can market your app effectively to maximise downloads and engagement, get yourself a copy of our App Marketing Guide:
Reported by Samantha Rigg
