Report: To App Or Not To App

The rise of smartphones, tablets and faster data networks ensures the apps craze won’t dissipate anytime soon. Already some 40 billion apps have been downloaded to date from the App Store and Google Play. On top of that, people spend more time with apps than the mobile Web and app users tend to be younger and more affluent than the overall population. So what’s not to like for marketers?

A new Forrester study points out that while consumers may be embracing apps more than ever, it doesn’t mean they want to download your branded app. The report, “Mobile Apps for Marketing,” authored by analyst Melissa Parrish, lays out a number of factors to consider before pushing ahead with app development. For one thing, the reach of apps isn’t as wide as it looks at first glance. Only 43% of U.S. mobile users have any apps on their phones, amounting to 39% of all online adults. The number of tablet app users is just 9%. And only certain app categories -- such as weather, navigation, social networking and games -- are used by more than half of app users.