Top 10 Mobile Trends 2015

Top 10 Mobile Trends 2015

For the 5th year in a row we are presenting our annual mobility trend

forecast. Previously we’ve ploughed through the analyst reports and

forecasts from industry leaders as a basis for the report and this year

we’ve upped the game. Throughout the year we’ve provided input to

and had discussions with Forrester, Gartner, Google, Facebook,

Microsoft and Apple as well as the top companies across retail,

finance, automotive, healthcare, construction and technology. We’ve

combined this with insights and experience from our own work

resulting in 10 predictions and what they mean for you.

“We are no longer in a mobile first world, we are in a mobile

only world”

Larry Page

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1. Get ready for Mobile 3.0The first generation of mobile apps were gimmicky branded apps

and games. The second generation was about mobilising existing

online services such as commerce, booking and media sites and

create new mobile only services such as Instagram and Uber. The

third generation of mobile services take a unique mobile approach

leveraging location, context, usage behaviour and data. Examples

include shopping apps that provide one user experience at home

where we are shopping for products online and another one in-store

where the customers are looking for the best offers and help to find

physical products. A great omni-channel experience requires a lot

more than a responsive web site.

“People do not put their phone down then go find a desktop to do something. They use their phone”

Paul Cousineau, Amazon Sep 2014

What this means for you

Most apps were developed based on existing online offerings,

customer insights & segmentation, backend limitations and without

leveraging data. With new insights and updated enablers, now is

the time for the next generation. Most organizations need to restart

their app efforts with user centric design and data powered solutions

applying uniquely mobile first methodologies. With the average

lifespan of an app being three years, it might be time to refresh your

current apps anyway.

Forget about looking at what functionality customers use today

on the web and design the service based on the needs and

requirements of a mobile user interacting with your organization and

services. Leverage context including location, situation and time as

well as data-driven insights from previous behaviour, interests and

usage patterns to personalise the user experience and anticipate

what the user needs before they know it.

Most organizations need to restart their app efforts with user centric design and data powered solutions applying uniquely mobile first methodologies.

2. Smartphone as the control hub for the Internet of ThingsThis trend has already begun but with the launch of a myriad of

wearable, connected devices and Internet of Things the smartphone

is becoming a control hub. Smartwatches, home appliances, home

entertainment systems, sensors, smart vehicles, security and more

are being controlled through our smartphone and more is yet to

come. Palo Alto based Mind Helix even allows you to turn your old

smartphone into a highly-capable home automation/ monitoring

system. Another app, Dormi, turns your Android phone into a baby

monitor.

“The growth in IoT will far exceed that of other

connected devices”

December 2014, Gartner


The smartphone is personal, always with us, secure, has more than

enough computing power and has mature developer environments

that allow any organisation to leverage the devices. Think about

how you can leverage the smartphone as a hub and IoT for your

organization to create new revenue streams, improve customer

experience, become more efficient or to simply try out new things.

Consider the impact of disruption from Internet of Things in your

space. Climate control start-up Nest is disrupting the space of home

appliances that companies such as GE, Whirlpool and Electrolux

have controlled for 50+ years. Automatic with their car plug-in has

managed to develop smart car functionality in a few years that the

automotive industry has struggled with for the last 10 years.

Think about how you can leverage the smartphone as a hub and IoT for your organization.

3. Mobile devices generate the majority of all web browsing and media consumptionIn 2014, mobile browsing made up 35-40% of all web browsing in

terms of time spent. However, transactions from mobile devices

were still low, representing only 15-20% of all transactions. The main

reason for this is that although most retailers currently offer mobile

friendly sites and apps, they were not designed for mobile from the

start. In 2015, mobile devices incl tablets will surpass the desktop

for the first time driven by organic growth, phablets and more mobile

friendly websites and services.

2015 Mobile 500 - https://www.internetretailer.com/2014/09/04/exclusive-mobile-now-primary-way-consumers-shop-online

“Retail has hit the mobile tipping point with over 50% of

traffic from mobile devices”

Comscore Sep 2014


For the first time, we are spending more and more time with our

mobile devices and less time in front of the desktop. This means that

most organisations which rely on online sales will have to revisit their

entire mobile presence to ensure that conversion rates are the same,

independent of channel.

A responsive website is not enough to offer a good omni-channel

experience. As per the mobile app 3.0 requirements, retailers need

to rethink the use case of mobile in shopping from a customer

perspective based on location, context and needs.

Analyse differences in conversion rates between different devices to

ensure you understand what the drop-off points are.

Interview customers about their behaviour.

Perform user testing where you ask a customer to make a purchase.

Take the results from the above tips and develop a plan to use

mobile to go beyond th current desktop experience.

Revisit your entire mobile presence to ensure that conversion rates are the same, independent of channel.


