Massive Retail Mobile App Opportunities

A new report from Xtreme Labs states that many retail brands are missing the boat on the mobile app opportunity. They say that 30% have no mobile apps available to users and that with retail brands offering mobile apps,  many are being scored low by shoppers. This offers a wide open space for savvy businesses to jump in a secure additional market-share with quality mobile applications for iPhone, Android and tablets.

While it is quite amazing that 30% of big name retailers don’t have mobile apps, it is equally amazing that those that do are getting a large number of complaints.  Apps like this just tell users to go somewhere else to do their shopping. A well designed and developed iPhone application or Android application will keep users in your store.

According to Xtreme Labs data,  mobile applications for the Top 100 Retail Brands averaged merely 2.9 out of 5 stars for iOS apps and fared even worse in the Android environment rating just  2.2 out of 5 stars.

Their data shows some great information for brands looking to build an app for their brand. Shoppers are looking for mobile apps to augment their in-store shopping experiences and these mobile apps need to work without crashing. A surprising 33% say app crashes of big retailer applications are an issue with Android apps and 23 percent state the same thing with iPhone applications. Additionally, consumers are looking for better features and better design.

But beyond just developing a better mobile app experience, users need to keep in mind where users will be using these apps. Consumers are using these apps and mobile web sites in-store and are increasingly shopping at stores that offer free WiFi over those that do not offer WiFi connectivity.

Looking at current trends and apps that are scoring well, there is a huge opportunity for savvy retails to augment their users shopping experiences and grab additional market-share with carefully designed mobile applications that include quality development.