More and more businesses are building mobile applications and web sites to promote their businesses. But building an effective mobile application is more difficult than just pushing out your web content and shopping experience via a smartphone application. The differences start with the obvious, like the smaller form factor, but it doesn’t end there. There are other issues regarding consumer behavior and expectations that must be considered and addressed to get the most from your mobile application development project.
Mobile applications are currently a critical area that must be addressed by any business or organization that desires to stay relevant with their audience. Smartphone sales in 2012 are expected to be nearly 1.8 billion units and it is for this reason alone, it is important to strive to build an effective mobile application experience for your audience. But beyond just the numbers, mobile application development is a tremendous opportunity for your business.
With mobile applications and mobile commerce you can now go where your customers are rather than waiting for them to come to you. Mobile commerce truly enables customers to purchase products and services anytime and anywhere.
If you are like most people you have experienced the less than satisfactory user experience while accessing web content on a mobile device. Usually this is in the form of having to zoom and scroll left and right and up and down to fully view a page or image or even text. Clearly if you want to create an effective engagement with your audience, you will need to create build pages or applications perfectly optimized for the screen size of each device so users don’t need to zoom and scroll.
When preparing to create a mobile commerce experience, it’s important to keep in mind that mobile web sites and applications lend themselves to less complicated user experiences given the smaller form factor of the experience.
User expectations gravitate towards simple, easy-to-navigate user experiences. And it is simple to see why – the consumer is on the go, often busy or in the middle of a discussion and usually with a more limited keyboard experience. They obviously will want simplified user experience that can be completed quickly. Marketers should reduce the number of steps that users need to take to the essentials and present this in an easy to use format.
But mobile experiences are not just about limitations, there are several exciting opportunities created by the mobile environment. Geo-location is a powerful feature in improving user experiences. Merchants and advertisers are using geo-location to improve shopping experiences. Brands thinking about mobile should definitely include geo-targeting in their mobile user experiences if possible.Through this functionality merchants can provide value added information such as locations of the closest stores and even targeted merchandising based on local or regional preferences.
Mobile applications and web sites present exciting opportunities for manufacturers, retailers and marketers. Smartphone and tablet sales are just too big to ignore. But, you need to pay attention to both the limitations on the one hand and the expanded opportunities on the other to create an effective experience for your audience.
1. Usability – Successful mobile application development often is the result of implementing acute usability design into the mobile application from the very beginning of the design phase. The best mobile apps have an interface that seems seamless with content, features, and the device itself and they allow users to effectively and intuitively navigate and utilize the mobile applications functionality. The applications that create a effective user experiences are often taken for granted; however, those that fail are destined to suffer from a lack of success. It is easy for people to fall into a trap of wanting to do too much so we highly recommend working with usability experts that can help forge powerful interfaces based on intuitive principles of design into your application.
2. Functionality – Mobile applications are not web sites. Mobile-optimized websites are for that purpose and if that is your goal, we recommend pursuing that route instead of developing a mobile application. Mobile apps should be designed and developed to take advantage of all the inherent features and functionality of the mobile device, such as GPS, camera, motion sensors, NFC, etc. Likewise mobile applications should focus on functionality suited to instant regular access from a smartphone, such as product reviews, social networking, information portals, photo sharing, etc.
3. Utility – Valuable mobile applications provide utility. This is crucial for mobile application development projects, as utility ensures that users will continue to interact with an application long after the initial interest has dissipated. Does your anticipated project provide a useful function to potential users? Is there a reason they will use your app day after day? If not, you should reevaluate your project and develop a plan that creates value and provides functionality for your anticipated end users.
PCs… Laptops… Smartphones… and now Tablets…. The way consumers shop is continuing to change and grow. The newest and hottest way to shop, and do research while in-store, is through a smartphone or other mobile device. While many merchants have been slow to adopt mobile sites and applications, shopping trends have changed, creating real opportunities for aggressive business owners and operators.
Deloitte’s 2011 Holiday Survey found 42% of consumers now own smartphones. This allows them to check pricing or product status at stores while they are shopping. By offering a mobile solution, you are one step closer to keeping your customers happy and shopping, instead of leaving for other stores that are providing the mobile data that they are looking for via mobile applications or mobile sites.
But just how popular is mobile shopping or research while in-store? According to new data from White Horse, a massive 84% of smartphone owners use their devices while shopping to check prices, research products, read customer reviews or get coupon codes. Customers are also checking the availability of items in other stores. These consumers could be checking the availability or pricing of products in your store if you provide a mobile application or mobile site.
Currently, savvy marketers are focusing on delivering the right content to shoppers in alignment with existing shopping trends and are capitalizing on doing so. A mobile application that is built to allow consumers to check prices, research products, and read customer reviews gives your business a marketable advantage over competitors who fail to deliver the information that consumers are looking to find.