4. Phablets - Between smartphones & tabletsGlobal sales of phablets, smartphones with screens between 5.5 and

7 inches, will top sales of portable PCs in 2014 and surpass sales

of tablets in the next year, according to a new forecast from IDC. By

2018 phablets will narrow the gap with other smartphones with a

share of 24.4 percent compared to the smaller devices’ 51.2 percent

share, capturing second place in the category along the way.

We’ve already seen it with the Samsung Note, Nexus 5, iPhone 6

Plus and other devices and 2015 will be the breakthrough year for

Phablets. Smartphone screens are getting much bigger and users

require app developers to adopt their apps accordingly.

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/09/04/phablet-sales-to-top-mobile-laptops-this-year-tablets-in-2015.aspx

“Consumers are still trying to figure out what mix of devices and screen sizes will suit them best”

IDC Sep 2014


We need to rethink adaptive design based on screen size and

navigation as, for example, thumb-friendly can no longer be applied

as well as the bigger screens allowing for more information to be

displayed.

You should consider how the phone will be held, particularly where

the user’s fingers will be able to reach. If you have important

functionality controls at the top, it may be useful to move them

further down the screen to make it easier to tap them.

The “reachability” option included in the iPhone 6 also helps us

reach top areas of the app when using one hand and our thumb

to navigate. However, this option is only a quick fix and not a fully

explored solution when designing for bigger screens.

We need to explore the possibility of making solutions that are

not only responsive, but also adapt to the new and bigger screen

sizes- a hugely exciting area. We should also remember that with

“phablets” we should choose the best of each former separate world

of smartphones and tablets.

Additionally, look to release updates on existing apps to allow for the

best experience for users regardless of which screen size they

are using.

Rethink adaptive design based on screen size and navigation


5. Big data becomes integral to all mobile servicesIn the past year almost every organization has started big data

initiatives. In 2015, big data will stop being a separate initiative but

rather become an integral part of every online and mobile proposition

supporting all the trends in this analysis. To truly leverage all the

data and insights we are capable of collecting today, organizations

will use it to power applications providing more personalised

experiences, context aware services and targeted information and

offers just for me.

“Moment of truth applications will be key to drive consumer

purchase decisions”

Forrester


Ensure that you truly understand the customer, needs, behaviour

and that you develop and test the use cases based on this.

Make your mobile services data and fact driven but ensure that

you also include customer interviews and testing to evaluate the

perceived value to the customer. Use video recordings of customers

to share with everyone involved in the projects.

Measure, improve, test, measure, improve test. “Moment of truth

applications” are always a never-ending process to get right.

Make your mobile services data and fact driven


“Consumers are still trying to figure out what mix of devices and screen sizes will suit them best”

IDC Sep 2014

6. Wearables breakthrough2014 was predicted as the year of the smartwatch and wearables

by media and analysts everywhere but how many people do you see

wearing these devices? The launch of the Apple Watch in Q1 2015

and a broad portfolio of other wearable devices and sensors this

year will be the break-through. For starters, Apple is expected to sell

at least 15-20m devices in the first 3 months driven by Apple fans

and the appeal of being one of the first to own one.

These devices will be worn not only because they are useful, but as

fashion and trend statements. In addition to this we will see 100s of

other wearables and sensors ranging from health monitors, home

control devices and most likely, the consumer launch of Google

Glass.

“In 2015, wearables will hit mass market”

Forrester Nov 2014


Either take a lead in this space by taking a chance with piloting

and launching wearable apps now or wait for your competition

and adjacent industries to show the way and take a fast follower

approach. Brands that are willing to experiment will be perceived

as the innovators in terms of PR and marketing but if we look at

revenue opportunities and long term leadership, it most likely won’t

make any difference if you’re first.

Think about how to manage the fact that employees are more likely

to buy their own wearables than the company.

Brands that are willing to experiment will be perceived as the innovators

7. Nearables, sensors & invisiblesInvisibles surround us everywhere monitoring and tracking our

movements, behaviour and state of health. They are the bluetooth

beacons, wifi hotspots and other technologies that you don’t actively

connect to or that your phone connects to automatically. This tells

e.g. stores, fast food places and transportation companies the

frequency of visitors, what products and services they are looking at,

how long they remain and trends based on time of day, day of the

week and other insights.

“The next generation for computing is ubiquitous

connectivity”

FTC, Aug 2014


Hardware is cheap. Make sure your mobile teams have access

to the latest devices and sensors to test and understand the

opportunitiees.

Set aside time and budget to experiment.

Consider the approach and limitations in terms of privacy if you are

planning to track behaviour and location of employees.

Evaluate what information you can collect about your customers

from existing wifi hotspots and consider adding other types of

sensors such as Bluetooth beacons to improve data gathering. Start

with the basics. Test in one location first and roll it out across more

places depending on the results.

