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Since 2020, a significant shift has occurred in the mobile versus desktop market share, one that could potentially lead to a decline in the desktop market share. While the gap between desktop and mobile market shares was just over 6% in 2020, by 2022, this gap had widened to over 19%, with mobile taking the lead.
What does this shift mean for enterprise brands that are considering a review of their digital plans?
On one hand, it implies that brands still need to address diverse requirements and consider both their own business goals and the needs of their customers in any digital strategy. On the other hand, the continuing trend towards mobile usage suggests that adopting a mobile-first approach should at least be contemplated while planning the next twelve-to-eighteen-month strategy. As the core concept of ‘mobile-first’ revolves around optimising the user experience (UX) for smaller screens, this naturally encompasses the design and development of mobile apps as well, which have gained immense popularity.
Still not convinced? According to Forbes, the percentage of web traffic accessed through mobile phones has grown significantly from 11% in 2012 to 59% in 2022. A study by AppsFlyer also indicates that over 40% of total Enterprise sales are exclusively made through mobile apps.
Could this be an opportunity you cannot afford to miss? Let’s delve into what a ‘website vs app’ strategy looks like.
Advantages and disadvantages of a website
The advantages of a website are well-known, from enabling your customers to find out about your brand quickly and easily, to educating your audience about certain topics and engaging them in native content; the possibilities nowadays are potentially endless.
For big brands looking to reach ever-increasing audiences, websites offer:
Accessibility and shareability – websites can be accessed across a wide range of devices and do not require users to download anything. This ease of access means brands can reach larger audiences and therefore larger customer bases.
Discoverability – the sole purpose of search engines, such as Google, is to connect the user with your website, so, of course, having a website in the first place makes you more ‘discoverable’ to customers.
Development and integrations – websites have been around for so many years now that the overheads involved in developing and launching one have come down drastically. Not only that, but modern websites can now be seamlessly integrated with other business tech such as your CRM or payments platform.
Easy maintenance – the Content Management Systems (CMS) behind websites are now extremely easy to use, making the maintenance and updates of sites quick and efficient. Tools such as WYSIWYG editors and drag-and-drop functionality mean that even the most complex of sites can be managed and updated in days or weeks now rather than months.
Where websites start to present disadvantages in today’s digital and mobile-first age is:
Slower speeds – websites are 100% dependent on the browser being used to access them, so if there is a speed issue with the browser, this will directly impact the website as well.
Availability – websites can only be accessed if the user is ‘online,’ so it can limit full availability for customers if they are in areas of weak or no signal.
Safety and security – anyone can build and launch a website, and that website can hold a certain amount of user data. This, therefore, makes it less secure and a potential threat to the end customer.
Trust – linked to the issue of security is also a growing concern of trust, especially when it comes to genuine customer engagement. Customers are increasingly likely to look for information via social media and online communities, making efforts to ensure websites rank well on Google, for example, often met with mistrust and customer scepticism.
Advantages and disadvantages of an app
To overcome many of these website drawbacks, brands are looking to mobile apps as part of their core digital strategy.
Mobile apps offer:
Increased speed and performance – as mobile apps work with a phone’s built-in features such as the camera and microphone, the overall user experience (UX) for the customer is much more seamless. Mobile apps are also hosted on local databases, providing faster and more consistent speeds.
Offline accessibility – Once downloaded, apps do not need the user to be ‘online’ to access the content. This, in turn, saves users’ data and costs.
Interactivity and personalisation – apps are a great option if you want to develop highly interactive games or customer experiences. This opportunity also extends to personalisation as an app can deliver specific scenarios and offers based on a user’s in-app behaviours.
Marketing and engagement – mobile apps offer a wealth of options when it comes to engaging with your customers and even monetising that relationship. From direct ‘push notifications’ to in-app rewards programs, big brands now view apps as the new battleground for customer acquisition and loyalty!
However, digital teams should be aware, as apps can come at a cost:
Cost of development and maintenance – most apps still require custom code and integrations, being much younger in their lifecycle than websites are now. This means more costly resources are required to plan and build them, as well as to maintain them on an ongoing basis.
Cost of download and storage – on the customer side, apps can also end up being expensive. As more brands turn to apps for new monetisation opportunities, customers often bear most of these charges. Moreover, apps require a download and take up a significant amount of storage space on a user’s smartphone, which can result in increased costs.
Cost of profit share – listing an app costs money. For instance, listing on the Apple store requires an annual fee plus a % commission on all downloads and in-app purchases. Therefore, any big brand looking to launch an app must consider the total cost of running it.
