What’s the one thing you’d be lost without? No, it’s not Zoom and it’s definitely not your air fryer. It’s your phone. Mobile controls every aspect of our lives. It’s our alarm clock, primary form of entertainment, tool connecting us to our loved ones, and so much more. I can safely say we would all be lost without our mobile devices. App Annie recently came out with their State of Mobile 2021 report, and to no one’s surprise, they’re predicting our addition to mobile will only continue to become stronger.
It’s Not Just a Millennial Thing
Your parents (and even your grandparents) can no longer make fun of you for being addicted to your phone. Well, they still might poke fun of you, but you can drag them under the bus too. Being inseparable from your mobile device is no longer a Millennial or Gen Z thing. Everyone is having a hard time putting down their phones.
Since the world went digital last year, the list of things to do has drastically decreased. Sure, we can make banana bread, tackle a DIY home renovation, and take up painting, but ultimately, we’re going to default to scrolling on our phones.
On average, we spend about four hours a day on our phones. That’s a lot of scrolling. But it’s not just the teens who can’t seem to close out of TikTok and Snapchat. App Annie reported Gen X and Baby Boomers had a 30 percent increase in year-over-year growth. Looks like other generations are having a hard time parting ways from their devices too.
What Are You Looking At?
I’m always curious about what people are doing on their phones. Are others doomscrolling through Twitter as often as I am? Or maybe they’re trying to better themselves this year by learning a new language on Duolingo? Luckily for me, App Annie solved all of my burning questions.
Apps are the star of the show when it comes to mobile, especially after iOS 14 was released last year and users could customize their app icons. Thankfully, we’re past posting pictures of our home screens on Twitter; however, we have not grown tired of social media quite yet. To no one’s surprise, TikTok was the most popular app in the United States in 2020, with a close second being Facebook (which further proves our point mobile is not just for young people).
We know video is a popular form of entertainment on mobile, but sometimes marketers forget the extent of our obsession. With TikTok’s popularity rising, and other social media platforms following suit, video will continue to dominate mobile in 2021. So much so, that App Annie predicts video app downloads will increase by 85 percent in the U.S. this year.
Across All Industries
We get it, people love their phones. But what about industries? What trends are they seeing on mobile? For retail and restaurants, mobile was the MVP of 2020. Unlike most people, mobile eCommerce had a phenomenal 2020. During the 2020 holiday shopping season, mobile shattered records left and right, as it hit an all-time high of 40 percent of total online spending on Black Friday alone.
Besides online shopping, eating was another popular pastime of consumers last year. I mean, what else are we supposed to do when we’re at home? Quick service restaurants (QSRs) have also seen a lot of success due to mobile. Take Chipotle for example. Not only is the brand’s TikTok content par to none, but their digital sales are something of note. Chipotle’s digital sales were expected to hit $2.5 million dollars in 2020, thanks to their mobile marketing strategy.
Increased users on mobile aren’t just for QSRs and retail. The financial industry also partook in witnessing just how powerful mobile can be. Contactless payments were at the forefront of consumers’ minds which led to an increase of 45 percent of time spent in financial apps.Marketers, Take Note
Mobile is the channel where consumers want to hear from your brand. With 2021 just beginning, now is the perfect time to invest in mobile. Our mobile dependency will only continue to grow; the brands with a strong mobile apps strategy will emerge as the 2021 victors.
Mobile apps will continue to play a large role in our lives. If your brand struggles with engagement on mobile, try switching to a Progressive Web App (PWA) this year. Consumers prefer them over native mobile apps, and they’re proven to yield better results.
Ready to start off the year strong with your mobile strategy? Try building a PWA for free on the Lumavate platform today.
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