Better user experience drives increase of time spent on apps
According to new statistics released by Finnish mobile analytics firm Zokem, mobile apps now account for 50% of all mobile data usage.
In a study which analysed the habits of 10,000 smartphone users and the usage of 6.5 million apps in 16 countries during 2009 and 2010, Zokem found that while the web browser was still the single most popular app, other applications are rapidly catching up.
Web browsing accounts for 54% of time spent on mobile applications and 50% of mobile data consumption. By contrast, other native apps now consume 46% of time spent using applications and match web browsing for data consumption.
The study also found that mobile users with a data plan access their mobile web browser at least once a month and spend an average of 300 minutes browsing the internet on their mobile device, an amount of time comparable to that spent making calls.
Zokem’s statistics also shed light on the usage of social media apps. The study found that while Twitter’s app has a smaller monthly user base than the Facebook app – 4% vs 12% – users spent 311 minutes per month on Twitter, and only 188 minutes of Facebook.
According to Zokem’s founder, Dr Hannu Verkasalo, there is a shifting pattern of usage, moving away from web browsing and towards apps. Dr Verkasalo attributes this to the fact that apps provide a better user experience when compared to performing the same task through the web browser.
This point was reinforced recently when Apple recently revealed that as many apps had been downloaded from its App Store in 2.2 years as songs from iTunes in 5 years. Apple also said that the two curves are likely to reach the same height before the end of the year, namely 13 billion downloads each.
Marketers are already capitalising on this trend with in-app ads and ad-subsidised apps driving growth in the mobile advertising.
But with a range of smartphone platforms, the only problem for developers remains the choice of which to develop apps for – and which not to invest in.
