5 Advantages of Custom Mobile App Development for Business

Smartphones have become the primary way for many of us to engage with the essentials of daily life: work, shopping, entertainment, travel, transport, and more. Americans spend an average of 4 hours a day actively using their smartphone with almost 90% of screen time dedicated to using apps. Given just how effective mobile apps are at commanding people’s attention, it’s clear that no modern business can afford to ignore the mobile market.

Is it worth investing in the development of a mobile app when customers can simply access your services via a mobile-friendly website? Unfortunately, the latter is simply not enough to satisfy most modern consumers. To stand out in the increasingly competitive mobile market, it pays to invest in custom mobile app development to ensure that your business has a high-quality app that stands out from the crowd.

The following are just a few advantages a custom-made mobile app can bring to a business:

1. Wider Customer Base

There are almost 4 billion smartphone users in the world, a number that is increasing rapidly year by year. It is predicted that 72% of all internet users will be using smartphones as their primary means of access by 2025. Mobile users downloaded over 218 billion mobile apps in 2020, and app installations went up by almost 25% as people adopted mobile tools for grocery shopping, healthcare, remote work, and more.

Mobile apps are also key to engaging younger consumers, such as Millenials and Gen Z. The latter, estimated to represent about 40% of consumers, have grown up with smartphones as their primary devices for internet use, and prefer using dedicated apps rather than web browsers or email. If you want to win the loyalty of the younger generations, a good mobile app is essential.

2. Increased Brand Awareness and Sales

Smartphones are notorious for encouraging short attention spans, with a multitude of competing services just a swipe away from each other in someone’s feed. But with so much of people’s time dedicated to their smartphone screens, it’s worth making the effort to get noticed.

Over 90% of retailers are investing in mobile marketing to drive sales growth, as mobile apps account for a significant chunk of online purchases. When a consumer has downloaded your mobile app, unique marketing opportunities present themselves, such as notifications of new products or promotions, which allow the user to simply tap through directly to what you want to show them.

3. Customer Loyalty

57% of users surveyed confirmed that the mobile experience a company offers significantly affects their perception of the brand and whether they would recommend it, so it is worth consulting expert mobile developers to create the best user experience possible.

The user experience (UX) is highly dependent on the user interface (UI). Consumers prefer easy-to-navigate apps with simple layouts and intuitive flows of information. An expertly designed UI will allow you to craft a much better experience than using a website on a mobile browser. This smooth experience will keep users coming back and increase retention and loyalty.

Furthermore, notifications, in-app messaging for customer support, reviews, social media recommendations, and the ability to set personal preferences and receive personalized recommendations from the app build loyalty by making the app better for the user the more they use it, as well as building a community around the brand.

4. Accessibility

Since almost everyone carries an internet-connected smartphone with them when they leave the house, almost any moment in someone’s life can become a business opportunity if you offer a mobile app. That time spent commuting on the subway, in the doctor’s waiting room, or before the waiter comes to take your order, is often spent killing time on the smartphone, and another opportunity to access a brand’s products or services.

Not only are apps available on the go, but they can even offer limited offline services thanks to data stored on the user’s device, another advantage they have over mobile websites. Even when not actively purchasing, customers can browse products, track their orders, check FAQs and support documentation, and generally save your company time by having the relevant information at their fingertips.

5. Leverage Customer Data

In any line of business, it pays to know your customer. Mobile apps offer an unprecedented level of customer information to benefit both the end user and the company. Apps can log user activity, remember user preferences, analyze their market segment, and track reviews and purchases to build up customer profiles that allow businesses to improve based on this information.

Companies can use this customer data to inform their marketing strategy, offer new products, roll out targeted advertising, and generally improve retention among users.

To make sure that your company benefits from all the advantages of offering a high-quality mobile app, it is recommended to hire an experienced custom software development company to build a unique, eye-catching app that suits the needs of your business and your customers.

At AccelOne, our mixed US/Nearshore software development team has a proven track record of developing top-quality mobile apps for industry-leading clients. To find out how we can help make your business stand out in the mobile market, contact us online or call 800.863.6814.