i3 - September/October 2020 - 33

By Jim Harris

Business

T EC H TACT I C S

Why Mobile-First
Firms are Crucial

Future Growth

obile first firms have
an 825% higher value
upon IPO than companies with no mobile focus,
highlighting how essential
mobile technology is for success. This is a staggering finding from the 2020 Mobile
Report by App Annie. Here
are a few reasons:

All Needs

Mini Supercomputers

COVID Driving Mobile Surge

In 1997, IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer beat world chess champion Garry
Kasparov. For IBM, this was a $100 million project. Today most smartphones
have more raw computing power than
Deep Blue. Companies that have no
mobile focus are choosing not to use the
smartphone supercomputer that rests in
billions of peoples' pockets or purses.

Location

The highest revenue for any non-gaming app is on Tinder, which uses geolocation to match users with others
nearby. In the same way, LetGo and
OfferUP use geolocation to connect
local buyers and sellers of second-hand
items instantly. Both companies have a
valuation of $1.5 billion and announced
in March 2020 they are combining
their operations.

Millennials and GenZ live a mobile-centric life. They use their smartphones to
connect, for entertainment and news,
for dating and relationships, for buying
and selling, for researching purchases,
for health and fitness, education, work,
and watching video and movies. Note,
they are bringing their experiences and
expectations to every other company
and industry.
During Q1 of 2020, mobile use surged
by 20% compared to Q1 2019, driven by
the COVID crisis, notes Lexi Sydow,
senior market insights manager at App
Annie. In 2019, the average global
smartphone user spent three hours and
40 minutes on their smartphone per
day. In April 2020 during the COVID
crisis that spiked to four hours and 20
minutes. How many firms have the luxury of choosing not to interact with the
primary channel their customers use?
For example, Uber Eats saw its business grow 89% in April 2020, according to the company. How many
companies can claim that kind of
growth with the economic lockdown?
And while gaming and entertainment
apps have seen significant growth, business app downloads nearly doubled on
average compared to 2019.

US ECOMMERCE PENETRATION
(% OF RETAIL SALES)

Gen Z (born after 1997) spends 40% more
time on mobile devices than others, says
Sydow. Gen Z is the largest U.S. demographic, highlighting how mobile usage
will continue to grow.
For example, asset managers retain less
than one third of client assets after they
die, often because they don't serve their
clients' children in the way they wish to be
served. So, investment firms would benefit
from a mobile-first focus even though
their current clients (aging boomers) are
not asking for them.

COVID Consequences

It took 10 years for e-commerce to grow
by 11% - from 5.6% in 2009 to 16.3% in
2019. When COVID hit, online shopping
grew by 11% in eight weeks from 16.3% in
2019 to 27% at the end of May 2020,
according to a report from Bank of
America, U.S. Department of Commerce
and ShawSpring Research.
When most retailers were shuttered
except grocery stores and pharmacies during the coronavirus, Amazon hired 175,000
people during this period to keep up with
orders. Millions of people are now familiar
with the ease and convenience of e-commerce. And it's not just Amazon benefitting
from surging demand, Walmart.com experienced a 74% surge in online sales in Q1 of
2020, according to the company. Many
e-commerce page views are from mobile
phones. A mobile strategy is crucial for company's to thrive in the post-COVID world.
Jim Harris is the author of Blindsided.
Follow him on Twitter @JimHarris.

27.0%

16.3%

8 WEEKS

5.6%

Dan Nelson/Unsplash

10 YEARS

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Source: Bank America, U.S. Department of Commerce, ShawSpring Research

C TA . t e c h / i 3

i3_0920_33_Business_TechTactics.indd 33

2019

April
2020

Source: Ap

p Annie Th
on the Mo e Impact of Coronav
bile Econo
irus
my
33

9/1/20 10:35 AM

https://www.appannie.com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2020/ https://www.appannie.com/en/go/state-of-mobile-2020/ https://www.ga.agency/en/blog/ecommerce-sales-growth-retail-united-states-2020 https://www.ga.agency/en/blog/ecommerce-sales-growth-retail-united-states-2020 https://www.ga.agency/en/blog/ecommerce-sales-growth-retail-united-states-2020 http://www.Walmart.com http://cta.tech/i3

i3 - September/October 2020

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