COVID-19 ushered in significant changes around the types of apps that consumers downloaded in 2020, supercharging categories such as Business and Education. Sensor Tower’s latest report on App Store download sources, available now, reveals that the pandemic appears to have also affected how users found new apps to install. While search as an app discovery method was previously trending downward on Apple’s platform, it accounted for 59 percent of App Store worldwide downloads last year.
Search Reclaims Its Share of Downloads
Sensor Tower’s analysis looked at four sources of app downloads on Apple’s platform: browse, search, app referral, and web referral.
Search has remained the largest source of downloads from 2018 to 2020. However, it lost ground in 2019 thanks mainly to the increase in installs from app referrals, falling 2 points Y/Y to 56 percent. 2020 saw a reversal in this decline, potentially due to the number of App Store users searching for apps from word-of-mouth. As COVID-19 led to the shutdown of in-person spaces such as offices, classrooms, and gyms, many consumers turned to their mobile devices to find digital replacements, leading to record installs video conferencing apps and a surge in adoption for apps in the Health & Fitness category. Our research also found consumers were primarily searching for specific apps and brand names during this time, versus generic terms.
App referrals remained the second largest source of downloads in 2020, with its share declining from 22 percent in 2019 to 20 percent. The third most installs came from browsing the store, which accounted for 12 percent, down 1 point from the previous year.
Search Is Crucial for Non-Game Apps
The resurgence of search was particularly pronounced among non-game apps, where that method of discovery accounted for 70 percent of installs in 2020. This was up 7 points from 2019 when its share had fallen to 63 percent.
Before COVID-19, app referrals were a growing source of installs. It’s possible that this trend will continue in the future as user behavior shifts away from actively searching for new apps in the aftermath of COVID-19 and consumers once more rely on referrals as a passive method of discovery.
Most Game Downloads Come From App Referrals
While the prevalence of search has bounced back for non-game apps, app referrals have continued to grow as a source of downloads for mobile games. In 2020, app referrals were the largest source for mobile game downloads—about 38 percent—for the first time. This shift has many possible drivers. It’s possible that consumers are interested in only specific genres of games, and so increasingly depend on referrals for recommendations. At the same time, the influx of new consumers to the mobile games space during COVID-19 has bolstered in-game advertising as a means for app discovery. These consumers are likely more open to trying new titles presented to them through those they’re currently playing, and aren’t used to seeking them out through browse and search.
This method of game discovery was already on the rise in previous years, climbing 5 points from 26 percent in 2018 to 31 percent in 2019. COVID-19 seemed to only have supercharged this, accelerating the growth of app referral downloads by 7 points.
On the other hand, the percentage of game downloads originating from search fell from 44 percent in 2018 to 42 percent in 2019, then saw an even steeper decline to 35 percent in 2020. If this trend continues, it’s likely that the majority of mobile game downloads will come from app referrals in the future. This could speak to the way consumers are deciding which games to download; rather than seeking out specific titles, user interest might be piqued instead by advertisements showing gameplay or referrals from a trusted publisher
Like most other segments in tech, the mobile app industry evolves continuously. Factors such as consumer demand and technology advancements continue to impact mobile app trends directly. Arguably, the most crucial factor for success in the mobile app industry is staying on top of the latest trends and statistics.
With smartphones becoming quintessential as each day passes, we are yet to see the best of the mobile app industry. This article looks at the latest trends and must know statistics in the mobile app industry for 2022.
1. Internet of Things (IoT) Mobile App Integration
While the IoT is not a new concept, the increasing mobile penetration across various industries has brought forth virtually endless opportunities for this technology. The IoT is a network of internet-connected devices that provide automated control and convenience to its users.
An excellent example of IoT integration in mobile app development is smart home technology. Users can adjust their house’s thermostats from remote locations or even connect household appliances like refrigerators to mobile apps through smart technology.
2. Apps for Foldable Smartphones
Mobile phones have been changing dramatically over the years, from flip phones to touchscreens with no buttons. The last few years have seen the emergence of foldable Devices. In 2019, for instance, we saw foldable devices like the Motorola Razr, the Huawei Mate X, and the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Ideally, foldable devices can expand or compress their screen size to suit user preferences. For instance, users can fold their devices during phone calls, then unfold them to watch videos on significantly bigger screens.
This creates a need for app development tailored to these devices. The idea is to have apps that seamlessly adjust to the screen, whether folded or unfolded.
3. 5G Technology
The rollout of 5G technology will impact mobile app development and creation. 5G connections should increase up to 15 times more in 2021 compared to 2020. Users of 5G can expect more speed and efficiency, with over ten times less latency and 100 times more speed, depending on their respective mobile network operators.
The implication of this drastic improvement in mobile app development is enhanced mobile app functionality as 5G penetration increases. Users will enjoy faster download and upload speeds on mobile apps, while developers will continue adding new features to capitalize on the potential of 5G technology.
4. Mobile Apps for Wearable Devices
While wearable devices are not exactly a breakthrough at this point, they have been trending for several years now. There are plenty of fitness bands, trackers, and smartwatches on the market. However, wearable devices are yet to actualize their full potential.
