This month in the world of app commerce – November
This month has been and looks to be a record-breaking month for both mobile and apps.
Mobile paves the way
One report found 44% of UK online shopping orders came from mobile in 2016 and they expect this figure to grow this Christmas. With smartphone screen sizes and resolution improving and mobile data becoming more common, smartphones have become the most convenient method of online shopping, especially at the most stressful times like the holidays.
Apps take off
Unsurprisingly, the success of mobile is continuing to grow. Google play has seen a monstrous 8 billion new app installs per month and both Google Play and Apple’s App Store saw a total of 26 billion downloads in Q3 2017. With the increase in smartphone usage, more people are starting to use apps, and apps are becoming prominent in retail for their ability to provide engaging and unique shopping experiences.
Demand for retail apps grows
US consumers are now spending approximately 50 minutes per month in shopping apps, that’s the equivalent to 10 hours per year. Additionally, App Annie found retailers experienced a 50% increase in volume of app sessions in the first half of Q1 2017. This increase in demand for retail apps is also predicted to be prevalent this holiday season. Eighty-five percent of shoppers say they will “probably” or “definitely” use a mobile app for their shopping this holiday season according to a study by YouAppi. With users spending so much time within retail apps, are retailers ready for peak?
Retailers prepare for increased app demand
Retailers are not taking the rising popularity of apps lightly, with many preparing their apps for the holiday season. Forty-eight percent say they plan on developing holiday-related incentives and 37% are scaling their apps to support increased traffic. For example, Quiz clothing recently replatformed from an agency provider and built on our SaaS platform to ensure they release their brand-new iOS and Android apps in time for peak trading in November.
Retailers are acknowledging the importance of apps and upping their game this month, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday looking likely to break previous records across the board and especially for retail apps.
If you’re unsure about apps and mobile websites and why you would need both, download our ebook ‘Mobile apps vs mobile websites, do you need both?’
Reported by Samantha Rigg
