While this would have been cause for concern even a year ago, it seems web is pushing out apps for some retailers, according to the latest research from Episerver.
According to the The State of Digital Commerce report, which examines the retail and ecommerce trends set to shape 2017:
Two-thirds (66 per cent) of marketing professionals no longer include mobile apps in their marketing campaigns. Additional findings suggest show that nearly a third (32 per cent) of top retailers don’t provide a mobile application across either iPhone or Android devices.
Commenting on these findings, David Bowen, Head of Product at Episerver, said, “In 2017, mobile is going to play a bigger role than ever before in both marketing and retail. Our research shows that smartphones have reached near-complete adoption in the UK, with ownership of tablet devices also now pushing 70 per cent. Yet while mobile promotions and commerce are going to be hugely important for today’s marketers, mobile apps are going out of style.
“This switch from mobile apps to in-browser experiences is largely being driven by the surge of mobile search and the introduction of Google’s AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) project. Retailers can also create ‘light weight’ webpages with all the functionality of a traditional mobile app.
“At the same time, consumers have grown accustomed to managing their lives through a web browser. As such, the idea of manually installing and launching a different app for each brand experience seems like an unnecessary hassle.”
Basically it can be seen as a sign that they do actually get mobile marketing and realise that app fatigue has hit consumers. Retailers are focusing on mobile web marketing. They are putting money into mobile advertising, content and search that will be discovered through a browser, not by swiping right and left a few times before their app logo comes into view. People are accustomed to searching online for relevant content, and the retailers’ reaction to apps would suggest they are happy to search on mobile too.
To find out the other top digital commerce trends for 2017, download the full Episerver Beyond Mobile: The Future of Digital Commerce report.