Mobile app development geared towards wearable devices can help unlock their potential. In 2021, more developers will make mobile apps with wearable devices in mind. Users can download applications by the tens of thousands, all from their wrist.
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI and machine learning penetrated the mobile app industry years ago. However, we have only scratched the surface in terms of the potential of these advanced technologies.
Upon the mention of AI, the first thought that comes to mind is virtual assistance like Alexa and Siri. The uses of AI, however, can go far beyond this. Developers, for instance, can use Core ML3, Apple’s latest iOS machine-learning framework, to embed AI technology and its benefits into their applications.
6. Augmented Reality (AR)
In 2020, we just began realizing how useful and fun AR can be. AR features are starting to become common among more applications. In mobile gaming, for instance, Pokémon Go can be considered the pioneer of AR.
Apps are starting to use AR for more practical reasons now, e.g., the virtual makeup app by L’Oreal, which allows users to see how their faces would look with makeup.
7. Mobile Commerce
It is impossible to create a list of app trends in 2021 without including mobile commerce. Seemingly, more people are leveraging the potential of mobile apps to boost their revenues. No one is left behind by this trend, from big retailers to personal brands and individual content creators.
Everyone realizes the moneymaking potential in this space. For instance, mobile app resellers often highlight mobile e-commerce functionality as a significant feature during client peaches. Businesses launch more apps to drive their sales upwards every other day.
8. On-Demand Apps
With the apparent success of apps like Uber and Airbnb, on-demand mobile apps are a huge deal in 2021. Estimates suggest that users will spend $57.6 billion by the end of this year using on-demand services.
Some examples of how the on-demand industry is benefiting from apps include doctors on-demand, food delivery services, virtual tutors and coaches, maintenance services, and housecleaning.
9. Mobile Wallets
As mobile devices evolve, the way, people use them changes as well. Mobile wallets like Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay are a trend in 2021. While the rate of mobile wallet penetration in mobile apps still has room for improvement, more apps have wallet integration as a standard feature for transaction processing in 2021.
10. Beacon Technology
A broad range of industries has embraced beacon technology, from hospitality to healthcare and retail. The functionality that beacon technology adds to virtually any mobile app is too significant to ignore.
Since their first integration into mobile apps in 2013, Beacons have made significant advancements with a 59.8% compound annual growth rate. Arguably, the main benefit of integrating beacon technology in mobile apps is proximity marketing. For instance, by using beacons, retailers can track customer behavior in their stores, e.g., the specific aisles where users spend the most time.
For some, the thought of creating a mobile app from scratch sounds like an uphill task full of corny, complex coding activities.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! Before developing a new mobile app, you need to design it first. It’s critical to plan every step, and at some point, you might want to retreat and examine what you’re building.
Global app downloads surpassed 218 billion last year. Businesses that made the mistake of not creating a mobile app will continue to suffer in the coming years too.
Having a mobile strategy is essential, because this research shows that users spend 90% of their time in apps as compared to surfing the internet.
It’s great to have a mobile responsive website backed by a solid mobile marketing strategy with major resources being allocated to cross-device reach. In today’s competitive era, not having a mobile app has severe implications.
A mobile app helps businesses reach more customers, improve marketing strategies, provide value to the customers, increase brand awareness, increase customer engagement and loyalty, and create one or more competitive advantage(s). Plus, mobile apps can improve your bottom line.
The following guide will cover both phases in detail with additional resources, mobile trends, and tips.
Mobile App Design Strategy
It starts with a strategy. It defines the future and the path to reach your destination.
The issue, however, is with creating a mobile app design strategy. You simply can’t create an app just because your competitor has one. Your competitor might have a different business objective and mobile strategy which are quite different from yours.
Developing a mobile strategy links back to the company strategy and has four stages:
i). Understand the business strategy
ii). Business mobile app strategy
iii). App strategy
iv). Product management strategy
Let’s explain each stage in detail:
1. Understand Your Business Strategy
Understanding the overall business strategy should form the basis of your mobile app design. Misalignment between company strategy and the mobile strategy might be suicidal.
Recent statistics from the Harvard Business Review shows that 70% of employees don’t have enough information about their company’s strategy or their perception of strategy is much different than the actual strategy.
There are several benefits of creating and executing a mobile strategy that’s derived from (and supports) the overall company strategy.
Improvement in quality, value, productivity, employee efficiency, and customer engagement.
In its simplest form, a successful mobile strategy is the meeting point of business goals, mobile opportunities, and user needs.
How Do You Define A Mobile Strategy For Your Business?
It should, technically and logically, start from the understanding of the company’s strategy, market conditions, competitors, customer journey, threats and weaknesses, and where stakeholders want to see the company in the future.
Starting at the highest level will make things easy and well integrated.
To get started here is a short checklist that will help you understand the business strategy. This checklist will show you the current standing of your company in terms of its strategy, and where it wants to be in next five years.
Follow these steps to fully understand your company’s objectives, current standing, competitors, and why and how mobile strategy will fit in.
Your business’s mission statement, its competitive advantages, objectives, and where you want to see it in next 5 – 10 years.
