{"id":8759,"date":"2016-01-27T10:10:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-27T18:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intercom.com\/blog\/?p=8759"},"modified":"2020-07-30T13:02:16","modified_gmt":"2020-07-30T12:02:16","slug":"the-end-of-app-stores-as-we-know-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intercom.com\/blog\/the-end-of-app-stores-as-we-know-them\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of app stores as we know them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Uber isn\u2019t just killing the taxi industry. Its relentless\u00a0approach to distribution and scale is also putting a nail in the coffin of app stores.<\/p>\n

Smart companies like Uber are rewriting the app distribution rulebook. Instead of being a bland icon lost amongst millions of others, they’ve chosen to aggressively accelerate their growth through deep integrations with services that people habitually\u00a0use. It\u2019s the start of a mass migration from the app store which is set to kill\u00a0a long broken model for good.<\/p>\n

The accidental birth of the app store<\/h2>\n

The\u00a0iPhone of\u00a02007 was pretty dull compared to today’s generation of 4G smartphones. Even\u00a0Steve Jobs said the iPhone\u2019s \u201ckiller app is making calls\u201d. Looking back, it\u2019s hard to remember there was no app store or native apps to stock it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because an\u00a0app store was never part of the plan<\/a>. Jobs hated the idea of the slick iOS experience being ruined by native apps. Browser based\u00a0web apps and Javascript would have to do. But within months Apple relented to developer pressure and released an iOS SDK, and the rest is history. Initially Apple hoped for \u201cpotentially thousands of native applications\u201d. Today there are millions, and App Store sales are worth over $20 billion. Apple\u2019s embrace of the App Store is one of the most profitable u-turns in corporate history.<\/p>\n

But despite that growth the majority of native mobile apps\u00a0are pretty awful. Search for \u201cbuy\u201d, \u201cwrite\u201d, and \u201cchat\u201d in the iOS App Store and you\u2019ll likely endure a spammy list\u00a0of irrelevant apps. For a startup\u00a0launching a new app, it’s pointless\u00a0noise that comes between you and new users.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s solution to getting discovered on app stores is simple: cold hard cash. App installs are bought, not earned. During my time at Facebook, I worked on the roll-out of what is now a multi-billion dollar business: Mobile App Install ads. Advertisers love them\u00a0because mobile app install ads solve a real problem \u2013 discovery \u2013 and are a force multiplier which drive installs and usage. Paying for app\u00a0downloads\u00a0is clearly better than no app\u00a0downloads\u00a0at all.<\/p>\n

Ads can help your app stand out from the noise. But they’re an expensive fix\u00a0for a broken model. Instead,\u00a0reconsider whether you even need to build a native app at all.<\/p>\n

Think systems, not apps<\/h2>\n

The most successful companies in the world don\u2019t focus on building apps \u2013 they focus on building systems which solve real world problems<\/a>. Facebook\u2019s iOS app isn\u2019t \u201cFacebook\u201d \u2013 it just happens to be one way that customers interact with different elements of the Facebook ecosystem. The app is\u00a0a means to an end, one of many bridges between\u00a0Facebook and the user.<\/p>\n

\""<br\" Facebook is a system of individual components with relationships between them. Apps are just one part of this system. <\/em><\/p>\n

Start with the problem you’re trying to solve, design the system that you think will solve it; the platform choice should be a technicality. Don\u2019t start with apps. Don\u2019t even start with mobile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do you really need an app for that?<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t be conned into thinking mobile equals\u00a0native mobile app.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The top ten most used apps globally. Source: Mary Meeker Internet Trends<\/em><\/p>\n

Top 10 apps lists like the above are dominated by native apps. Look at the list a little bit closer and you\u2019ll see, aside from Clash of Clans, these apps are focused either on social networking or messaging. They\u2019re communications tools we use every day. In many ways Facebook, Twitter, and WeChat are browsers too \u2013 wrappers for the mobile web.<\/p>\n

Native apps are perfect for these frequent, heavy use jobs. But that doesn\u2019t mean you need a mobile app for every product or service. Ask yourself \u2013 will\u00a0people really<\/em> want to put your icon on their homescreen?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why companies like Uber are looking beyond homescreen icons. Instead of asking users to come to them \u2013 download and install an app \u2013 they\u2019re deeply embedding their services where users already spend their time.<\/p>\n

Contextually relevant, embedded services<\/h2>\n

Uber have tapped into the usage habits of Citymapper and its millions of users by embedding Uber estimates within Citymapper itself. You don\u2019t need to have Uber installed to see wait times for a car; the estimates appear within the Citymapper app, updated in realtime. Completing a booking happens in a couple of clicks. Right now the booking process relies on installing the Uber app first, but soon the entire process will happen within Citymapper. No need to download an app. The embedded experience is the app<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>Citymapper and Uber have well resourced partnership teams to build these integrations, but\u00a0discovery networks like Button<\/a>\u00a0also\u00a0give developers an easy way to embed their services within others. These integrations are becoming the connective tissue for entire workflows, and a massive distribution opportunity. Contextually relevant, helpful, and embedded \u2013 everything the current generation of app stores are not.<\/p>\n

Messaging \u2013 the new acquisition engine<\/h2>\n

Uber\u2019s partnership with Facebook takes things to the next level by allowing a car to be summoned from within a conversation. Uber taps into Facebook Messenger\u2019s 800 million users though a very basic bot. Facebook Messenger users can book a ride with Uber in seconds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>For new users, an account is\u00a0automatically created, complete with some starter credit. This happens magically in the background. Updates from Uber appear in real time through Facebook Messenger. There’s no need to download an app. The bot is the app<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Search results as services<\/h2>\n

Much has been made of the decline of Google\u2019s search business over the past couple of years, but its mobile search business is starting to take off. It\u2019s recently made big steps towards driving discovery of mobile services by allowing users to stream mobile apps as cards within search results. Don’t have the app? You don’t need it. Google will serve it up to you over-the-air.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>This is a bridge towards a world where all search results are cards which interact directly with services in the background. Imagine searching for a hotel room and completing the booking process directly within the search result. This is already happening today, and will become even more powerful\u00a0when location and usage data comes into play. In the future, Google will recommend new services to users before they even know they need them. And those users will interact with and transact with those services through cards, not bloated apps. Cards, not apps. The card is the app<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Contextual suggestions<\/h2>\n

Ecommerce platform\u00a0Tictail<\/a>\u00a0is pioneering the use of contextual suggestions. One of their\u00a0most unique features is a “feed” which suggests helpful actions a merchant may need to take based on signals, such as yesterday\u2019s sales volumes. Built into this feed is a recommendation engine which surfaces potentially useful Tictail apps.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nTictial surfaces apps based on customer behaviour<\/em><\/p>\n

For example, a store which had five “add to cart” actions yesterday – but no checkouts -might be automatically recommended the “Recover abandoned carts” app. This is app discovery at it\u2019s best – helpful, timely, and frictionless. Context and behaviour suggests the\u00a0app.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The app store killer<\/h2>\n

These new discovery channels show up today\u2019s app stores for what they really are \u2013 a bloated, noisy relic from a time when apps were the only way to get the most from early smartphones. App stores are a payment gateway, and nothing more.<\/p>\n

Deep integrations and contextual relevancy are the new distribution opportunity. They provide a better experience for users and businesses alike. Together, they’re the\u00a0app store killer.<\/p>\n

\n

Image credit: Matt Chase<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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