Xpertyst / July 22, 2020

HOW THE COVID 19 IS GOING TO CHANGE THE MOBILE APP FEATURES?

The entire world is going through the novel coronavirus pandemic crisis. Countries have enforced lockdowns, refraining citizens to come out of their houses unless they have to get essential commodities. Staying inside the house, social distancing, and not coming in contact with others is the new normal and we have to learn to live with it until the cause is removed from the root. 

In these times, the only thing that has come to the rescue is a mobile phone. People have turned to their gadgets for all sorts of entertainment, work, and infotainment. These are handy and the best medium to stay connected with people. Although, people have been asked to maintain social distancing all over the world, they can stay in touch and feel close to each other through their mobile phones. 

Trends of Online delivery apps

COVID-19 has led to people becoming hoarders, getting all the essential items from the grocery stores, leaving nothing for the others. We can take the example of the United States here when people started buying toilet papers and other edible items like pasta, and there was nothing left on the shelves. Buyers who were late to the stores ended up empty baskets as nothing was left on the shelves. This is when the buyers turned to online shopping and started ordering groceries online. Online shopping apps like Shipt, Instacart  and Drizly saw a relatively high spike. To make such online delivery apps, Xpertyst provides android app development services. Let’s take a look at some online shopping apps that have been doing exponentially well since coronavirus seeped into our society.

• Instacart, one of the vastly used app saw another hike in the number of downloads in March. The downloads jumped to an all-time high in February when the app install count crossed 51 percent. Another 49 percent rise in downloads was seen again in March.

• Let’s take the second case of Target owned app called Shipt. This app also like Instacart saw a growth of 34 percent in February, 2020 and a further rise of 37 percent of installs in the first three weeks of March.

The people of the U.S., were not only getting their groceries delivered, but they also started using food delivery apps to get food delivered to their houses from the restaurants, rather than going and picking it up themselves. The major food delivery apps that witness a substantial rise in downloads included the likes of Doordash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and postmates.

Take a look at the graphic representation of the growth of these apps:

Trends of entertainment apps

While the population is stuck at home and doing nothing as of now, there is no source of entertainment for them. Earlier, they could go out and enjoy their evening with friends and family. Now they have all turned to online apps, that provide entertainment. It is safe to say that music apps, like Wynk, Gaana, Spotify are among others that have a high number of installations in this period. 

Meanwhile, the music streaming apps that are thriving during these tough times include Musi, Grovepad, young radio, and DrumPad. 

Trends seen in social media apps

Social media is one of the easiest and most used ways to stay connected with people, personally and professionally. People have been turning to these apps in times of coronavirus. From TikTok to Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram, there has been an enormous spike of 23 percent in the month of January in the U.S. alone. 

Look at the percentage increase of the installs of each popular social media app:

• Talking about the world-famous app TikTok, the app saw a spike of 32 percent in the new number of installs during the first three weeks of March. 

• Snapchat was up 49 percent during the same period of time.

• Instagram also witnessed a huge surge in the number of downloads, which was 48 percent in February and 25 percent in the first three weeks of March.

When compared, social media apps saw a much higher percentage rise than entertainment apps. 

Take a look at the graphical representation of growth in social media app installs:

Trends in the downloads of video apps

Who doesn’t like to watch an engaging video in their free time? YouTube is like a sensation, letting anyone watch videos for free. Having considered one of the biggest video apps in the world, the app saw a huge surge in the installs in these few months. Other video apps that have seen significant growth include the likes of Hulu, Netflix, Pluto TV, and Tubi TV, with a growth percentage of 33 percent. 

Fitness apps

Are you also one of those, who have been missing out on their workout sessions and is feeling the guilt of not being able to work out at home? Well, it is because of people like these that the fitness apps have seen in big growth in the number of downloads. People are not only downloading these apps but are also paying for their workout regimes. The evolution of home fitness has made people realize that they don’t need to pay hefty amounts at the gyms, as they are capable enough of taking care of their fitness themselves at home. 

With health and lifestyle taking the front seat in everyone’s lives in these modern times, people have gradually become more conscious about their workout routines. They don’t want to miss out on a single day routine. While they cannot take the help of their fitness instructors at this point in time, they have turned to apps for support. 

Take a look at the growth of these apps in the Indian market during COVID-19:

Apart from all these diverse sections of the app, there are applications that have been designed to help people work efficiently from home. For instance, online meeting apps have come into being to make it easy for a large group of people to connect online all at once. One of the most successful work from the home app is the Zoom meeting app, which lets a large group of people come online at the same time and allows them to do a video conference or a video meeting. Teachers have been taking online classes and are able to teach a large number of students all at once. 

The new novel coronavirus has led to people working from their home spaces. Since lockdown has been imposed in most parts of the country, people cannot travel to their workplaces and have to work from home. In such times of crisis, mobile applications have come to their rescue, allowing them to stay connected with their colleagues and clients.

Let’s take a look at some important applications that have been growing and doing good business at this time. 

• The most popular, or one can say the app that almost every working person has downloaded in these times, Zoom has outshined every other app. It increased to 57 percent in February and to a whopping 266 percent in the first three weeks of March.

• The not so old app Skype for Business also saw a great deal of jump in its downloads. The increase in its installs went up to 51 percent in February and 66 percent in the first three weeks of March.

