App Download Model Set to Change in 2016

Technology is evolving at a rapid rate and has been for years. What people sometimes don’t realize is that the rate and direction at which it adapts is determined entirely by its users. How do consumers respond to modern technology and what are their evolving needs and demands?

A recent report published by Quixey revealed some potential new changes to the app download model based on a survey distributed to 2,000+ consumers. Consumers were asked about their mobile preferences, specifically how users prefer mobile apps versus mobile web browsers. There are several distinct facets of the mobile app experience that users are dissatisfied with that we can expect changes to in 2016.

One of the factors not included in the report was the role that web apps will play in the development of mobile app download model. Web apps are mobile apps that are through web browsers instead of a separate operating system. They look and function just like native apps, but don’t require an App Store download (learn more: 2016 Future of Mobile Apps). Users can save web apps to their phones from web browser links. Because of this difference, web apps may not produce the same statistics from users as the Quixey report produced below.

Below is a summarized overview of the survey results. Check it out and leave a comment with your thoughts. We’d love to hear what YOU think about the mobile app download model!

Statistics Show

Features, Design and Functionality

• 77% of users believe one of these FIVE major pain points make mobile app interaction undesirable: apps take up too much space, too many apps, switching between apps, slow/poor performance, not enough access to everything.
• 28% of respondents said they enjoyed using apps because they offered better user experiences than the mobile web. Apps also enhance mobile interaction with features like push notifications and alerts.
• Nearly half of the respondents (49.7%) dislike using mobile apps for two primary reasons: they chew up device storage (26.1%) or they are slow and have inconsistent performance (23.6%).
• 69.5% of people ages 18-34 say that user experience is what they like most about using mobile apps.

One-Stop-Shop

• One third of consumers stated that their favorite aspect of using mobile web browsers is access to all content in one place. 23% said they most enjoyed the fact that they didn't have to download anything new.
• 3 out of 4 people (74.8%) ages 18-34 cite having access to content all in one place ais what they like best about a mobile web browser.

Ad Blockers

• 83.8% of millennials (ages 18-34) use some form of an ad blocker compared to 83.1% of people ages 45-64 who don’t use any form of ad blockers.
• More than half of the respondents (54.8%) said they’re using an ad blocker because: it has an impact on their experience (29.9%), the ads slow down their experience.

Conclusions Overview

The results show that while users are dissatisfied with several facets of mobile apps, they continue to use them because of the added value they provide (unique user design, alerts, alarms, etc.). However, many people prefer mobile web browsers because of the amount of information and facility it provides them.

Leave a comment with your thoughts, we want to hear from you!