Examples of branded company apps
Global brands that have embarked on the app journey have witnessed fantastic customer and business results. In addition to the Starbucks example mentioned in the image above, Walmart is another major brand that has benefited from developing and launching a customer app. They now observe customers making twice as many trips to stores and increasing their spending by 40%.
Nike is another example; they launched a ‘run club’ app to create a community and provide nutritional and exercise advice. This has offered a completely new way for the brand to build customer loyalty and add value to what was previously a transactional relationship.
Other well-known brands taking advantage of the app trend include Chipotle, which uses the app for games and customer offers, and Coca-Cola, which developed a ‘Freestyle’ app to explore and test new drink flavours.
A common thread across these branded app examples is the business advantage of data. Savvy brands know that customer data is key, as it informs everything from pricing optimisation to the launch of new products. By engaging with customers via an app, businesses can collect this data much more easily and then use it to gain insights and further improve aspects such as customer experience and service.
Website vs app: top considerations
Having worked with several major brands over the years and having supported them with both website management and app development, the team at Adrenalin has established the top four factors you need to consider when weighing the options between a website and an app.
Customers
Firstly, consider your customers and target audience. You will need to understand the buying behaviours and demographics of your customer base to determine whether your top priority should be a website, an app, or both. Key questions to ask here include: What customer challenge are you trying to address? Will your customer demographic be open to adopting a new app? Where do your customers typically seek their information and entertainment?
Features
As we discussed earlier, both websites and apps have various pros and cons, many of which are related to the features and functionality of the digital environment. Here, you should focus on the specific features you intend to develop and whether a website, an app, or both would be better suited to fulfilling those requirements.
Resource
Costs and time are, of course, critical in any development initiative. Therefore, you will need to carefully consider the resources available to you or that you can access. Don’t forget to take the pros and cons mentioned above into account when making this decision. Also, consider building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) first to test its viability.
Business
Lastly, but by no means least, you’ll need to balance your business needs and constraints with the opportunities presented by digital development. A significant percentage of apps fail, partly because they haven’t been properly aligned with overall business goals and brand needs. So, ask your team this crucial question: Does building an app align with your overall business goals, brand values, and digital product strategy?
Do you only need a website?
While building a new app might sound like an exciting endeavour for your digital team, there will be many cases where a website is more than sufficient. These include:
When your customer challenge revolves more around awareness or acquisition, your business focus therefore needs to be on reaching a broader audience and converting more customers.
When all you need to do is provide information to your customer base or be searchable online through standard search engines such as Google and Bing.
When you do not have the necessary resources to manage an app strategy, development, and maintenance. As we outlined above, apps can be expensive to build and maintain, so allocating appropriate resources is crucial to their success.
When do you need an app?
Of course, many big brands have successfully launched apps and reaped significant business benefits from them. Your brand could be next! Here are a few scenarios where an app makes more sense than a website:
You are developing a game or interactive experience where 100% of the value to the customer is derived from the app. Examples of this include Duolingo and Candy Crush.
You already have a large customer following, for example, through a social media account, and your next business goal is to cultivate a community. In this situation, an app that is accessible and private can be a suitable choice.
Your business value proposition relies on features such as location-based tracking. If the product or service you offer to customers depends on other smartphone features, then building an integrated app is the way to go.
When do you need both a website and an app?
The business models of many large enterprise brands are such that digital teams will benefit in multiple ways from having both a website and an app. This is primarily due to the fact that the website serves to reach wider audiences and be ‘discoverable’ online, while the app serves to increase existing customer engagement and drive incremental sales. As seen with Starbucks and Walmart earlier, websites are, of course, essential for building brand presence and customer reach, but apps take the relationship one step further to foster community, loyalty, and brand affinity
For digital teams looking to adopt a mobile- or app-first strategy, the decision requires a thorough analysis of your target audience, business goals, and available resources. In many cases, a website redesign can meet many of the requirements or customer challenges you might have. Equally important is to weigh the potential benefits against the costs and complexities associated with app development, maintenance, and promotion. If your team is somewhat at a crossroads in determining the path forward, leveraging a dedicated digital product agency can be a valuable next step. Not only can a specialist, or third-party team provide an objective point of view on your situation, but they can also advise on the best solution for your specific customer or business challenge.
Adrenalin is a leading digital product and technology agency for Australia’s top brands and organisations. Stay informed about the latest digital product trends, strategies and tactics by subscribing to the Adrenalin newsletter below.
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