Smartphones are fast becoming the digital gateway for consumers, replacing desktops and laptops as the preferred way for people to get online. Consequently, there’s a lot of hype around smartphone apps as a mobile marketing tool for retailers. But the growing preference for smartphones doesn’t mean apps are the best choice for mobile marketing. In fact, the evidence shows that text messaging is a far more effective choice.
A retail marketing strategy built around apps is dependent on users downloading and using the app. But a recent study found that 65% of smartphone users don’t download a single app during a given month. And while it’s true that people spend a lot of time interacting with their installed apps, it turns out that most of that time is spent focused on the user’s favourite app – It was found that users spend 42% of their total app time focused on their most-used app, e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.