Blockchain to M-commerce: Trends dominating the app industry in 2018
Blockchain to m-commerce – these are the trends dominating the app industry in 2018.
If you believe the mobile app industry has already reached its peak, think again. Custom application development companies have been busy creating the next generation of smart apps, transforming apps from a “handy digital tool” to an extension of our very being.
With this list of mobile app development trends, you’ll know what’s worth implementing into your web or mobile app.
First things first, app store purchases are declining… for now
Just under a year ago, the US Mobile Apps Report came out saying that 57% of consumers time using digital media was spent in apps. Good news, right? Unfortunately, this report served up some not-so-good-news too. Apparently, a majority of users – approx. 51% – download 0-1 apps a month. Despite this report, Apple announced at the end of 2017 that Apple app developers generated more sales than McDonalds, bringing in $26.5 billion in revenue for 2017. It’s important to note that the overall growth rate has slowed down since 2016, when developers earned 40% more than they had a year earlier. What this is telling us is that users are more selective in the apps they choose to download, opting for quality over quantity.
Mobile payments
You’ve seen it advertised everywhere and now consumers are finally starting to get behind the m-commerce tech. Instead of using credit or debit cards, consumers use apps on their phone to pay for in-store items
According to the latest stats on Statistica, there are 3.7 million mobile payment users in Australia, with 25-34-year-olds dominating the space. The average transaction per user in the Mobile POS payments segment amounts to $737.30 in 2018.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a secure way of transferring data through peer-to-peer networks that guarantees the integrity of the information as it is moved around. It’s typically used to transfer financial information without the need of a central server. The application behind services such as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies uses distributed computing to store massive amounts of data across the millions of machines that use it.
Like anything that is mined, digitally or physically (i.e. mining for iron ore), crypto mining uses an incredible amount of energy. Mining bitcoin uses high-end computers that draw a lot of electricity to run and cool, sometimes costing more to run than what the user can recoup. The Economist recently released a report: Why bitcoin uses so much energy which claimed bitcoin mining around the world uses more energy than Ireland. Bitcoin then hit back at the report saying it was an unfair comparison, claiming Ireland GDP is less than all the bitcoins mined per year.
App chatbots
The popularity of chatbots is relatively new, with the big players – Facebook, Samsung, Amazon and Apple – launching messaging platforms using bots only in the last couple of years. Since then, they’ve sprung up on every website. You can order pizza, schedule a meeting and find love using chatbot technology. There are two types of chatbots – ones that use machine learning and ones that are rule-based. They’re not limited to web browsers, however with more chatbots showing up in mobile apps. They’re easy for developers to code too, since they don’t have to worry about complex UI design. If you’re interested in learning more about chatbots, delve into our blog: Should you use a chatbot for your ecommerce website?
Android instant apps
This is the next evolution in app discovery and will hopefully address the concern that people aren’t downloading apps like they used to. Android Instant App gives power to the user, allowing them to view content without actually installing the app. It offers the ability to modularise an app so that users only load the portion of the app that they need at the moment they need it. This type of technology is great for users who are concerned about mobile storage space.
The next big thing is always coming in the tech industry. If you’re looking for an experienced custom application development company in Brisbane, give iFactory a call today to discuss your vision.
