In a cross-platform, cross-device medium — your service may loose a full generation. We’re just entering the mobile-only era now and a lot of brands are not prepared.
Where once mobile was a channel amongst many, we’re seeing that in many industries and for particular customers a mobile app might be the only way they communicate with your brand.
While smartphones sit at the center of modern life for most people, they’re not the only technology that matters.
Growth of mobile consumption over the years
Since the start of the App Store, Underlabs was studying an analyzing this shift. In fact, even as mobile has grown, consumers have found themselves with a larger and larger number of platforms to explore and engage with brands. The web remains a power player when it comes to customer engagement, and emerging technologies—like smart speakers, wearables, and more—just keep popping up.
So when I look at my fashion icons from the ’60s and ’70s, they’re all men, but it’s the idea of women who are dressing like those men who are wearing their girlfriends’ clothes
Companies taking the leap into Mobile Only
Take, Quibi for example, the billion-dollar video startup was originally described as a “mobile-first” service, with plans to launch TV streaming apps to complement the core mobile app. More recently, Quibi’s strategy has shifted to where the company is going all-in on a “mobile-only” product, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
On the consumer side, if the entrepreneurs don’t have a mobile strategy or mobile product, then we are not even interested to have the (funding) conversation really,
For new startups, a well thoughtout mobile strategy has become a must, the panelists said. “On the consumer side, if the entrepreneurs don’t have a mobile strategy or mobile product, then we are not even interested to have the (funding) conversation really,” said Somani of AngelPrime, an early-toseed stage investor. “Definitely, if you are doing anything where you are not in mobile, then it is a huge red flag right now.”
We know we have to grab a viewer within the first few seconds, or else we’re going to lose them.
– Vanessa Guthrie, SnapChat
This is only going to get more prevalent over the coming years as the purchasing power and influence of digital natives including Millennials and, soon, Generation Z outstrips all other demographics.