Using a mobile application has become an important component to shopping, productivity and utilities and messaging. Apparently, consumers are opening up an app to enhance the shopping experience, improve their productivity and communicate with their friends, and this usage is growing, says a new year-end report.
According to mobile analytics firm Flurry, overall app usage up by 76 percent in 2014. The report defined app usage as launching an app and recording a session by engaging with the app. In total, Flurry observed 2.079 trillion app sessions, including 8.5 billion app sessions on New Year’s Eve as the whole world rung in 2015.
The games category saw continued growth but it did slow down a bit. In addition, music, media, and entertainment categories also experienced a slowdown. Shopping saw the biggest increase in usage as it jumped 174 percent last year – on the Android itself shopping apps grew 220 percent.
This statistic is a positive sign for the retail industry, which has begun creating a presence in mobile commerce and has established a mobile marketing campaign.
“The great move in 2014 towards mobile shopping is a challenge and opportunity for retailers, who must realize that they’re always open on mobile, as they are on the web,” Retail Dive wrote in a summary of the analytics report. “But with mobile, their customers are not tethered to a computer, meaning they can price compare and use retailers’ apps in-store.”
Essentially, the report identifies that customers are becoming a lot more comfortable in making purchases on their smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Meanwhile, the steady growth in the productivity app category highlights how mobile devices are becoming an important aspect of the workplace.
With a slowdown in the games and entertainment categories, consumers are taking advantage of the numerous tools and apps available in the mobile realm that can certainly assist in their careers instead of wasting their time playing Flappy Bird.
