More Firms Investing In App Development To Boost Business

It is hard to remember a time before mobile apps existed, as they are now an integral part of most business strategies, improving customer engagement and, subsequently, sales or sign-ups. 

The statistics of apps is shocking, with Google Play Store and Apple App Store offering more than 2.87 million different apps for people to download. 

The demand is clearly there as well, as the average number of apps downloaded on to a smartphone is between 60 and 90. What’s more, users tend to use nine apps a day and 30 different ones over the month. In 2022, there were 2.2 billion app downloads in the UK alone. 

Shopping apps are among the most successful, with smartphone owners spending nearly 110 billion hours on these in 2022. 

This trend continues to grow as well, with mobile shopping having increased by as much as 70 per cent over the last two years. 

However, it is not just shopping that users are downloading apps for, as email and social networks are the second and third “most essential” ones. 

More specific business apps are also increasing in popularity, particularly during and following the pandemic. On March 15th 2020, just before the UK went into national lockdown, global downloads of business apps shot up by a huge 90 per cent. 

As people’s access to the outside world decreased, their reliance on the internet soared. Apps have become particularly popular, as they can store personal information and tailor the products and services directly to the customer or client, making the experience much more personal and simpler to navigate.

At the same time, using an app to sign up, learn, find out information, track data or buy something is significantly easier and quicker than doing so on a website. Therefore, as everyone seems so time-strapped these days, using an app is much more efficient. 

Although the vast majority of apps are free (95 per cent for Google Play apps and 90 per cent of iOS App Store apps), businesses make their money out of advertisements on software and upselling to those who download it. 

After enticing users in, they can encourage them to upgrade from the free service to one that charges and offers more features. Often, businesses restrict what their free options are, so customers or clients are more likely to pay a little a month for a better service. 

E-commerce apps, including ones that sell tickets or accommodation, also make their money from their sales. What’s more, a greater number of people are likely to book or purchase something if the process is quick and easy, which is why apps are a more effective sales tool for businesses than their websites or physical premises these days. 

The explosion of apps does not look like it is going to slow down any time soon, with global app downloads experiencing an annual growth rate of 63.5 per cent, as more businesses invest in app development and users realise how beneficial they can be. 

So companies that want to expand and make their customer journey run as smoothly as possible should make 2024 the year they develop their own app.