Mobile apps | Internet Marketing Blog

Six ingredients of a great mobile app

Having developed over 160 mobile apps across across a number of different industries, we’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when it comes to mobile apps.

Here are a few of our top tips to help you on your way to creating a successful mobile app.

by Clair O'Neill 06 June 2013 09:59am 3 comments

37% of consumers think that most mobile sites are difficult to navigate

A new report investigating consumer opinions of mobile commerce has found that there is still a perception that the mobile web offers a poor user experience.

More than a third (37%) of respondents in the EPiServer survey agreed that many mobile websites are difficult to navigate, an increase from 32% in 2011.

The survey also found that consumers are increasingly unforgiving of mobile sites and apps that aren’t up to scratch.

Almost half of respondents (47%) claim that if an app is hard to use they will stop using or delete it compared to 41% in the previous survey.

People apparently have slightly more patience with mobile sites, although 38% still said that they would stop using a mobile site that is difficult to use.

by David Moth 12 April 2013 09:26am 2 comments

85% of consumers favour apps over mobile websites

In the early days of m-commerce it was often asked whether brands should opt for a mobile app or a mobile website.

I think most marketers now accept that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and the decision should be made based on the business needs and aims of individual companies.

However a new report from Compuware suggests that consumer preference is strongly in favour of apps (85%) ahead of mobile sites.

The most common reason for this is that apps are seen to be more convenient (55%), faster (48%) and easier to browse (40%).

by David Moth 12 March 2013 11:29am 10 comments

US retail apps achieve low ratings due to frequent crashing

Smartphone apps are an important way for brands to engage with consumers, however a new study has found that many brands are falling short on the user experience.

The Xtreme Labs Retail Apps Report found that just under a third of top 100 US retailers don’t have smartphone apps, while those that do suffer from issues such as a lack of features.

The average rating achieved by iOS apps in the App Store is 2.9 stars out of five, while on Google Play it is just 2.2 out of five.

On iOS the most common complaints were a lack of features (26%), frequent crashing (23%), and poor design (22%).

Android users suffered similar problems, with crashing being the main complaint (33%), followed by the app not working as intended (26%) and a lack of features (25%).

by David Moth 04 March 2013 14:25pm 0 comments

68% of people use their smartphone for email, 26% for shopping

The importance of optimising email campaigns for mobile has again been underlined by a new survey which shows that checking emails is among the most common activity for UK smartphone owners.

The Nielsen Mobile Consumer survey found that 68% of UK smartphone owners used their device to check email in the past 30 days. Only text messaging was more popular (92%), while using the mobile web (66%) and social networking (63%) achieved similar results.

US smartphone owners exhibit similar behaviours, with 86% using their devices for text, 82% for the mobile web, 75% for email and 63% for social networking.

We’ve previously blogged data which shows that 79% of smartphone owners use their device for email, while a separate report showed that up to a third of emails are opened on mobile devices.

However our Email Marketing Census reveals that 39% of businesses have no strategy in place for mobile optimisation and a further 37% said their strategy was ‘basic.’

by David Moth 26 February 2013 11:45am 1 comment

10 mobile websites that suffer from chronic pop-up syndrome

The smartphone has completely transformed my experience of the internet. So long as there is a half-decent connection I can access information whenever I want, and wherever I am. Apart from the carnage it causes during pub quizzes, you’d have to say that the mobile web is a very good thing indeed.

However there is a problem. Most brands are still playing catch up, with regards to the user experience (including Econsultancy).

Some have launched standalone mobile sites - not a good move, in my view - while others have created apps for mobile users, of varying quality. But it’s still relatively early, with mobile in the ascendency. There is much to learn.

Progress is being made, however. The more forward-thinking brands are undertaking responsive design projects, so their existing websites will be rendered in a friendly way for all kinds of screen sizes. Some brands are doubling down, by launching apps as well as transforming their websites for mobile usage (there shouldn’t be an ‘either/or’ argument if you’re in a position to do both).

But here’s one thing that I think needs to change: the monstrous pop-up overkill that is happening across the mobile web.

by Chris Lake 08 February 2013 14:05pm 23 comments

Analytics: don’t forget your mobile apps!

The average person has around 41 apps on their phone; these range from social and gaming apps, to daily deals, retail and media apps.

As mobile traffic continues to gain traction on web traffic, and as apps continue to be a vital channel for keeping the consumer engaged, it has never been more important for brands to monitor how their apps are performing to ensure they are delivering the experience users expect.

by Clair O'Neill 07 February 2013 11:32am 3 comments

Apple unveils AppStore.com vanity URLs during Super Bowl, land grab coming?

Super Bowl Sunday is no stranger to surprises. With brands spending countless millions on Super Bowl ad campaigns, doing the unexpected or revealing something new on America's biggest day in sport is a no-brainer.

One of yesterday's surprises came courtesy of an ad Paramount Pictures ran for the new Star Trek movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness.

by Patricio Robles 04 February 2013 16:49pm 2 comments

Creating effective ads for tablets

The fastest growth in ad spend is coming not from mobiles but from tablets. Campaigns for tablets are often grouped with mobile, and yet consumer behaviour is different on each.

Understanding that difference is critical in creating an effective campaign for tablet users.

by Mark Cluer 31 January 2013 09:53am 2 comments

Smartphone users want in-app store finders: are retailers providing them?

A recent survey into the functions that consumers most want to see in smartphone apps found that, aside from money saving offers, people value the ability to locate physical stores and to purchase items directly from the app.

Though the research, commissioned by Adobe, was a closed question so respondents were restricted in what they could answer, it highlights the local intent associated with activities on a smartphone.

To find out whether the UK’s top retailers are catering to this need, I tried out four shopping apps on Android to see how easy it is to find store location and contact details...

by David Moth 28 January 2013 10:06am 0 comments