Positive stats, global outreach, and affordability.
Before we start to explore the reasons to have a mobile app for a business, let’s have a look at a few statistics from last year.
A few statistics to get you going
E-commerce goes wild during the last few weeks of a year due to Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year. People go on a shopping spree from mall to mall and store to store. Last year’s statistics were astounding and encouraged businesses to explore the exciting opportunities offered by mobile apps. According to IBM the year 2013 saw an upward trend in all aspects of e-commerce sales. The analytical report suggests 25.8% of online sales for Thanksgiving, and 21.8% for Black Friday were via mobile.
Cyber Monday 2013 was the biggest online shopping day in the history of the United States. The sales figure reached the highest point and beats last year statistics by 20.6%. According to IBM’s Black Friday Report the average order value was this cyber Monday was $ 128.77, and the volume of online shoppers was way up, thanks to mobile devices which constitute 17% of the total online sales.
Top 5 cities for online shopping
New York beats every other city in the United States for online shopping trend in last year Black Friday sales. The other four cities were Atlanta, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. So if you want to get your sales across the country or even globally then mobile apps is your chance to spread your reach in the year 2014.
Why a mobile app?
Online shopping is a part of an American lifestyle. According to an article on Forbes 55% of consumers showed intent to shop online. The year 2014 will see many more mobile devices and people will opt for smart apps to do daily tasks. Custom mobile apps for businesses will also get a performance enhancement through technologies like Near Field Communication (NFC) and iBeacon. A simple mobile app can potentially cover aspects like marketing, sales, and brand building.
Mobile apps can cover a long range of business functions and processes. They can help with inventory management, tracking shipments, manufacturing processes, and few-taps payment solution to name just a few. This is just a glimpse of what mobile apps can do for your business. All these possibilities come with affordability and customization options.
The costs of a customized business mobile app
To consider the estimated cost of a customized business mobile app, consider the comprehensive survey conducted by AnyPresence which describes several interesting factors related to mobile app development. More than half of the respondents indicated the average cost of initial development of a typical mobile application was around $50,000 for a single app.
Average cost of development of a typical mobile application (Data Source: AnyPresence Survey)
However this is just an estimated cost and actual price for a business mobile app may differ due to features, functions, and time. It is important to realize that whatever the development would cost, the mobile app for your business will increase your customer base, productivity, and ultimately increase the sales figures.
Conclusion
Mobile apps may add spice to your marketing approach and may increase sales figures. It is another approach to reach more people and engage an existing consumer base. The facts and figures from the year 2013 shows us what can be achieved through mobile apps. Get your business a mobile app to reach more people in the year 2014.
