The Instant Economy is here to stay. Your consumers, clients and prospects want instant access to everything from their mobile devices. Why should the app experience be anything less than instant?
With more than five billion mobile users worldwide, apps are continuing to evolve to meet consumer demand and behavior trends stemming from the Instant Economy. The next decade is poised to bring a new age of business app development and engagement: Instant Apps.
Instant Economy, Instant Apps
For the past 10 years, consumers have been actively incorporating apps into their lives. Opportunities to digitally engage through mobile continue to grow at record rates. In fact, in Q3 2019, there were nearly 2.5 million available apps.
The next evolution of the app is the Instant App: a way for consumers to try an app – when and where they need it. What does this mean for businesses? The creation of Instant Apps is directly related to how people fundamentally use apps. This next-gen app provides ways for people to try before they commit and build trust early in the customer journey.
What is an Instant App?
Android Instant App is Google’s solution to meeting people where they are: instant and non-committal. Available on Google Play, the platform has been continually growing since its launch and accounted for 36 percent of consumer spending on mobile apps in 2018.
Instant Apps allow people to use an app before making the commitment to a complete download on their mobile device. It also lets them complete a single task, such as finding a family-friendly restaurant, local hotel, or another quick and immediate need. The Instant App also helps to save screen space on their mobile device – which has become precious real estate.
The only requirement to use an Android Google Instant App is users must have Android 5 Marshmallow or higher.
Top 5 Things You Need to Know About Instant Apps
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Not all apps have an instant option – developers need to specifically create instant options for apps.
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Google Play has a select number of Instant Apps listed, but most people accidentally find them through a Google search.
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Instant Apps have a ‘Try Now’ button.
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They are non-committal ways for consumers to engage with your content that is growing in demand.
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Because they do not offer the entire app experience, they provide some but not all app functionality. In addition, they can be a bit slow to initiate – we expect this to change as this new app format evolves.
Digital Mobile Experiences Build Brands
Instant Apps are a way for consumers to hit the ground running with what they need when they need it – positioning your company as responsive and helpful. And with significantly high consumer demand, apps will continue to evolve. The total number of app downloads in 2018 hit 194 billion; up from 178 billion in 2017.
Digital mobile developers who specialize in consumer trends and the latest technologies provide a lens into what is possible and help clients cut through the digital noise. Teams that are trained in these new innovative technologies help executives improve customer engagement or serve as part of a broader go-to-market campaign.