subject: The Popularity Of Mobile Apps Continues To Increase [print this page] A director of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has called on businesses in Wales to look carefully at the opportunities being presented as a result of increased smartphone use.
Smartphone ownership is growing at an impressive rate and Richard Houdmont, the CIM director for Wales and Ireland, believes the smartphone revolution should be a concern for businesses in the country.
Writing in the Western Mail newspaper, reflects on whether companies should be looking to capitalise on the technological advancement that has led to more and more people using iPhone and Android applications on their phone to purchase goods and services.
He said: "Considering that an item is sold on eBay Mobile every two seconds and MediaMind reported that the average click-through rate (CTR) on mobile banners on their network was more than eight times as high as the CTR for standard online banners, and then the answer is yes, we should be concerned."
Mr Houdmont went on to say that any businesses considering hiring an Android programmer or iPhone freelancer to create an app for their company, need to consider how it will benefit current and potential customers in order for it to be a success. He said: "An app must offer something unique from its website equivalent and stand out from the thousands of others in the marketplace in order to be a success.
According to new research carried out by Acquity Group, one in four retailers now has at least one mobile app, so it definitely seems that businesses are getting involved.
As part of its third annual Mobile Audit, the digital marketing company looked at the rate of mobile adoption across Internet Retailer's Top 500 companies. Businesses including Amazon, Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble were found to be leading the way.
The survey found that the number of retailers with a specific mobile sites increased by 210% over the past year, from 12% in 2010 to 37% this year. The percentage of retailers with a mobile app increased by 278% over the past 12 months, from 7% in 2010 to just over 26% this year.
Robert Barr, Senior Vice-President at Acquity Group, suggested freelance jobs specialising in mobile app development will continue to grow, with an increasing number of companies looking to find a freelancer in this field specifically. He said: "Companies are still experimenting with the development of mobile apps. While many brands have launched mobile-optimised sites at this point, apps have yet to reach full adoption with retailers."
Financial services firm Prudential is an example of a company that has launched new mobile tools in a bid to make it simpler for clients and business partners to access the firm's products and services.
Prudential Retirement, part of the Prudential Financial group, has unveiled a new website optimised for mobiles, which will allow account access to 2.5 million of its retirement plan participants whilst they're on the move.
In addition, the company has invested in mobile phone app development and has launched a Retirement Income Calculator app for smartphones, designed to allow users to calculate their estimated monthly retirement income need.
