Was there ever a time before smartphones? It’s hard to remember, like wondering why you once had to dial by spinning the numbers around. Once upon a time the only apps available made calls, sent texts, or played snake. Now, the old adage “there’s an app for that” is very apt. Theirs is an app for everything you can think of. Taking notes, getting to sleep, collecting loyalty points: it can all be done with an app.
It’s gotten to the point that it’s odd for a company to not have an app, no matter what they’re selling. And in fact, creating an app, as the forefront of the company, rather than behind another business, can be a very lucrative business endeavour.
But how did we get here? And what are the merits of your business having an app? Take a look at our guide for all the details.
How apps started out
There would be no apps without the invention of the smartphone, which was officially invented in 1992 by IMB for a jaw dropping (at the time) £1,100. However, they didn’t become so mainstream until the early millennium, when it became a token to be able to contact someone when they weren’t in their home or at the office. Workers traveling could now be updated on their phone, schoolkids with helicopter parents could be scolded if they were still out after the streetlights came on, and eventually everyone else found an excuse.
But as phones developed from flip phones and BlackBerries and essentially bricks that could make a phone call, the hardware got smaller, and the internet access increased and with it came apps. You could take very fuzzy pictures, spend half an hour waiting for your favourite site to load and the snake in Snake now actually looked like a snake, along with staples like a calculator, a music player with five songs, and ringtone creator.
Over the years we’ve seen a lot of apps dip in and out of trend. Angry Birds, Spotify, Candy Crush. The most stable apps reliably solve a problem, like white noise apps that help users sleep, or weather apps, news apps. For example, the 10Cric app is vital to cricket fans looking for updates. Find out more information about 10CRIC Mobile App here.
But the popularity of apps definitely was defined by both the social media industry and the gaming industry. Your phone was instantly turned into a high-quality handheld gaming device with the number of available games filling your screen with colour. Suddenly even your parents were playing games in their spare time – the people you had to convince to get you a Gameboy for Christmas because you’d get “addicted” and not go outside.
With the arrival of Facebook, social media exploded. It was no longer for MySpace and Tumblr-addicted teenagers, but for everyone, and it became one of the first apps a person would download to the phone, since checking into the browser every hour was taking too long. It was soon followed by a wealth of other social media apps, like Instagram, Twitter, at one point Vice, and now TikTok.
Since then, every business you can think of has an app – sometimes multiple. Stores, services, big or small, all have a dedicated app for their users to enjoy.
So, why are apps popular?
Apps make life easier
Sure, every business I’ve mentioned probably also has a dedicated website or social media. That’s also a staple of marketing a business online. If you don’t have that, only the locals know you. But nowadays, according to a study, the average user checks their phone every 18 minutes. Without apps, that means 18 minutes of opening your phone, heading into the browser, searching for the site, getting into the site, and looking at a cluttered screen for the thing you’re looking for. Internet users are fickle and impatient beings that will simply not tolerate the extra steps that apps eliminate. With an app you can simply open your phone and click on the app icon to pick up where you left off on a clearer platform made up of bigger icons.
They allow you to go through processes you would do often, like booking a ticket or table, with all your information stored for quick and easy access. Nowadays your train tickets, loyalty cards and appointments are all stored in apps and more and more people are streaming their entertainment, like Netflix, onto their various devices.
Even today’s advancements in technology are controlled with apps. Smart homes featuring smart lighting, smart TV’s, smart thermostats, smart security, and virtual assistant technology are all controlled with an app. If you have an Amazon Alexa or a Ring doorbell, chances are you have the accompanying app.
Apps encourage engagement
Remember that figure of users checking their phone every 18 minutes? That’s due to apps. Apps also facilitate notifications, which offer a prompt or update straight from the app to your mobile screen. It allows businesses to gain your attention and keep it, with content that you have asked for with the mere downloading of the app.
Apps act as a loyalty badge to a company. You don’t want hundreds, so you are selective with what you visit often, and keep to accessing less vital apps via the browser. If you only go to the cinema once in a while, it wouldn’t be worth downloading the cinema app, but if you love the cinema, you will love the ease of the app, the updates, the booking system and the exclusive offers the app allows.
Businesses can reward this loyalty by offering app-exclusive perks and will encourage engagement with an app’s integration to other staple apps of phones. For example, booking a movie can be paid for with an app wallet containing payment information, and the slot can be added to your calendar. Apps offering any type of entertainment can offer a chance to give a review, like the Audible star system offered in the completion of a book and every app should have a means of contacting customer service in case of a problem.
Apps cover every problem, and it looks like they’re here to stay. No one could turn down such a useful and efficient link to anything you could need, because if you have a problem, there’s an app for that.