In this edition of Mobile Monday, we are examining the latest reports from eMarketer and TUNE to uncover how the fight for time spent is likely to affect publishing strategies in the years to come.
Time Spent In-App
It’s no secret that people spend a vast majority of their time on mobile devices within apps. In fact, according to recent comScore figures, 62% of all time spent with digital media is spent on mobile devices, and nearly 90% of that is spent in-app. In short, 55% of all time spent with digital media is spent in-app. Why is this? As noted by Dan Bishop of Experian Consumer Services noted in a recent TUNE study, “as we sit today the app experience if far better than the web experience”.
Expectations for Publishers
However, how much time can an individual publisher expect to captivate a given user for? To answer that question — among others, — TUNE released a report entitled Marketing’s New Frontier: The convergence of mobile web and app.
In the report, it is clear that while users are spending 90% of their digital media within apps, 80% of that time is spent with only a few of their favorite apps. Thus, if a publisher is able to make a given user’s shortlist of favorite apps, that publisher will captivate the user for nearly a quarter of their digital time spent. If not, the publisher will be lucky to get 1% of their time.
It’s a telling divide, and one that may continue to influence app and web publishing strategies for the years to come as publishers seek to hook users.
Becoming a Favorite
So what can publishers do to better hook users and become a favorite app? One answer may be found in the the reason apps are more popular than mobile web. As Peter Dolukhanov of Nice noted, “with apps, it is a more personal experience.” Of course, the expectation for personalized content has been long discussed, so what else can a publisher do?
In short, the experience needs to be frustration-free. While there are numerous reasons a user might uninstall an app, first step in avoiding this is ensuring a snappy user experience with quickly-loading content. According to the TUNE report, 47% of users turn to an app when they want information quickly. While this isn’t a majority, only 17% preferred mobile sites to mobile apps. Thus, if a publisher wants to keep a user coming back, the app experience needs to be convenient.
Beyond loading quickly, the publishers need to provide a cohesive user experience. As noted by Jillian Ryan of eMarketer in their new report entitled B2B Mobile Marketing and Advertising 2017: Chasing the Ever-More Mobile Buyer, mobile users “expect their journey across all devices to be seamless,” but it often isn’t. In fact, according to the study, while 68% of marketers surveyed in 2016 admitted that understanding a user’s journey on mobile was important, only 62% invested in mobile-friendly designs for their web properties.
The result? It’s likely that 38% user interactions with publishers on mobile web are frustrating. If the web experience is frustrating, the user is hardly in the positive mindset to commit further by installing the publisher’s app. Without the install, that publisher is unlikely to become a favorite or win the fight for time spent.
About AdColony Mobile Mondays
Mobile Monday examines the latest news, trends, and developments in mobile apps, tech, and advertising. Do you have a story to share for the next Mobile Monday? Tweet it to @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
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