The role of an app?

The pandemic has changed the way we use mobile phones and there is a surge in mobile app download. With over 3.1 million apps available on Google Play Store and over 2 million apps on Apple App Store, there is an exponential growth in number of apps created over the last decade. The number of new apps launched every day is roughly about 3800 apps. But what makes the life of an app developer challenging is that, anecdotal evidence suggests that less than 0.01% of apps will find success. And this makes sense right!!! I mean think about the number of apps that we may have on our phone. And, anecdotal evidence suggests that most Indian smartphone users have on average roughly 40 apps. And, if you further analyze the number of times you open all the apps in a week, then the number will drop to not more than 15. Then the question that arises is, why do firms want to create apps, as most of the customers do not even use the app on a weekly basis let only daily basis. Furthermore, if you look at many Indian users, we are very particular about the apps that we download. For example, I know many who are Amazon prime customers, have Amazon prime video app downloaded on their phone, but do have the Amazon shopping app on their phone, as this may lead to either window shopping and/or impulse buying, and this may lead to excess time and money spent. In addition, there are brands such as Nike and Adidas launching their D2C (Direct to Consumer) channel via apps and I wonder, if I have just purchased a pair of shoes from the store, then even if I download the app, would I visit the app frequently. Though, I may not understand what is the firm’s objective of launching an app and spending huge budget on maintaining and creating an app, I do understand why many people download an app, and that is mainly because they can keep the app notification on, and when they are sitting with someone they don’t want to, you will hope and pray that it will buzz. :)