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The world of coding consists of more than 330 different programming languages. GitHub is an American company where software is built – more than 40 million people use GitHub to discover and contribute to more than 100 million projects.
Source Reference: https://github.com/collections/programming-languages 

The employees of lead technical companies such as Facebook, Google, and Apple bank on GitHub for spreading their open source software. It is a massive code repository that helps developers identify the kinds of languages and apps that the technical industry is actually using. GitHub’s resourcing has been on an uptrend since 2018 – they have been constantly employing new developers.
Let’s take a look at the most demanding programming languages of 2020, according to GitHub.

Javascript  
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One of the most used programming languages by developers in 2020, as per GitHub, will be Javascript. It is being increasingly used in the game development sector and Internet of Things (IoT). It is also one of the core existing technologies of the web, along with HTML and CSS.
 
Features of Javascript:

• Interpreted and light-weighted programming language
• Object-oriented computer programming language, that is commonly used for the purpose of creating interactive effects within the internet browsers
• Plays a significant role in front-end development for popular websites such as YouTube, Facebook, Google, Wikipedia, and Amazon.
• Optional static typing features to the language software can be added by using Typescript which is a superset of JavaScript

 
Advantages of Javascript:

• Speed-driven
• Simple to use
• Interoperable
• Adaptable to rich interfaces
• Extended functionalities

 
Disadvantages of Javascript:

• Security issues from the client’s side
• Security threat for client-side scripts
• Browser support interpretations

 
Further, Javascript can be used in the back-end development with the help of the Node.js framework. Hence, most start-ups use this programming language to handle their back-end processes. It is also used in popular web frameworks such as, AngularJS and React.js. ​

Python 

​According to GitHub, Python is one of the Trending Programming Languages 2020 by popular websites such as Quora, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. The Octoverse report stated that, “And for the first time, Python outranked Java as the second most popular language on GitHub by repository contributors.” 
Python can be used to develop desktop apps, medial tools, machine learning, robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Web applications and network servers. In fact, it has even been used to create famous video games such as, Civilization IV, Vegas Trike and the famous Toontown. It has also been used to create scientific and computational applications such as FreeCAD and Abacus. Framework like Django, Turbo Gear, and Pyramid is also based on this language.
 
Features of Python:

• Easy language for beginners because it is easy to read and understand
• Free, open-source programming language that has extensive support modules as well as community development
• Easy integration with the web services
• Equipped with user-friendly data structures and has a GUI-based desktop application
• Used to develop 2D imaging as well as 3D animation packages such as Inkscape, Blender, and Autodesk
• Useful for developing back-end APIs

Advantages of Python:

• Easy to read
• Scripted instead of compiled
• Encompasses official tutorials, as well as documentation

Disadvantages of Python

• The language doesn’t start with programming basics
• Important basic concepts are sometimes abstracted 

Java  

Owned by Oracle Corporation, Java is one of the Best Programming Languages in 2020. In today’s time, there are more than 3 billion devices that are running on application that are built by Java. Some of the websites such as Google, Twitter, Amazon and YouTube use Java as their backend program.
 
It is also well known for its portability across a wide range of platforms, i.e. from mainframe data centres to the smartphones. New Java frameworks such as Spring, Struts, and Hibernate have also become popular in the market.
 
Features of Java:

• Includes a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) feature which makes Java compatible across all platforms
• Is 99% object orient based language; it can be used on Mac, Android, Window, iOS, etc. due to its Write Once, Run Anywhere (WORA) feature
• Uses automatic garbage collection and memory allocation feature

 
Advantages of Java

• Easy-to-learn programming language especially for beginners
• Computer parts such as file system, sound, graphics can be easily accessed and manipulated for any program and can be run on any kind of operating system

 
Disadvantages of Java:

• Need to constantly learn new vocabularies to keep up with the language

C#   

C is said to be one of the most powerful programming languages in the Dot NET framework. Anders Hejlsberg from Microsoft created a language that supports the concepts of object-oriented programming – the C# language. Applications such as Windows, Android, iOS are based on C#. This language takes help of an integrated development environment product that is Microsoft Visual C++. Further, C# is used by Dell, Visual Studio, Bing and Market Watch for backend operations.
 
Features of C#:

• Common programming language that uses the most versatile framework, i.e. the Dot Net Core framework.
• Popular among developers because it is developed and maintained by Microsoft
• Offers many features which makes it easier for beginners to learn the language; mainly used by web, app or game developers

Advantages of C#:

• Hiring developers gets easier, since it is a language that can be learnt quickly

Disadvantages of C#:

• Code needs to be compiled every time a small change is made

 
PHP  

PHP, Hypertext Preprocessor is a language that was created by making Personal Home Pages. Now, it is one of the programming languages of 2020 that is highly in demand. PHP code can be used in an assortment of web frameworks so that web developers can quickly write bulky and multifaceted websites and web applications. Further, there are many tools that can be used to make PHP more efficient.
 
