In a recent study by International Data Corporation, they conclude that number of smartphones to be sold around the globe in 2013 will surpass the sales of basic feature phones. The massive growth of these devices highlights the need for businesses to have a solid plan for mobile application development (on both of the major platforms, businesses can’t ignore either iPhone applications or Android applications) and a mobile web site.
Sales of smartphones will increase 32.7 percent for this year over 2012, with forecasts from the International Data Corporation, predicting 958.8 million units to be shipped, compared with 722.5 million units in 2012. The decline in smartphone prices is believed to have been a major factor driving growth. In 2011, the average smartphone price was $443, by 2012 that number dropped to $407 and in 2013 it is predicted to finish at about $372. In the future it is expected that prices will drop even further and by 2017, the average smartphone price is forecast to drop to $309.
International Data Corporation predicts that smartphones will account for 52.2 percent of all mobile phone shipments by the end of 2013. Ramon Llamas, a research manager at IDC, even was willing to describe 2013 as a “watershed year for smartphones.” An interesting trend is that nearly two-thirds of all smartphones bought in the world in 2013 will be purchased by people in developing countries, says the IDC, whereas this number was just 43% in 2010. This is assumed to be driven by price reduction as well. “Smartphones have become increasingly common in emerging markets and it is often the first affordable means of computing for these markets,” said Ryan Reith, IDC program manager. “These are markets where average personal income is far less than in developed markets, and therefore vendors have been forced to create smartphone computing experiences for the low end of the market.”
Clearly businesses must address the shift occurring the market and look at the demographics of their target market. Mobile applications and web sites are increasingly important with each new year as we see smartphones continue to proliferate the market.
A new report from Xtreme Labs states that many retail brands are missing the boat on the mobile app opportunity. They say that 30% have no mobile apps available to users and that with retail brands offering mobile apps, many are being scored low by shoppers. This offers a wide open space for savvy businesses to jump in a secure additional market-share with quality mobile applications for iPhone, Android and tablets.
While it is quite amazing that 30% of big name retailers don’t have mobile apps, it is equally amazing that those that do are getting a large number of complaints. Apps like this just tell users to go somewhere else to do their shopping. A well designed and developed iPhone application or Android application will keep users in your store.
According to Xtreme Labs data, mobile applications for the Top 100 Retail Brands averaged merely 2.9 out of 5 stars for iOS apps and fared even worse in the Android environment rating just 2.2 out of 5 stars.
Their data shows some great information for brands looking to build an app for their brand. Shoppers are looking for mobile apps to augment their in-store shopping experiences and these mobile apps need to work without crashing. A surprising 33% say app crashes of big retailer applications are an issue with Android apps and 23 percent state the same thing with iPhone applications. Additionally, consumers are looking for better features and better design.
But beyond just developing a better mobile app experience, users need to keep in mind where users will be using these apps. Consumers are using these apps and mobile web sites in-store and are increasingly shopping at stores that offer free WiFi over those that do not offer WiFi connectivity.
Looking at current trends and apps that are scoring well, there is a huge opportunity for savvy retails to augment their users shopping experiences and grab additional market-share with carefully designed mobile applications that include quality development.
One of the hottest new trends in retail, thanks to the Apple stores, is allowing retail associates in stores to complete transactions on the spot rather than making customers walk all the way to a register and stand in line to complete the transaction. Giving retail associates the tools to do this is taking customer service to a whole new level and rapidly making the cash register obsolete.
At the last Mobile World Congress, mobile payments and mobile payment systems were one of the hottest topics. We are entering an age of mobile and mobile applications taking retail to a new level, especially if you consider the opportunities offered by augmented reality.
As Charler Napier says: “Small business owners represent the segment driving mobile payments adoption most aggressively today” in an interview with Bloomberg. But we are still in the early stages of development so opportunities are abound. While we are hearing about names like Square and GoPayment right now, there are sure to be other solutions providers to follow.
In the near future cash registers are going to disappear in favor of mobile payment systems and since 66 percent of retail transactions are made with plastic today and 180 million Americans carry a credit or debit card, it’s no surprise that retailers would switch to mobile payment platforms that will change the face of retail.
If you are planning on building an app, consider integrating new mobile payment systems into your iPhone app or Android app. Passbooks and digital wallets are also extremely hot topics in the industry right now and its better to plan for the future with mobile application development.