TMCnet News
Consumers Want New Apps, Yet Mobile Marketers Fall Behind On DiscoverabilityNEW YORK, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The mobile economy is seeing explosive growth - that's no surprise. According to the 2017 Index: The Mobile Consumer, a new report commissioned by mobile partnership platform Button and most trusted app market data and insights company App Annie, alignment with what consumers want and where marketers are focused is not there. Released today, the report dives into the views of three important constituents when it comes to mobile: industry growth, the consumer's wants and needs, and how marketers are approaching it all. Overall, consumers are turning to their favorite apps daily for a range of reasons, spending more time than ever in them. In mature markets this breaks down to one month out of every year spent in apps. But people still feel they're missing out, so much so that over a third of respondents feel they're actually missing out on great new apps (37%), and even feel they're hard to discover (38%). They aren't willing to download just any app though; people not only want quality but also a known source. According to consumers, the top two scenarios for finding and installing a new app: searching the iOS App Store/Google Play and if prompted by a trusted app/source they're familiar with. In fact, they're 2x more likely to install from a trusted source compared to an ad on social media, and 4.5x more than an ad on a search browser (e.g. Google Chrome). Consumers rely on sources they trust when discovering new apps. A majority (64%) stated they'd be more willing to purchase through and/or install a new app if prompted by a source they trust. Yet when you look at where app marketers are spending mobile ad dollars, more than half (57%) goes to the Facebook/Google duopoly.
There's a big opportunity at hand for brands to get ahead, especially emerging brands. Younger, digital-first shopping brands such as Poshmark, Wish, and Walmart-owned Jet ranked much lower as consumers' favorite apps compared to retail giants such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target. However, app marketers need a solution to increase discoverability in a cost-effective way while targeting the places consumers trust most. "Consumer intent lies elsewhere in mobile, beyond Google and Facebook and in significantly higher-converting channels," stated Michael Jaconi, Founder and CEO of Button. "For instance, affiliate partnerships see purchase conversion of 25% on average, whereas paid social and search see conversion rates of 1% and 4%, respectively. Brands on mobile need to focus on targeting the moments of intent among users, connecting people to what they want in the moment they want it." ADDITIONAL KEY HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2017 INDEX: THE MOBILE CONSUMER In Times of Growth, Discovery Remains an Opportunity. THE INDUSTRY VIEW THE CONSUMER VIEW People want more, they just don't know where to turn. Over a third of respondents feel they're actually missing out on great new apps (37%), and even feel they're hard to discover (38%). Those clicks aren't intentional (but for apps they still manage). Nearly two-thirds (64%) "rarely" or "never" click intentionally on a mobile advertisement. n looking at generational differences, millennials are most likely to click on a mobile ad with 39% stating they intentionally click "sometimes" (31%) or "often" (8%). Baby Boomers are least likely to engage with mobile ads as almost three-quarters (73%) stating "never" or "rarely." People trust their sources. 64% of users are more willing to purchase through and/or install a new app if suggested by another brand they trust (compared to a mobile ad). A majority of respondents (78%) stated the most likely scenario for finding/installing new apps would be through "App Store/Google Play" or by "being prompted by a trusted source." Facebook doesn't necessarily foster intent to engage. Over half of people (55%) have never downloaded an app and/or made a purchase immediately after seeing a Facebook ad. THE MARKETER VIEW Brands need to build mobile strategies beyond social and search. While more than half of mobile ad dollars goes to Google and Facebook alone, that's not what converts best. Mobile partnerships, the new category of affiliate in mobile, see an average purchase conversion rate of 25% compared to paid social (1%) and paid search (4%). This new category of affiliate in mobile today only represents a small fraction of the mobile economy's GDP - yet it's what users want. Now's the Time as Mobile Commerce Grows THE INDUSTRY VIEW Mobile commerce is the leading driver of growth in the mobile and app economy. Per user mobile commerce is expected to increase (more than 250%) from $344 to $946 by 2021 globally. In the US specifically, strong growth is expected with consumers becoming more likely to spend in-app with growing basket sizes. Users are turning to apps for shopping needs. Globally, overall downloads of Shopping apps grew 20% year-over-year in H1 2017 across both iOS and Google Play. And across all smartphone users in the US, consumers spent nearly an hour on average in Shopping apps each month. THE CONSUMER VIEW And why? Of those that preferred mobile app, when asked "why" the top reason included:
Traditional retailers lead the way in shopping apps. Amazon (87%), Target (51%), and Walmart (48%) lead the way in consumers favorite shopping apps. Digital veterans Groupon (44%) and eBay (32%) don't fall too far behind, but opportunity still stands for younger digital-first retailers like Wish (13%), Jet (4%), Poshmark (4%), and Spring (>1%). Connecting a consumer's trusted source where intent fosters to brands where they can take action on mobile is becoming more common. In fact, 63% of respondents have been prompted to go from one experience to another. And from here, they want simplicity. If they already have the retailer's app installed that they're being prompted to complete a transaction within, 84% of respondents expected to be taken to that app. If they were not taken to the retailer's app (and to mWeb instead) over a third (36%) stated they would not have completed the transaction out of convenience's sake (not wanting to login and/or re-enter payment details on mWeb). THE MARKETER VIEW
And leading consumers to a brand's native app see a higher purchase conversion rate than mWeb, especially in various industries:
A HOLIDAY SNAPSHOT Holidays have begun, and that means it's time to shop. Starting with Alibaba's "Singles Day," which hit a record $25 billion in sales, according to App Annie the holiday also saw record success with the brand's app - AliExpress - taking the #1 spot for daily iOS and Google Play downloads in the US, France, the UK, and Germany that day (11.11.17). Up next, Black Friday. Last year marked the first billion-dollar Black Friday for mobile shopping, and it's expected to do it again. It's expected there will be well over 12 million hours spent in the top five digital-first apps on Android phones alone in the US this year - a 40% growth from 2016. Consumers are ready and plan to use their mobile devices. A majority of respondents (80%) said they do plan to use mobile sites/apps while shopping this holiday season, which is moreso for Millennials (84%) and GenX (83%) than Baby Boomers (62%). Mobile starts far before the purchase. The ways consumers plan to use their mobile devices:
You can download the "2017 Index: The Mobile Consumer" or to learn more about the report methodology here. To learn more about Button or App Annie, visit www.usebutton.com and www.appannie.com. About Button The company was founded in 2014 and was voted as a top 50 Best Workplace by Inc. Magazine and a Best Place to Work in New York by Fortune in 2017. Button has raised more than $35 million in Seed, Series A, and Series B funding from Norwest Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Greycroft Partners, DCM Ventures, Accomplice Ventures, VaynerRSE and others. About App Annie View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/consumers-want-new-apps-yet-mobile-marketers-fall-behind-on-discoverability-300557642.html SOURCE Button |