• Next comes the GoToMeeting app, which again saw a significant rise of 53 percent in February and 85 percent in March.

How the COVID-19 is going to change the Mobile app Features?

Technology and apps have got a new life from here on. It’s been long since we used to step out without a mast and greet our friends with hugs, and all the new things that are seeping into our daily lives is here to stay, being the new normal. Everything has become virtual and all the love that we want to shower on our loved ones is being done virtually. 

Take a look at the new ideas people have come up with to keep the ball rolling:

• Since we have friends that are now long lost, apps have come up with ideas to arrange house parties on video apps, where you can connect with a number of people at the same time and enjoy their company. From virtual wedding to virtual baby showers and birthday parties, everything has become a part of the digital world. Social distancing has brought everyone close on social media.

• Job interviews are no more held in person, as people are now applying for jobs like as they used to before, but are being interviewed on video apps. Video conferencing has also become the new big deal in the industry.

• Movies are now being live-streamed for movie buffs as they cannot step out, or go to the theatres like old times to enjoy a movie.

• Even the celebrities are coming close to their fans as they are doing live concerts from home, which is being viewed by millions of people from the comfort of their homes.

People have started using even those apps, that were never used before. For instance, elderly people who had not been using mail have switched to emails from other apps. Boundaries between work and home is slowly blurring, making everything convenient and easy at home.

Mobile app features that will help in mobile app success

Ever since the havoc of Coronavirus has been created, people have turned to certain apps to stay connected and informed about one’s health. According to data collected worldwide, the average weekly time spent in apps grew by about 20 percent in the first quarter of 2020. This shift of people towards technology has given a new area of advancement to companies. 

• All companies should follow the online trend and try to respond as quickly as possible to meet public demand. Let’s take the example of fitness apps that are thriving at this time and are coming out successful. One of the most successful fitness app is that of yoga called “Down Dog.” It is giving free access to all of its other apps to its users, on the purchase of one app. Apart from this, the app has also worked on its assistance efforts and are providing quick and secure assistance to its users. The founder of the app, Carlos Ormachea said, “France, Italy, and Spain need a lot of help right now. And because we dynamically generate the content, it was relatively quick to translate all of it. More than 400,000 people have downloaded our app in those areas in the last few weeks.”

• All companies should rethink their role and offer services best suited to the needs of its users. An educational tech application in Indonesia called “Ruangguru” started offering free online courses along with 30 GB data to the users, in partnership with a local telecom company. The goodwill of the company rose like anything when it was recognized worldwide in one of the addresses of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. 

• This is the time when food delivery apps are doing great, after a big downfall. As the lockdown is opening in certain countries, people have started ordering food, which is taking the delivery business a notch higher. 

In times like these social apps have become the basic need, or we can call it a necessity. It informs all users about what is happening around the world and helps them stay in touch with each other. However, there are certain features that should be kept in mind for the smooth functioning of these apps. Keep reading for these features:

• Adapting to the needs of new users is very important. The new features to be added to an app should be in retrospect of what the users are looking forward to at this point of time.

• Communicate all the changes to the user, that you are making to the app. A shift in the app functions might not be accepted by the users immediately, therefore, they should be told about the shift in advance so that they are mentally prepared for the same. 

• Help them track the COVID-19 positive cases near them. This will not only help them stay away from the infection but will keep them informed about the zones that should be best avoided.  

• Should give the numbers or the latest figures of coronavirus positive cases, so that they are well informed about the complications of going outside.

• Grocery delivery is a must-have feature for all apps. We have seen how the big names in the industry like Amazon, Paytm, and other gradually shifted to delivering only essential items to their customers. This helped them perform well, even during the times of pandemic, and come out victorious. When people were witnessing empty stacks at the grocery stores, online shopping sites came to their rescue.

Applications that became a big success during the pandemic

COVID-19 has contributed to the success of certain tech giants as their apps have performed significantly well in the past few months. These times have brought in certain changes in the way people were looking at apps and using them. This is a revolution of the tech industry and many Mobile app developers have revamped their apps to make them easier and more convenient to use. While there are companies that have hit the rock bottom and bid goodbye, letting go of their employees, there are others who have understood the market strategy and keeping their work in sync of the new norms of the industry. 

Take a look at the industries that have soared high during these times:

1. Grocery apps
2. Educational apps
3. Healthcare apps
4. Social media apps
5. Digital payment apps
6. Entertainment apps

Conclusion

COVID-19 has been in the world for quite some months now, but it has brought a major and visible change to the world of technology. Changes are being made in the work procedures and all other office work handling, people are becoming more dependent on the internet and on apps. From watching DIY tips to making online payments in the blink of an eye and conferencing with family or colleagues has become so easy. We might have never been so much dependent on technology and would have never made full use of mobile applications, as much as we are doing now. As soon as the pandemic gets over, businesses are going to come out glorious, doing very well in the online world.

This pandemic has brought a digital transformation, which is going to have a huge impact on how things work in the near future. The app popularity has grown leaps and bounds and there is nothing stopping the applications to perform better by each passing day. People have started becoming more dependent on the apps and the manual work is gradually decreasing, with everything coming online and in the form of mobile applications. Apps are going to be the next big thing in the world.

Xpertyst is a Mobile app development company and is developing different types of mobile applications from the last few years and have extensive knowledge of domain features, if you are looking for app development services, write us at [email protected].

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