Define customer journey on the mobile. What the app will do? Will customers be allowed to buy from the app directly? Will they be able to check the status of their order?
Create competitor profiles. Who are your competitors? What do they do. What are their strengths and weaknesses in terms of mobile strategy and app? Identify what they do differently, and what they offer on mobile.
Define the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities (SWOT) of your business. It will show all the areas of success and opportunities. It takes time but it’s worth it.
The successful mobile app strategy showed results beyond expectation.
More than two million app downloads.
More than 90% of the mobile sales are attributed to the mobile app.
The app users are two times more likely to become repeat customers.
The buying frequency for mobile is 1.8 times higher than desktop and laptop.
It’s made possible because it started from the highest level – the overall business strategy.
2. Business Mobile App Strategy
Your mobile app strategy is your surefire path to achieving success with your mobile app design and marketing in general.
Yes the success or failure of the app depends on the strategy, since everything will be linked to the strategy. It will be easy to create if you have answers to these two questions:
What is the purpose of the app?
What is the benefit that the end-user will drive from using the app?
The simplest way to chart your app strategy is none other than:
“We will build this so that our customers can do that.”
The strategy has to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Anything that’s too vague or looks seemingly unachievable, strike it out. For example, having more downloads than WhatsApp isn’t a practically achievable goal.
Create A Roadmap
Breaking the entire app idea into distinct components that will be executed in different time slabs is a step towards building a solid mobile strategy. It is known as a roadmap. Helpful tools like this will make your life much easier.
The entire app strategy will be distributed into small tasks that are represented visually. Who will complete the task, how much time it will need, and how these tasks interlink are all stated in a roadmap.
A roadmap will keep your team on track, and it will help stakeholders keep a track of the app strategy.
Budget Allocation
How much your business is willing to spend on the app will determine how quickly it can be designed and launched. The budget allocation includes capital, operating cost, human resources, and allocation of other resources.
Allocating resources to the app and creating a budget plan is linked to your company’s budget and current standing. The budget, in return, is linked to the roadmap.
So if you intend to complete the app quickly, increase the app’s budget and fuel it with more resources, which can only be done if your business has enough available resources and budget.
You see, your mobile app strategy cannot exist in isolation.
Other Requirements
If you think a functional app idea, a roadmap, and the budget allocation are all what you need for the strategy, think again.
These requirements are mostly useful for the IT team. Your IT team will share these requirements with you in the form of a visual layout also known as technology stack.
The basic idea is to document everything and make sure that the app performs as smoothly at the backend as it does on the frontend. A clear and concise technology stack is what you need.
Parse wanted to improve the speed and scalability of high-throughput and MogoDB clusters. They used Amazon Web Services (AWS) since it’s the only cloud service that handles their requirements. Parse used the following architecture on AWS.
This resulted in reducing the end-to-end latency from 400 milliseconds to 100 milliseconds.
3. Defining The App Strategy
Now is the time to define clear use cases on the basis of the customer journey. This calls for a clear definition of the single app strategy.
A use case is at the center of defining app strategy. It’s defined as the list of actions that define the interaction between a role and the system. The image below represents a simple use case that defines the actions of the buyer and the seller – the roles.
“The number one secret is to focus on one or two main use cases. Let’s not overwhelm the user, but really focus on one or two use cases and do them really, really well.”
The best app strategy is one that uses not more than two use cases. Think of Instagram, people use it when they have to share a photo. This is a perfect example of a single use case.
A use case includes quite a few things such as the happy path, the intent of the use case, alternate action paths, and testable actions.
Defining use case is just the first phase of defining the app strategy.
Target Audience
Who will use your app?
I know, you may say your customers. Okay, but which type of customers in particular. What are their needs, gender, age, demographics, etc.
The fact is, you can’t create an app for your entire customer base. The simple rule of thumb is to design app for 80% of users.
The best approach to defining the target audience is to use personas. Buyer personas help you understand your target audience better. It helps in categorizing and grouping them.
What value the app delivers to the business is the question that stakeholders ask a lot.
Defining KPIs for the app will help monitor the performance and at the same time, it will help set realistic goals for the app to achieve year after year.
Setting KPIs for app is not enough. Linking and aligning the app performance metrics with the business’s KPIs is a must.
If the metrics for your business are revenue, cost reduction, and market share, then the KPIs for the app must lead to one of the business’s KPIs, else the app will not add any significant value.
If the app fails to perform, the business will suffer and if it performs, business will grow.
The most crucial app performance metric is the number of new users. Other metrics are app rating, an increase in usage and sessions, customer retention, repeat customers, session length, customer lifetime value, active users, and downloads.
Some other important questions to be answered during this phase include:
Type of app required. Do you need a hybrid app or a native app?
Should your business build app in-house or should it be outsourced?
Which platform to target first – android or iOS?
Finally, start promoting your new app at this stage because you now know what it is, who is it for, and what it will do. This is the right time to create early buzz and engagement.
4. Define Your Product Management Implementation Strategy
Once the mobile app strategy is defined and documented, it’s time to implement it.
