COVID-19 Impact On Mobile App Industry – Quite Surprising!
The deadly coronavirus outbreak has brought the world to a standstill. BBC News reports that COVID-19 has already cost the lives of 200,000 people worldwide. The world economy has turned upside-down. The WTO (World Trade Organization) forecasts a double-digit decline in trade volumes in 2020. Nearly every business is going through a crisis period. However, there has been a substantial hike in the mobile application industry.
With more countries implementing restrictive mass quarantines, people stuck at home are resorting to mobile apps for several purposes. In this write-up, we will discuss how the coronavirus pandemic has made a shift in the mobile app development industry.
Grocery Shopping Apps
Amid the lockdown, people staying indoors are using grocery shopping apps for procuring their daily needs. This resulted in a magnificent growth in the download of grocery shopping and delivery apps. App Annie reported that Walmart Grocery ranked 1 in shopping app downloads in the USA surpassing Amazon by 20%. Istacart, another popular grocery delivery app used in the USA, experienced growth in its app download by 218% from February to mid-March. With no contact delivery and no contact payment features, customers are highly relying on these apps.
Healthcare Apps
The healthcare and medical apps usage has grown in this pandemic situation. With the everyday rising number of COVID-19 cases, it has become tough for medical professionals and hospitals to get a hold of the situation. In such a time, it is a bit of relief if you get healthcare aid and advice sitting at home at your fingertips. For example, the Doctor On Demand app has prepared a short coronavirus risk assessment to determine the precautions one should take during this crisis. Some other popular healthcare apps are PlushCare, MDLIVE, Talkspace Online Therapy, and Lemonaid Health.
Video Conferencing Apps
Amid the social distancing and lockdown scene, video conferencing apps are playing a crucial role. These apps have been instrumental in conducting business globally. Apps like Skype Meet Now, Hangouts Meet, Microsoft Team, Go To Meeting, and Cisco Webex Meetings are easing the work from home culture.
Well, video conferencing apps are not limited to business uses. People are extensively using these apps to stay connected with their loved ones. The best example is the Houseparty app. App Annie data quoted in the Financial Times shows that Houseparty was downloaded 2 million times in a week’s time in March 2020 – that’s huge!
Video Streaming Apps
Video Streaming Apps has now become the new ‘in-thing’ for all generations amid this crisis period. More and more people are turning towards Video Streaming apps instead of their televisions. The only reason being the ad-free experience that these apps usually provide. One can easily navigate to a favorite scene, rewind or fast forward and even pause the streaming as per their needs. With the new terms like home quarantine, social distancing, and lockdown playing an important role in our life, these apps are perhaps one of the best ways to keep yourself entertained, engrossed, and pass the time.
The top 10 video streaming apps people are going crazy over is listed below:
- Netflix
- HULU
- YouTube
- Amazon Prime Video
- Twitch
- Disney Plus
- MX Player
- Roku
- Pluto.tv
- Tubi TV
So which app is catching your attention the most?
I am quite sure that your devices are fully loaded with multiple apps since we are all stuck at home amid this pandemic.
Gaming Apps
Staying at home has become a new culture. This pandemic has proven that official work can also be done from home in most of the work sectors. However, staying locked up at home has also made people lookout for new modes of entertainment. In the search of new modes for getting entertained, people have turned their attention to gaming apps as well. With the latest gaming apps, the users have the capability to connect with other online players and having a great time interacting with them during the gameplay and having a great gaming experience as well. According to a study, Online Gaming Websites and Games have seen a rise in popularity by 24% approximately in February to March Assessment Period. Also, the time spent on gaming Apps and the engagement level has gone through an increment of 21%.
Education Apps
The education system has undergone a full-scale change in this COVID-19 crisis with schools, colleges, and other classes suspended for an indefinite time. This has led to the rise of e-learning and tutor apps in the market. A Statista report reveals that home education in the USA has increased the education app downloads by 1087 times between March 2 to 16, 2020. Some of the estimations point towards the digital learning market worldwide to surpass 243 billion US dollars by 2022. With a fair number of faculties supporting the digital study culture, homeschooling can be the new norm in the upcoming days. With the exceptional progress in the mobile app development market, adapting to remote teaching is as simple as ABC. Google Classroom, edX, Duolingo, Photomath, and Udemy are some prominent education apps.
Travel Apps
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the worst-hit industry is the travel and tourism industry. The travel apps got devastated with the complete shutdown of any mode of traveling.
These apps include –
- Accommodation booking apps
- Airline apps
- Car rental and taxi service apps
- Travel apps for navigating a new city
- Apps for discovering new places in cities
As listed above, there are different kinds of travel apps available, and needless to say, these apps are quite popular. But, in the current scenario, these apps are witnessing a downward curve in user interaction and downloads.
Final Thoughts
The coronavirus impact on the mobile application industry brings up some shocking facts and figures. This has been possible because mobile apps have completely reshaped our lives. With people maintaining social distance and quarantines, their smartphones equipped with mobile apps fit the bill. In this article, we see how some apps like that of the travel and hospitality sectors have gone downhill. On the contrary, digital learning, video conferencing, gaming, grocery delivery, and several other apps have recorded their highest downloads in the past three months.
