As the importance of mobile commerce becomes increasingly recognized, companies and brands are faced with the debate as to which method is right for them; a mobile website or a mobile app.
Businesses are coming to understan that mobile is the right step forward, but debates regarding the best techniques to use abound across the internet and among mobile commerce experts. So far, the inclination seems to be to establish a mobile website as a first step, in order to create a presence – a kind of “home base”.
From there, experts are saying that there’s no reason that companies shouldn’t consider adding an app on top of the website; that there is room for both in the world of mobile marketing, and that they each have their own unique benefits. Both a website and an app can offer customers reason to shop and remain loyal to a particular company or brand, as long as both tools provide those customers with value.
They note that the features available through mobile websites and apps are different, so taking advantage of both allows a company to offer different types of value to their customers.
Many companies choose not to stop at mobile websites because apps allow them to offer their customers greater visibility and functionality, in addition to being able to appeal to smartphone users of a more affluent demographic.
That said, the argument can also be made that while iPhones do dominate a large share of the marketplace right now, the rapid increase in Android smartphone users is diminishing the argument in favor of apps.