With the proliferation of mobile apps and with new developers sprouting up every day, what is it that can help an app break away from the Flipkart?

1. Marketshastra Round2

2. IMPLICATIONS : What are the implications of proliferation of apps in app stores today?
With a large number of popular apps in
the same category, there is
unprecedented competitiveness in the
market1
11070 10586 10522 10334
7128
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Number of apps with >50k downloads
Top 5 categories on Play Store™ by
number of apps with >50k downloads
~11.17% of all apps in the Play Store™
are either undeveloped or erratic1
Key Inferences
App stores are flooded by developers who are publishing new apps every day2
160%
200%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
iOS Android
YoY Growth Rate (# of
apps) as of 2014
180%
160%
150%
160%
170%
180%
190%
iOS Android
YoY Growth Rate (# of
developers) as of 2014
280,000
390,000
0 200000 400000 600000
iOS
Android
# of developers
1.6 million apps – Android
1.5 million apps – iOS 3
Sources: 1. – AppsBrain Statistics ; 2. – AppFigures Statistics ; 3. Statista Statistics ; 4. Primary research, see spreadsheet of responses
Play Store™ has ~290k apps with
average ratings of 4 or below
As more apps are developed, app
indifference is setting in, where most
apps go unnoticed or are commonly
under-utilized.
56% of the smartphone users
reported to have more than 20 apps
in their phone and only 12% claimed
to use more than 20 apps regularly4
(in a week), clearly showing signs of
app indifference.
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario
Current App Market Scenario(1/2)
App-development
today involves
minimal technical
expertise
The growing
smartphone market
makes development
lucrative
Disrupting the
market is nearly
impossible with
available technology
Surviving in the
existing market
needs high
responsiveness
Soon, most “me-too”
apps will fade with
emergence of clear
category leaders
The average
consumer is
becoming more
tech-savvy

3. SUCCESS FACTOR : What are the factors that affect the success of an app?
Current App Market Scenario(2/2)
App-differentiation and development
of USP
• Lack of market research
• Developer loses focus on problem-
solving, in awe of his creation
Carving out a niche positioning is necessary
for success in the fragmented app market,
like Hike focuses on free SMSes
1
Timing of release of apps
• Most apps are released without proper
testing, leading to poor initial customer
review
Focus should be on launching a tested, well-
developed version of the product, rather
than on moving in early in an already
crowded market
2
Security and privacy
• Use of insecure 3P frameworks may
cause phishing and ambiguous crashes
• Personal / app usage information
sharing makes people uncomfortable
Secure, though cost-heavy development is
sustainable
Look for alternative business models,
beyond selling BigData analytics feed
3
Consumer requirement identification
• Most apps address ‘nice-to-have’ needs
and with storage space constraints,
people don’t download these apps
Develop a ‘must-have’ need based core
competency for the app, around which
background features may be added
4
Responsiveness - update frequency
• User reviews post-launch and technical
expertise of the development team in
meeting the needs is crucial
Develop a sustainable and modifiable code
with a team that is prompt in responding to
development requirements
5
Factor Problems and Root Causes Solution
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario

4. DAWNOF THEFUTURE(1/2)
FUTURE OF APPS : A bubble that is waiting to burst or a fad that is here to stay??
The estimated world
population vs mobile device
population by the year
2016*
7.3B
world
10B
Mobile
device
For every 1 person in the
world, we would have 1.4
mobile devices
50
75
268
0
100
200
300
Jul-13 Jun-14 ^2017
App downloads (in
billions)*
^ - expected
A 560% increase in one and
half years in terms of app
downloads
11.4
24.5
0
10
20
30
2014 2016
Expected Revenue
through apps (in billion
dollars)*
A 215% increase in two
years in terms of expected
revenue
According to these data, the future of mobile apps looks bright and increasing at a healthy pace.
THE HARD
FACTS
The other side of the coin
Acquiring the first few thousand
users are easy, but post that it
costs app startups anywhere
between 250K to a million USD#,
just to make a play in the app
based services space.
*Source - http://businessdegrees.uab.edu
There aren’t that many app-
focused incubators anymore.
Also, the ones that are present
are indistinguishable from other
accelerators. This marks the end
of low-level entry opportunity.
Start up issues
“Facebook will be the gateway for content, and Google will be the gateway for transactions in the future.
Content is useful and helping users find that is interesting. But if you can enable a transaction, well, you’ve hit a
goldmine.”
- Vijay Anand, founder and CEO of The Startup Centre
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario

