Which is better for you now and in the future: a mobile app or a mobile website? We hope the following mobile statistics and facts will help you plan your mobile strategy for 2023.
Definitions for mobile apps and mobile websites
A website that is scaled and optimised for mobile devices is called a mobile website. Smaller fonts, fewer page elements, and less white space are typical design elements (when compared to desktop versions). A program that can be accessed online or locally is known as a mobile app.
Customers can experience better, more logical, and quicker user interfaces with mobile apps because they can make use of the device's native features.
You can read about the advantages and disadvantages of mobile apps and mobile websites in this article. In conclusion, although they must first be downloaded, mobile apps provide a better user experience and more features like push messages. Anyone with internet access can access mobile websites.
However, users' expectations aren't met by mobile websites' checkout process or overall experience. The highest shopping cart abandonment rate of all can be found on mobile websites.
Usage of mobile websites versus mobile apps
In America, 50% of people have tablets and 70% of people have smartphones. The majority of the digital traffic in the nation (71% of it) is driven by these mobile devices. These figures are not far behind or even surpass those of other developed countries: Mobile devices account for 75% of internet usage in the UK, 71% in Ireland, and 67% in Spain.
So how do users of mobile devices spend their free time? According to recent research, mobile users spend 90% of their time using apps and only 10% browsing the rest of the internet. The disparity is even more pronounced in the world of online shopping, where mobile app users spend an average of 201.8 minutes per month shopping, versus 10.9 minutes for website users.
Expect website usage to decrease further in the future as more and more e-commerce companies switch to web apps to serve customers.
User Preferences for Mobile Apps vs. Mobile Websites
Why do users occupy apps for such a long time? Customers prefer apps over mobile websites because of the user experience, speed, added features, and promotional offers. After news-apps, mobile apps for retail & e-commerce are launched the most frequently when compared to other industries. Millennials in particular favor in-app shopping: 58% of Millennials mentioned that they preferred making purchases through apps, and 61% of Millennials claim to have downloaded retail apps. According to Facebook, moms and people of color make up the majority of app users in addition to Millennials.
The number of visits to websites and apps on the 30 most popular mobile assets on the internet is roughly equal, with apps having a slight advantage. This occurs as a result of the fact that the majority of users first use a website (or web app) before downloading a company's native mobile app. When users reach a certain level of engagement, they switch to the app for its superior speed and user interface. In other words, apps are better suited for later stages of the funnel than mobile websites are for initial awareness and engagement.
Mobile website or mobile app? Conversion Comparisons
So how do apps perform in comparison to other e-commerce channels? Consumers are won over by mobile apps, according to Criteo's research. In comparison to mobile websites, people use apps to view 4.2 times more products per session. With 3x higher conversion rates than mobile sites and even 1,5 times more conversions per session than via desktop, apps also move more customers down the sales funnel.
Why do mobile apps outperform mobile websites?
We are all aware of how unpleasant it can be to make a purchase over the phone. The global abandonment rate increased to 73.4 percent due to the significantly higher rates of shopping cart abandonment on mobile sites compared to desktop sites. One of the causes is that when customers are required to enter their credentials during checkout, they become irritated and remove items from their shopping cart. Due to the user data that mobile apps save, this issue is resolved.
Mobile website or mobile app? Rate of Retention
Apps have a strong potential to increase customer loyalty, according to the blog Swrve, which recently dubbed them "the New Loyalty Cards." He was referring to the fact that apps have a number of important benefits and features that websites (including those that are mobile-optimized) do not. For instance:
These factors, along with a few others, account for 40.4% of all users purchasing more products from a brand after downloading its e-commerce app. Additionally, 45.9% decide to go to their physical store more frequently. These figures demonstrate that users use apps and act after visiting them. When compared to mobile websites, which only manage to keep 40% of visitors after the first few seconds, it is evident why apps are crucial for building brand loyalty.
Trends for Mobile Apps and Mobile Websites in 2022 and Beyond
Over 50% of e-commerce in developed nations is currently driven by m-commerce traffic. By the time the rest of the world catches up in 2023, mobile devices will be the primary force behind digital retail. By that time, mobile devices will be used to process an estimated $850 billion in annual sales. It's obvious that most of these sales will be driven by apps given that app usage accounts for 90% of all mobile uptime, which is more than the entirety of the browser-based internet combined.
However, it's still too early to declare the demise of websites that are mobile-friendly. According to my observations, the majority of users still use their browser to find stores. This implies that, despite the foregoing, a mobile-optimized website or top-notch mobile app will continue to be a valuable asset for the foreseeable future.