Evaluate what information you can collect about your customers


8. Healthcare takes a big mobile leap followed by even bigger privacy concernsThanks to huge revenue growth and productivity gains we will

continue to see big investments and phenomenal innovations in

this space ranging from big pharmas and healthcare institutions to

start-ups and disruptive practices. Regulation will still be a barrier in

healthcare but legislators will be working closely with the industry.

There is also currently a large gap between consumer technology

hypes and what doctors want. Doctors are generally questioning

the usefulness of data and to what extent apps can really change

behaviour. They are a lot more optimistic about technologies that

help monitoring of illnesses, communicate remotely with patients

and analysing aggregated data to make predictions. However, data

collection is causing huge concerns for privacy advocates and

security analysts which may lead to new regulation.

“86% of clinicians believe mobile apps will become

important for health management over the next 5 years”

PWC Health Report Nov 2014


Our advice to healthcare companies is the same as for everyone

else. Work with customers whether it’s patients or health care

practitioners to solve real problems and needs by leveraging

technology. You can gain huge benefits in terms of experience,

productivity and cost. Ensure that the stakeholders are involved at

every step of the way and understand data that is being collected,

how it will be used and how it will benefit them.

Prepare for data intrusion attempts, security breaches and

for customers wishing to explore their data. Ensure that the

development teamshave the experience and skills to tackle these

issues.

Prepare for data intrusion attempts, security breaches and for customers wishing to explore their data


9. Mobile Loyalty & Payments go hand in handThe most successful loyalty and mobile payment apps in 2014

didn’t come from a retailer, operator, financial institution or device

manufacturer but from innovative companies such as Starbucks,

Amazon and Uber. They’ve successfully integrated payments and

loyalty with their services to the extent that it’s become a part of

our daily lives. According to some measures, Starbucks made up

90% of physical location mobile payments in 2014. Neither of these

were dependent on NFC or Bluetooth. The success was based on

the value of giving the company your credit card details and other

personal details for the convenience and loyalty benefits given back

by the brand. Apple Pay will succeed as an in-app mobile payment

method for mCommerce and services apps but as a replacement for

credit cards it will be slow.

Add to this that 80 percent of your future profits will come from just

20 percent of your existing customers (CMO Exclusive) and that

companies need to spend 6 times more to gain a new customer than

selling to a regular customer (Thompson Group) and it’s clear that

loyalty and payments go hand in hand.

“Apple Pay is going to be a slow-burn success”

Jackdaw Research Dec 2014


Take a step back and think about what your mobile payment and

loyalty platform would look like if you redesigned it from scratch for

the mobile user. Start by looking at what will make your customers

come back more frequently in terms of user experience of payments

whether it’s online or in-store. Should you tie the users preferred

payment method (card, paypal, Apple Pay, etc) to your loyalty

program when they first sign up? What is the incentive to the user?

Think twice about what information you want to keep for yourself

and what you are willing to give away to the payment provider.

Use research, user testing and data to bring convenience and truly

relevant personalised experiences to your customers and you will

win. Take inspiration from Uber, Starbucks, Amazon and others that

have been successful in this space.

Integrate tightly with your loyalty program


10. Mobile Services development becomes easier and a lot more complexEnterprise mobile app development will double in 2015 according

to IDC (report from Dec 2014). This has resulted in start-ups and

established companies launching a myriad of new useful tools

claiming to make app development easier through cloud based

backends, new cross-platform tools, drag and drop development

tools, plug-ins and more.

So does this mean that app development is becoming faster,

cheaper and easier? Unfortunately no, things are actually becoming

more complex. With 5000 new features and APIs for Android L, 4000

for iOS8, healthkit, carplay, homekit, equivalent technologies for

Android and Windows, new device sizes, security threats, business

process transformations and legacy backend systems development

is actually getting a lot more complex. This means that mobile

development projects are starting to resemble big IT projects for

many companies taking years to complete for big teams and the rate

of failure is rapidly rising.

This means that mobile development projects are starting to

resemble big IT projects for many companies taking years to

complete for big teams and the rate of failure is rapidly rising.

“In terms of applications, single-focused, hightly usable,

very fast applications are the way to go for now”

Flurry Nov 2014

http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS25285614


Challenge yourself and your delivery teams whether they are internal

or external. Be realistic but also don’t allow timelines, budgets and

resources to run away.

Clearly prioritise your mobile service requirements and break them

down into smaller chunks and multiple initiatives starting with MVP.

No project should be longer than 5 months from inception to launch

and beyond this you need to plan for quarterly releases to keep up

with user demand and innovation.

Whenever possible, use resources with existing experience in a

particular area to reduce time to market, risk and deliver great quality

services.

Evaluate the best solution for you whether it’s responsive web,

adaptive, native, hybrid or cross-platform tools.

Clearly prioritise your mobile service requirements and break them down into smaller chunks

Fighting for a world full of mobile solutionssince 2005

web www.goldengekko.com email [email protected]

Date post:	12-Jul-2015
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