PHP enables a basic structure which makes it simple for the developers to work with web application development solutions; some examples of frameworks include, Laravel, Codeigniter, Symfony, etc.  
 
Features of PHP:

• Cheap, free and easy-to-use; web developers have a plethora of options to pick a PHP framework that are open sources which can be used without paying any licensing fees that fall under full-stack web frameworks and micro frameworks
• General-purpose programming language that runs on a server which is useful for creating web pages written in HTML and web applications
• Programmed with the help of built-in web development capabilities
• Programmers can embed the code written in server-side programming language flawlessly into HTML code throughout the Script tag
• Web development tasks can be done without writing a prolonged and composite code
• Provides useful features and functionalities for web applications

 
Advantages of PHP:

• Fast-paced tailored app development
• Easy to maintain applications
• Added code doesn’t need to be written
• Databases can be handled resourcefully
• Customary development activities can be automated
• Overall costs can be reduced

 
Disadvantages of PHP:

• Instead of PHP, developers need to learn PHP frameworks
• PHP framework quality could differ at times
• Transforming one core behaviour can be challenging due to the lack of choices

 
Typescript  

Created and maintained by Microsoft, Typescript, an open-source language, is Javascript for application scale development. This language is a JavaScript superset that compiles to regular JavaScript. TypeScript files use the ‘.ts’ extension; and once it is programmed with the language, the output your get is ‘.js files’.
 
Features of Typescript:

• Is a robust object-oriented programming language
• Provides extra security TypeScript by type checking
• Migrate Javascript code to use TypeScript features; the TypeScript compiler can then convert TypeScript syntax into standard JavaScript
• Helps you access the needed JavaScript frameworks and libraries due to the seamless integration of declaration files

 
Ruby  

Ruby language is popular due to the Rails framework, which is based on this language. It is a high-level language, but very easy to learn as compared to other languages.
 
Features of Ruby:

• Is an open-source dynamic programming language
• Is more focused on simplicity and productivity
• Allows developers to build an application with less line of code

 
Advantages of Ruby:

• Simple and straight approach to create web applications
• Easy to decipher and refined
• Learning time required is relatively shorter

 
Disadvantages of Ruby:

• Performance is affected due to low runtime speed
• Stability gets affected due to less boot speed

 
C++  

The oldest and the most commonly used programming language is the C language. An enhanced version of this language is C++, which is used for developing applications where performance is a critical issue. For example, for client/server applications, commercial products such as Adobe and Firefox, as well as in the video games. The most significant projects in which C++ language is used is Microsoft Windows, Google and Amazon websites.
 
Features of C++

• Can be used on a large variety of platforms which makes it easy for the language to transported
• Is a high-performance language and one of the most used, as per GitHub
• Highly efficient, high performance and flexible language
• Mostly used to build desktop applications
• Is an object-oriented programming language; for instance, Apple also uses C++ language to develop its IOS operating system

 
Advantages of C++

• Allows the user for much better “control” as compared to the other languages

 
Disadvantages of C++

• Difficult to learn

 
Swift 

Apple’s homegrown language for macOS and iOS apps, Swift has replaced Objective-C and has become the number one language for Apple-related software. Further, SwiftUI, a declarative UI structure design framework for all Apple platforms, was announced during WWDC 2019. In 2017, Swift had made it to the top 10 of the monthly TIOBE Index rank of the most popular programming languages.
 
As per Apple, this language is more than 2.6 times faster than Objective-C and more than 8.4 times faster than Python. It’s also easier to learn compared to Objective-C. Hence, most iOS developers choose to learn Swift straight away. Giant tech companies such as LinkedIn, Vimeo, Twitter, and Fitbit have also chosen Swift instead of Objective-C.
 
Features of Swift:

• Open-source, i.e. it can be expanded to other platforms and can be used for web applications; for instance, applications can be written in Swift and then exported to Android and Windows.
• Requires less coding as compared to other popular programming languages
• Can be easily used with the IBM Swift Sandbox and the IBM Bluemix
• Used in a large number of popular iOS apps such as Mozilla Firefox, WordPress, SoundCloud and also in the game of Flappy Bird

 
Advantages of Swift:

• Future of Apple’s development
• Safe and secure
• Uses modern programming conventions

 
Disadvantages of Swift:

• Major alterations in each release makes it unstable
• Interoperability with third party tools and IDEs is less

 
Golang   

Developed by Google, Go is a simple yet more efficient as compared to C++. It allows the developer to write concurrent programs and work on more large scale and complex applications. Some popular applications developed in Go language include Openshift, Kubernetes, Dropbox, Netflix and InfluxDB.
 
