The modern world of B2C certainly isn’t an easy one for local firms. The sheer convenience offered by American goliaths like Amazon or the price points of Chinese stores like Shein and Temu simply can’t be matched financially or logistically. While businesses can rely on local commerce and foot traffic, people who want to shop locally can be further encouraged to do so if the option is made even more convenient.
Over the last few years, and increasingly so, British customers have turned to dedicated apps. In 2023, it was found that users spend, on average, three hours and 50 minutes on apps per day. It marked a ten-minute decline on 2019 figures, but it’s still a huge amount of time. Further, YouGov Business found that 44 per cent of adults across the generational brackets generally turn to shopping apps. Plus now, 51 per cent say they prefer online to the shops.
To help catch onto this growing preference of British customers, we’re looking at how businesses are currently leveraging apps and the local Tameside businesses that can help others to get into this space.
Becoming More Accessible and Useful
Convenience is king, and nothing’s ever going to change that in the modern market. Being able to flick out your smartphone, swipe to the page, tap, add to basket, and purchase in mere minutes without moving from your seat is incredibly appealing. Of course, many people still prize the real in-person experience. So, apps tend to act as a supplementary vertical to a core business, but a necessary supplement that enables all-hours accessibility.
One British industry that caught onto this early and maintains a strong land-based and app presence is that of bingo. As clubs became inconvenient for some, brands set up app-based gaming. They filled these virtual halls with bingo and expanded into modern offerings, such as the hit slot Action Bank and even live bingo.
The online slot is now considered to be a classic, which gives the app a different kind of appeal to in-house bingo play. Yet, the bingo app and bingo halls work to support one another. Within the app, users are offered not only ways to play slots like Action Bank, but also some free play at the land-based halls. It’s a showcase of how a convenient app can be leveraged to further engagement beyond what’s contained within the smartphone software.
Tameside Businesses Ready to Make You an App
Simply by being readily available in a customer’s pocket, an app can greatly help to propel business growth. To help achieve this, Project Opal has established itself as a reliable assistant to Tameside business development. Among the key features offered by their development process are continued maintenance and support, seamless integrations with your third-party services, and powerful content management tools.
Another option is the freelance software developer Gary, who operates from FlatCoder.co.uk. With 15 years of experience in this role, FlatCoder can create bespoke software that will suit your mobile app vision. Or, if you simply want a better or more refined app or web presence than your current options, FlatCoder can help develop your presence further.
More and more, British customers are turning to smartphone apps for purchases by default. Luckily for Tameside businesses looking to catch onto this ever-growing trend, there are local experts ready to help develop the ideal app to enter this arena successfully.