A recent Think with Google article suggests that "app versus mobile web" arguments should be consigned the recycle bin and that brands need to start thinking how these two "unique" formats can work together.
The piece is not specific to travel, but the insights are relevant for brands whose app and mobile web presence exists in the consumers' overall m-commerce world.
Consumers, Google says, " don’t have a strong affinity toward one format over the other" although some of the stats might be of concern for any travel brand looking to drive loyalty through apps:
87% of people say they can be loyal to a brand without having its app on their phone
53% of smartphone users say they do not have their favourite brand’s app installed on their phone.
42% of those who haven’t downloaded their favourite brand’s app have never considered downloading it,
25% didn’t know their favourite brand had one
One headwind in the app world is that consumers need to make a conscious decision to download an app, unlike the mobile web which appears on a smartphone screen spontaneously. A recent study from IdeaWorks into airline apps found that many of the leading carriers were not actively promoting apps to consumers, with the report noting that "the hotel industry seems very eager to encourage downloads with bonus point offers tied to frequent guest programs."
Google's observations on this specific point seem out of synch with the hotels' approach:
"63% of people say that when a brand forces them to download an app to access a deal, they will typically delete it shortly thereafter"
In contrast, mobile web appears to be the way to foster a deeper relationship with a consumer. Google says that the mobile web can "fulfill a customer’s need to learn about, engage with, and make purchases from a brand without needing to resort to an app..."
The caveat here is that offering users a sub-standard mobile web site can significantly harm a brand - more than half of people look poorly on a brand with a disappointing mobile web experience, with the same proportion saying they wouldn't buy from a badly designed mobile set. The article however does not specify what constitutes poor design.
Google clearly has an interest in mobile web and apps, and concludes by highlighting "their ability to complement each other" as one of the benefits for mobile marketers, "whether it’s using your mobile site to build awareness for your app or using your app to drive sales via your mobile site..."
The Google piece is very much an overview, based on US data and not specific to travel, and it has also published other articles on the same theme, including one headlined "3 benefits to merging your app and mobile web teams". Its stance - which could be seen as getting close to the official party line - that apps and mobile web need to work together is a fresh one and it will be worth watching how this conversation matures.