mobile applications – what will their future be like?
TRANSCRIPT
Mobile Applications What Will Their Future Be Like?
It will be an understatement to say that mobile applications are the future. We have seen anexponential growth in the mobile apps from the time the concept was first introduced by Apple.
Today, businesses around the world are adopting mobile apps. Statistics shows that mobileapps are being preferred over desktops and other devices for making online transactions.
Mobile apps alone contribute nearly 40-50% of overall transactions. Research suggests that
they are going to increase further as smartphone subscribers increases.
Take the case of the Indian online fashion retailer Myntra for instance. They have gone app-only from May 15 after shutting down their desktop and mobile website. It’s not a one-offincident either. Indian e-commerce major Flipkart is also considering the possibility of goingapp only from next year.
The prospect seems to be bright for mobile apps and related mobile app developmentservices. Mobile application development is being considered as one of the most promisingcareers in the job market today.
But my discussion here will address the key question as what will be the future of mobile app?Whether mobile applications will replace desktop websites or will co-exist with them?
Some analysts are of the view that future is only apps. They believe apps are going to replacedesktop websites. I both agree and disagree. I agree that future looks bright for social media,entertainment, news & media, productivity and games related apps. On the other hand I havedoubts on the success of online e-retailer’s decision to go app only. My assumptions are basedon three facts:
Unreliable internet connectivity
India still does not have reliable internet connectivity. Hence most consumers like to transactusing home/office LAN & wireless networks. With LAN network, one does not have to worryabout the transaction hanging mid-way due to sudden drop in mobile internet speed ortransaction getting disrupted through a phone call.
Big means Better
As a consumer I would like to have a better view of the product before I actually buy it. Thedesktop based website provides me a detailed view of the product with minimal scrolling. Onecan view multiple products, open each of them in a different tab, compare it and then make abuying decision. The mobile app lacks such feature.
Marketing & offers
Due to limited screen size of the smart phones, mobile marketing has been a concern for allcompanies. There are chances that customers may miss out on the offers and actually switch toother e-commerce websites for better deals.
Bubbles are meant to be busted
Time and again the industries have expected high hopes with certain technologies andeventually experienced that the market behaves otherwise. This has happened with manyindustries including busting of information technology bubble in beginning of this century.Eventually saturation comes in every field sooner or later and new technology replaces the oldone.
Hence decision to go app-only just based on the statistics that people are doing mosttransactions from app might not be good idea. The reason many people are transacting fromapp might be because of the additional discounts and offers given by e-retailer on transactionsdone through apps.
In future the apps may completely replace the desktop websites in certain cases. However it istoo early to predict the future of apps. This will become clearer when we analyze how theconsumers perceive the decision of Myntra to go app only. It will take some months toascertain whether this step to go app only is a good or bad decision.
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