Mobile application development has completely changed the market and numerous industries can reap the benefits. In this rapidly evolving digital era, competition is strong and it’s important to stay ahead of the game. With mobile apps proving to be the latest trend, it’s little wonder why businesses of all sizes are starting to get appy.
We’ve already looked at the ways that the hospitality industry can benefit from apps, but in this blog we will take a look at how other sectors use mobile apps to their advantage.
Mobile Apps for Education
Mobile technology has evolved significantly since the birth of the smartphone, and this has made learning not only easy but affordable as well. In an e-learning age where students have access to free mobile apps more than ever before, the desire to learn and the ability to comprehend subject topics easily and quickly has soared as a result.
Educational institutions are also getting in on the app action. The University of Salford app has been designed to help students feel connected with the university while on campus and on-the-go. If students need to access their emails, their timetable or need help navigating their way around the university grounds, the app has everything they need.
[Image: University of Salford]
Mobile Apps for Finance
With recent technological advancements, the finance industry now has the ability to store and access huge amounts of data that is both sensitive and important. Companies and customers are able to perform a variety of transactions offering unsurpassed advantages like checking your bank balance and transferring money to a variety of accounts while on the go.
When it comes to finance apps, it’s not just online banking that benefits. Xero, an online accounting software company, helps build trustworthy relationships with small business clients through online collaboration. The app allows companies to generate invoices, manage payments and secures this information confidentially.
[Image: Xero]
Mobile Apps for Healthcare
Healthcare apps provide a speedy service to connect with patients, staff and management. Through an app, patients are able to communicate effectively with their doctor or a member of staff by directly accessing their information, undergoing a consultation or being able to see if their doctor is going to be late, for example.
Not only does this improve patient engagement, it also means individuals are more focused on improving their health. Patients often leave the hospital or the doctors with prescriptions and a load of information that can sometimes be difficult to retain, but imagine if all this information was stored on an app? Apps can remind patients to take medication, monitor side effects and manage prescriptions much more efficiently.
The NHS have introduced five apps to help launch its new digital tool library and some of them are already live such as the Babylon Health app which provides patient/doctor video consultation on demand through a mobile device.
The eRedbook app, set to be rolled out next April, will be given to parents who wish to record their child’s health and has been in development for the last two years.
[Image: Doctorpreneurs]
Mobile Apps for Retail
The mobile revolution has altered the way that retail businesses interact with their customers. You don’t need to rely on billboards or leaflets to advertise anymore and since apps help customers browse products more clearly and process transactions easily, it’s little wonder why mobile growth has changed consumer buying habits. With app spending on iOS set to increase by 86% by 2019, it’s little wonder why the retail sector is investing heavily in app development.
ASOS is a great example of this. 80% of ASOS’ UK traffic comes from a mobile device and shoppers spend an average of 80 minutes a month on the app. The company has even added a visual search feature to its iOS app where users can drag across an image of an outfit or garment from their phone or feed and it will display similar items that can be bought from within the app.
The aim here is simple: to make shopping easier, quicker and more accessible.
[Image: TechCrunch]
Mobile Apps for Entertainment
The entertainment industry’s use of apps is vast, offering users the chance to do everything from keeping up to date with TV shows and films to allowing them to play their favourite games whenever they choose. You no longer need to record your favourite TV show or wait for the weekend omnibus (Hollyoaks fans will relate) – instead, you can view your favourite programmes on demand directly from your mobile device.
Netflix, for example, enhances the visual experience and provides a clear and easy navigational system for the user. Netflix’s popularity has increased massively showing some of the very latest seasons of hotly anticipated TV shows and some old classics that you probably owned on VHS once upon a time.
[Image: idownloadblog]
Remember the days where you would wait hours for a song to download so you could transfer it onto your mp3? Fast forward to 2008 and the Spotify app was launched which completely changed the way we listen to music.
The handy playlist feature means you can store all your favourite songs according to genre so all you have to do is click play. The app itself will even suggest playlists that you might like based on what you have previously listened to and this data is stored in each individual’s Spotify end of year statistics. At the end of the year you can find out your most over played artists, bands, genres and how many minutes of music you have listened to. Having access to such a wide catalogue of music across a variety of mobile devices makes Spotify’s 60 million worldwide subscribers in July 2017 understandable.