What is driving desktop websites to mobile platforms?

There is a lot of discussion in the industry around online platform moving to mobile as the main source of engagement with the customers. Many e-commerce players are firming up plans to channel efforts and marketing dollars entirely on their mobile applications. Companies such as Flipkart, Myntra, Snapdeal, Quickr and Ola get 70-80 per cent of their traffic from mobile devices, which is a key factor to influence these players consider moving to app-only platforms.

In this context, Oracle released a survey on customer response to apps. It reveals that 56 per cent of millennials would prefer not to receive push-notifications, while the same percentage rarely act on the push-notifications they receive, even though nearly 50 per cent admit these are personalized to them. 39 per cent say they are less likely to recommend a company’s products or services to others following a poor app experience, and 27 per cent admit they will give them a negative review if the app is not secure and the app response is poor or slow.

The question comes in as ‘What is driving the trend towards mobile platforms?’

As far as India is concerned, the survey reveals that Indians are more inclined towards must-have apps rather than others. More than two fifths (43 per cent) considered Social and Chat apps (e.g. chat, social networks, dating, internet calling, blogging) a ‘must-have’ and were ultimately willing to pay for these. This is followed by:

• Entertainment – e.g. movies, media, games (42 per cent)
• Security – e.g. secure your phone, track your phone (41 per cent)
• Travel and Maps – e.g. travelling abroad, public transit and taxi, language translating (38 per cent)

On the other hand, respondents from India and China were more likely to consider security apps a ‘must-have’ (70 per cent and 57 per cent respectively), along with finance management (44 per cent and 58 per cent) and work (54 per cent and 52 per cent).

What does the customer expect from an app platform? Higher expectations from apps cause people to stop using certain apps altogether, if they are not worthy enough. The top issue that would stop respondents from using an app is poor performance or speed, with almost two thirds (63 per cent) saying this would make them stop using an app. Other factors were:

• High cost (62 per cent)
• Security concerns over personal data (59 per cent)
• Poor design or layout (49 per cent)

High cost was the highest ranking factor that would apprehend UK and US respondents from using an app (68 per cent and 69 per cent) whilst poor performance or speed was prioritised by respondents in India and China (70 per cent and 76 per cent). The least likely factor to be an issue for respondents had to enter a password or log-in details each time they use an app (25 per cent).

When surveyed with a different angle, apps compared to websites, the feedback was completely different. Three-quarters (76 per cent) of respondents would use apps for more things if the functionality were available. Respondents in China and India were far more likely to find smartphone / tablet apps easier to use than websites (70 per cent) compared to respondents in the US (50 per cent) and the UK (39 per cent) and were also more likely to say that they completed the majority of their online tasks using an app.

• What kind of technology investment is required from enterprises
• What are the challenges facing businesses and solution to address the same

When asked to think specifically about their workplace, respondents estimate they use an average of 7 apps regularly (at least once a day) on their smartphone and / or tablet for their job. This changes significantly when broken down between markets; in the US and China, respondents said they regularly use an average of 9 apps at work, whereas respondents in India use 8 and those in the UK said they only use 4 apps.