Features of Golang:

• Go is syntactically similar to C, but with memory safety, garbage collection, structural typing, and CSP-style concurrency.
• Is a static typed language; hence, the compiler doesn’t only work on compiling the code successfully but also ensures on type conversions and compatibility
• Provides unit testing features by itself; i.e., a simple mechanism to write unit tests parallel with the code as it helps the developer to understand the code coverage by their own tests

 
Advantages of Golang:

• Concise, simple and easy to read
• Allows multiple processes to run simultaneously and effectively
• Quick compilation time
• Gives a lot of control over memory allocation and reduces latency in the most recent versions of the garbage collector
• Validates for the interface and type embedding

 
Disadvantages of Golang:

• Has no support for generics
• Is not so object-oriented in the conventional sense
• Absence of some libraries especially a UI tool kit

 
Wrapping It Up
​As we’ve seen, programming languages play an essential role in software development. There are many languages that are included in GitHub. The trick to choosing the correct programming language depends on each product – weighing the advantages and disadvantages is of utmost importance.
The above mentioned are some of the best programming languages that should be used in 2020; if you need more assistance, do not hesitate to contact the App Scoop mobile app developers Vancouver Team. 

Imagine downloading an app and not being able to navigate through it? Frustrating, right!? So, what do you think would you do with such an app? – most users would uninstall it in mere minutes. User experience (UX) on an app is of utmost importance to attract new users and keep the old ones to ensure long-term market success. Did you know that 90% of users reported that they have stopped using an app because of its poor performance?
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Reference Source: https://www.toptal.com/designers/ux/ux-statistics-insights-infographic

Apps are now defining a way-of-life for humans; for instance, there are apps for booking cabs, operating home appliances, listening to music, watching movies, interacting on social media, etc. Tomer Sharon, the senior UX researcher at Google, stated that “UX is a very much personal experience that a person feels while using the product. UX designs are implemented based on the emotion of the users.” This statement holds true – it is imperative to focus on architecture, visual design, usability, branding and functions of the app.
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Let’s take a look at few trends that we can expect in UX Design for the year 2020: 

Device Compatibility

Most people, especially in the cities, have more than one device that they use. Hence, it is absolutely essential that the app you create should be compatible with all devices – whether it’s a smartphone, a watch, a laptop, etc.
The social media app, Facebook is a good example. The user can connect with loved ones anytime, anywhere and with the use of any device. This app operates a single continuous operation on different platforms with uninterrupted action.

Keeping It Simple

Keeping an app simple doesn’t mean that it needs to be boring with just a few buttons. While constructing your app, make sure that it is simple for the user to navigate. There are few apps that are built that lose their sole purpose of existence by adding frills and fancies not needed. Therefore, it is always said that app companies must focus on the core functionality and then keep upgrading it as per the user’s feedback or market demands.
Key points:

• Easy navigation
• Minimum pop ups and notifications
• Easy-to-understand language
• Readable fonts/colours

Designing the App

As mentioned in the earlier point, users should be able to read the text and fonts used in the app. Also, it is important that the app is intuitive, for example, the Exit or ‘x’ should always be placed on the top right corner. Mindful designing seems to have a positive impact on user perceptions, as it helps the users to stay loyal to the brand. With the help of UX design, it’s the trendiest way to attract potential customers and enlarge your customer base.

Voice User Interface and AI technology

The year 2019 has made great progress towards personalization of mobile UX. User’s want the device to adapt to their thinking, wants and needs. When it comes to UX design, the key is to design something flexible to the individual. The functionality and the content produced by the app should be based on the user’s history such as their location, purchase patterns, the online communities that they are a part of, events and calendar events. Brands such as Spotify already do this, for example, by curating custom playlists with suggestions based on previous listening behaviours. These playlists are unique to the user and provide a service unique to them
Recently, AI has been widely used on mobile internet; credit for this largely goes to Siri. Artificial intelligence is commonly used in smartphones as a voice assistant and for face unlocking, beautifying, and smart shooting. Following the trend, it seems like, voice and vision functionality will have more advancement the way it has shifted from GUI to VUI.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

There is still a lot of work to be done for augmented reality and virtual reality to manifest in its full form but many apps such as Snapchat, Sephora, etc. are being used from the convenience of their home. For example, the user doesn’t really need to get into a store to find the perfect outfit, instead they can sit on their couch and with the help of AR/VR visually see how the clothes would look on their body. The year 2020 will definitely see more features of AR/VR being added to apps.

