From a large corporation to a local government institution, it seems that nowadays everyone wants to create an app. Even though an app could be a tangible accomplishment to be proud of, a question has arisen: does your business really need an app? Or do you not require it?
This time, we'll discuss important topics related to this, beginning with mobile app insights in 2022, benefits of having a mobile app for your business, how to tell if your business needs (or doesn't need) an app, and another alternative to developing an app. Check it out!
According to the data from Statista, as of the 3rd quarter of 2022, App Store and Google Play Store already have over 5.1 million apps combined. As the number of apps grows, so does the number of app downloads worldwide.
In 2020, consumers downloaded a total of 218 billion mobile apps, up from 204 billion in 2019 and 140.68 billion in 2016.
As the trend continues, experts predict that global mobile app downloads will increase by 25% between 2018 and 2022, reaching 258 billion app downloads per year. Isn't that a huge number?
However, we must consider how people use these apps in addition to their enormous potential. According to one study, the average person has 40 installed apps on their phone. Out of those 40 apps, 89% of the time is split between 18 apps. That indicates that more than half of those apps remain unused.
There’s the term called “App Fatigue”, in which customers are too overwhelmed to download or use new apps. It occurs when smartphone users are bombarded with an excessive number of applications and daily notifications from them.
Building and maintaining an app over time is a challenging task. With so many options and so little space on users' phones, an app really has to stand out to intrigue them to download and use it on a regular basis.
So, before deciding to create an app, think about it carefully and conduct thorough research. Here are some questions to ponder:
If your app doesn't add anything or only provides something similar to what a user can get from a website, it's likely that your company doesn't need one. The only reason any brand /. business / institution should develop an app is to significantly improve the experience of interacting with the brand or product ecosystem.
If you're developing an app just because everyone else is, reconsider. Conduct some discussion with your team, in-depth research, and also user interviews to know whether it’s actually the one they expect to meet their needs.
What problems will you solve with this app? Is the app truly the solution? A mobile application, or technology in general, is simply a tool for delivering the value or solution of your business to users or customers. Not every problem can be solved by an app.
Using the design thinking process to help you find the answer may be beneficial. You can start your thinking process by researching your users' needs, stating your users' needs and problems, challenging problems and generating ideas, developing your solutions, and testing them.
Think about it from your customer’s perspective. Why would they want another app to take up space on their phone if they will only use it occasionally? If you are creating an app, it must have inherent value that will entice your target audience to download it. Apps should not be copies of your website.
Many businesses want to create an app, but not all of them recognize the necessity of ongoing maintenance. Apps must be updated on a regular basis to fix bugs, improve the interface, and add new features.
If you're thinking about developing an app, make sure you have enough resources to evolve and maintain it over time.
If you don't maintain it, it has the potential to irritate users due to a poor user experience, to the point where they write bad reviews and might be a boomerang for your business.
In a world where everything is demanding digital transformation and customers want to be able to do most things from their mobile device, what is the alternative to developing an app?
Perhaps what you need to do is optimize your website so that it is more mobile friendly. This strategy has several benefits, including the ability to save money and reduce the amount of maintenance required.
Again, we are not saying that no business should develop an app. But what we want to emphasize is that you should carefully consider and research whether this is what your customers seek to meet their needs. Think about it from the users’ perspective, and don’t just build an app because of FOMO.
