How has COVID-19 Impacted Mobile App Development Projects?
The novel COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic that has brought the world’s economy to a near standstill. From manufacturing and healthcare to e-commerce and travel, COVID-19 has had a staggeringly negative impact on several businesses across the world. A few industries have, however, recorded a positive impact. Such sectors include the mobile app industry, online entertainment, online gaming, and e-payment services among others.
A slew of industries have faced economic hardships with so much uncertainty resulting from COVID-19. With that in mind, the ecosystem of mobile app development would be assumed to follow the course of being adversely affected. On the contrary, mobile app innovations have been reinforced, and the industry has thrived even more, making the cost to make an app higher.
Some insights into the effects of COVID 19 on mobile apps
1. The number of mobile app installations have increased
With the world having accepted the new reality, people have come up with new ideas and strategies of keeping themselves busy during quarantine and self-isolation times. Android and iOS app developers have also come up with better and innovative applications while individuals think of how to make money from app use. Tasks like payments and shopping, payments among others are all being executed through mobile apps, which have made the number of app installations increase rapidly. However, due to the economic recession that has been caused by the novel Coronavirus, the user lifetime value, as well as the rate of consumer spending have reduced despite the growing number of app installations.
2. Gaming apps have become more popular
While offices are working remotely and world major cities locked, people have been spending long hours staying at home in many countries across the world. As such, many people have sought alternative ways of killing boredom, leading to a steady rise in gaming app installations. A recent statistic has confirmed a rise in gaming apps download by nearly 40%.
3. There has been a rise in the use of communication apps
Communication apps such as Google hangouts and zoom have been the biggest gainers with public and private and public organizations opting to work from home. These mobile applications have eased work automation to offer seamless video and message conferencing.
Mobiles apps provide efficient means designed for working remotely. While most mobile applications being used were unknown before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, their popularity has dramatically surged due to increased demand. For instance, information from Zoom indicates that users have spiked by more than 200 million within a few months. Also, new skype app installations have increased by more than 66 percent, GoToMeeting app installations by 85 percent, and JoinMe app installations by 45 percent.
4. Small-scale developers have gained more opportunities
The vast majority of the biggest companies across the world have felt the impact of COVID-19. However, small and medium application developers have realized increased opportunities. The so-called fortune-500 firms have withdrawn major contracts with bigger industry players, and have sought reliable, small-scale digital partners. That said, smaller companies that offer digital services have bagged bigger contracts with the increased economic recession. These small scale businesses will create an app from scratch for big organizations, providing easy means of communicating and transacting remotely.
Summing Up
With emergence of larger opportunities for developers due to rising mobile app installations, the impact of COVID 19 on the mobile app market has been rather mixed. The Coronavirus pandemic has evidently hit global firms so hard across the world, with major international businesses such as manufacturing and travel being the worst hit. The mobile application development and other digital-based industries have, however, benefited from the effects of COVID 19. On the overall, the mobile applications have really played a major role in assisting people to navigate through this crisis.