5. FUTURE OF APPS : A bubble that is waiting to burst or a fad that is here to stay??
With increase in the review rates by app
users and geo-targeted push
notifications, app marketers could step
up their game with increased
personalization. Also, with more
sophisticated tools for collecting and
analyzing in-app data, they are getting to
know their users preferences and are
much more empowered to tailor
messages to increase app usage.
Productivity apps Immersive appsUtility apps
OUR TWO CENTS
REVIEWS AND PERSONALIZATION : VITAL FOR SUCCESS UTILITY APPS : THE FORGOTTEN HERO
VIDEO MARKETING : ‘KILLING’ IT NICELY INTERNET OF THINGS : IS IT A THREAT TO APPS?
With video previews being the new ‘IN
thing’ in Apple’s app store, we predict that
we might see a full video adoption for
app marketing. Looking at the leader in the
video streaming market, YouTube,
the mobile traffic is expected to hit 50-
60% , with 98% of watching video on
their smartphone. The video ad market is
expected to hit $2.7B by 2017, YouTube will
be a key platform for advertisers for apps.
Fitness trackers. Smart watches. Health monitors.
The wearables got a lot of attention this year. The
Internet of Things (IoT) has already taken off, but
it is the future of IoT that is the concern.
From innovations like Google Glass and the
connected car, to the slew of new smart
watches, the future of mobile apps looks
to integrate them seamlessly into our lives. So, are
apps dead? Certainly not. Is the context of app
usage changing? Yes.
Utility apps are found in every mobile
phones and most mobile devices nowadays
comes with many implicitly installed utility
apps. Tapping into utility apps and making it
upgraded could draw traction to it and help
in increasing app downloads in future.
DAWNOF THEFUTURE(2/2)
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario

6. MARKETING: PRE-LAUNCH PHASE
Microsite containing USPs of the app and minimum interactive
features
Low investment in market research and competitor analyses
Development blog with regular updates about versions-in-progress
of the app
Identifying niche bloggers and social network admins who would
mention/write about the app
Rewarding active beta testers and offering them early sign-ups
Absence of a feedback loop of beta testers and early app users
Using unique keywords for the app name
App store optimization
Absence of a realistic release date
Absence of a precise and lucidly detailed description
Absence of organic acquisition of users
Lack of search engine marketing and absence in mobile
advertisement platforms
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario
SUCCESSOF AN APP (1/3)
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3
4
5
6
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2
3
4
5
6

7. Coexist, not compete
Offer services that current apps offer in a
bigger, better package
Engage potential customers on the microsite
with interactive features and experience
Provide sneak peaks, previews, invite-based
downloads, teaser videos for exclusivity
Invite tech reviewers and blogs to review the
new app – the good and the bad both
Build in social sharing so users can brag
about any new experience with the app
Encourage feedback from customers and
beta testers and incorporate modifications
More than a complete package Encourage users to brag
Microsite Matters Rave reviews Heed the Feedback
MARKETING: Launch Phase
SUCCESSOF AN APP (2/3)
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario

8. MARKETING: POST LAUNCH PHASE
Analyze the number of users who retain
the app after a month of the release to
compare it with predicted figures during
pre-launch phase
Release regular updates to keep users
and customers engaged and interested
Work towards having some content
work offline in the app, This will help in
caching requests and responses which
will make it easier to retrieve and
present content to the user without
having to make a network request
Do not overdo push notifications. Too
many notifications can irritate users and
prompt them to uninstall the app. Work
towards having a robust customer
response and support system.
Send emails to potential reviewers,
users, customers and testers. Start with
friends of the current users. Encourage
users to email their reviews to their
friends list.
Analyze the customer journey map –
what is the maximum executable
activity on the app. Improve the value of
the app by providing more similar
actionable items.
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario
SUCCESSOF AN APP (3/3)

9. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade | Delhi
Dawn of the
Future
Success of an App
App-first, app
only or otherwise
App-market
scenario
APPlicable or not?
Why?
Increasing smartphone penetration and
internet user base
On an average, more time spent on
mobile than computers due to
increased mobility of devices
Slow internet in India and other
developing countries hampers website
browsing
APP-FIRST, APP-ONLYOR OTHERWISE
Upcoming
trends
Accelerated Mobile Pages, which display rich high
quality but light weight websites with improved
mobile web performance
WebLight, which helps in display of websites in
lower, easily loading quality
Aggregator apps which display preferred website
content and store them for offline views too
Why
not?
Decreasing free storage due to
explosion of apps in each category
Rise of app indifference due to
excess apps in every usable category
Additional download costs & apps
requiring constant data usage to stay
updated disillusions users
App-only strategy is only a fad, not a long term
solution as more apps lead to customer confusion and
disillusionment
Websites are both more developer-friendly and user-
friendly
With technology, websites are getting lighter on
mobile browsers. Also, internet is becoming faster.
OurTake

10. Thank you