The mobile technology space is constantly innovating and reinventing the ways in which customers purchase and pay for products and services. This year, the Appsworld North America conference brought together speakers from across the ecosystem including retail, banking, finance, MNO, analysts and platform owners. The conference was broken up into two days of panels and speakers, with day one focused on Mobile Payments, Banking & NFC and day two on Retail Apps & MPOS.
"3.3m apps 90% abandoned after first 30 days. Look for ways to engage"- @schneidermike @skyhookwireless #AppsWorldNA pic.twitter.com/F1OHlL2xWB
— Sourcebits (@Sourcebits)
Skyhook’s VP of Marketing, Mike Schneider (Schneidermike), spoke about how to make the 5% of successful apps that users continuously engage with. The main points included using data-driven context, categorizing user behavior and building various app modes to deliver dynamic app experiences around user location.
Schneidermike also spoke on a panel with Matt Johnston, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Applause, Aaron Smith, Director, Customer Mobile Applications at Nordstrom, and Len Dudis, Director, Information Technology at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The panel assessed the part that mobile and tablet apps can play in driving mcommerce.
Making the 5%: Apps World Mobile Retail Panel Highlights
#1) The role that mobile and tablet apps can play in driving mcommerce
Apps that will drive mcommerce will be smart, location-aware apps that can make the in-store experience dynamic and easy for the user. Apps that know the user is in the store and can notify users of relevant deals and offers will succeed in driving mcommerce.
For example, an app like Sephora has a Store-Mode that transforms the app experience once a user indicates that they are in the store. If the app used location, Store-Mode would activate automatically as the user enters the store, prompting the user with relevant information, deals and the whereabouts of products in their favorites list. Making the user’s shopping experience as seamless and frictionless as possible will drive mcommerce.
#2) The intersection between web and mobile apps to create a seamless omni-channel experience
A seamless experience between web and mobile apps is a company that uses location to provide “mode” experiences that translate seamlessly from different devices. For example, a user is at home creating a shopping list on their web app. When they are at the store using the mobile app, the interface switches to “Store-Mode” automatically and brings up the shopping list and other relevant things like location of an item in the store or a coupon they can apply to something on their list.
#3) Understanding changing consumer behavior within the multi-device environment
Your home laptop computer doesn’t move, but your mobile device moves and goes everywhere with you. So actions taken on these separate devices are different based on where you are and what device you are using. People don’t leave the house without their mobile devices, which allows a company like Skyhook to learn about a user’s device behavior with historical location, adding a layer of context to the user. An example is being able to know that a user visits a coffee shop something like 3 times a day and being able to conclude that the user is a coffee lover.
Understanding the user and which devices they use and when allows us to be more thoughtful when providing the right user experience for each device. If a user is on a laptop it means the user is most likely at home or at work. The experience is different on a bigger screen and when the user is at home they are usually in planning mode. This means making lists, online shopping, and/or saving things for later.
When the user is on a mobile device like a tablet or phone the user is most likely on the go, in a store, and ready to make a decision to purchase. The user experience on this device is different and might bring up the list they made at home to remind the user to purchase. The app might prompt the user with a relevant coupon for items in the store and on their list.
#4) How mobile strategy in store likely to change over the next couple of years
Skyhook believes that mobile strategies will evolve with location based context and personas to offer modes for different locations and app experiences. So for instance, a retail app can provide “Store-Mode”, an interface that will automatically turn on as a user walks into the brick-and-mortar location.
When users are in the store making decisions, they want different content and experiences than when they are browsing products at home. Users may do some in-app shopping while not in the store, and add certain items to their favorites list. But once they walk into the store, the app could pull from the user’s “favorites” list to show them which of their favorite items were on sale in this particular store to incentivize them to buy today. Or the app can show users where the items on their list appear in the store with a store layout display map built in. There are many possibilities to enhance the in store experience.