Keeping Up With 5G

5G is finally starting to roll out across the globe which means that data transfer speed and latency time will improve significantly. With the time span of the user getting shorter and shorter, they don’t want to wait too long for information to download on the app.
Any mobile services, be it an application or a website optimized for mobile, will need to be optimized to support the speed and full capabilities of 5G networks. Hence, you must make sure that the UX design is compatible with the future speed that is going to be offered to the users.

Voice Assistance

“eMarketer forecasts that nearly 100 million smartphone users will be using voice assistants in 2020. Similarly, comScore data reveals that voice technology will account for 50% of all searches by 2020.”
Source Reference: https://searchengineland.com/voice-search-explosion-will-change-local-search-251776
More brands are starting to invest in voice technology, as more mobile apps are beginning to incorporate Vocal User Interfaces (VUI). At the very least, companies are beginning to integrate VUIs in some capacity to meet the changing expectations of smartphone users. Since these VUIs will differ, UX designers will be required to abandon old techniques and mindsets and get more creative.

​Looking into the Future

2020 is the year to look forward – we can expect the technological world to transform with improvements and enhanced designs. With AI/VR being explored, 5G being introduced to the world; there could be a total revolution.
Staying in sync with these UX trends will help you strategically form a digital world around your product or service that will attract users and keep them loyal to your app. If you wish to stay ahead of the curve, contact the App Scoop Mobile App Development Team for more information.
 

What makes a customer loyal to a product or a company? What exactly is customer Loyalty Program? It is a rewards program offered by a company to drive customer engagement and nudge them to buy the product often and enjoy its benefits. One such Loyalty Program that has caught the customer’s attention is – the Starbucks Loyalty Program. 

Did you know that the Starbuck Loyalty Program holds more money on its affiliated cards and app than many banks have in their deposits? Surprised! Here’s another fact: there are approximately $1.2 billion loaded on the Starbucks mobile app and the company’s loyalty cards. Above that, around 41% of US and Canada-based Starbucks transactions were made through the loyalty card, while around 24% of US-based payments were made through the Starbucks mobile app.
Reference Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/starbucks-has-more-customer-money-on-cards-than-many-banks-have-in-deposits-2016-06-09  
This should give you an idea on how Loyalty Programs increase the company’s revenue and their presence in the market. 

How Did Starbucks Loyalty Program Become Such a Hit?
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Just like every other company, Starbucks started out with a Loyalty Program to attract more customers. The Loyalty Program introduced initially did work but since, it was very easy to accumulate points, Starbucks cafés had longer queue which resulted in below par customer service. The customers were more disgruntled than pleased. 

After taking into account customer feedback, Starbucks decided to change their Loyalty Program.

• It would take 125 stars to get a free item
• Every $1 spent = 2 stars

The Loyalty Program also features 2 levels:

• Green (0-299 stars)
• Gold (300+ stars)

This persuades the customer to spend more money and unlock better rewards. This also helps to retain the customer and create a long-term relationship with them. Also, ensure that the functionality of the app is easy-to-use. The Starbucks in-app menu has the following tabs: Pay, Stores, Gift and Order – straightforward and simple!   
Now, let’s take a look at the 9 features that have made Starbucks Loyalty Program a hit.

Gathering Customer Feedback and Implementing It
Starbucks launched My Starbucks Idea back in 2008. In that year alone, according to Waterloo, the company received more than 70,000 ideas from customers; by 2015, they had received over 190,000.
Reference Source: http://smbp.uwaterloo.ca/2015/02/my-starbucks-idea-the-starbucks-crowdsourcing-success-story/
Recently, Starbucks uses machine learning which allows the system to make decisions based on customer feedback. It gives the customer a more personalized experience.

Order-Ahead, Pick Up Later
All Loyalty Program users can take advantage of the feature by placing and paying for an order online and then picking it up from the store at their convenient time. This doesn’t only make it convenient for the customer but also intimates the employees to keep the order ready and not rush at the last minute. This helps them improve customer service and it also means shorter queues and quick service.

Exclusive Rewards
Starbucks offers their members access to 3 exclusive features:

• Monthly Double-Star Days (once per month, Gold members can earn 4 stars/$1 spent)
• Personalized Gold Card (quite a nice touch)
• A Reward Every 125 Stars

According to a RedPoint Global survey, 63 percent of consumers expect personalization. These respondents also say they feel recognized by a brand as an individual when they receive personalized offers.
Reference Source: https://www.redpointglobal.com/news/redpoint-global-and-harris-poll-survey-exposes-gap-between-consumer-and-marketer-expectations-for-customer-experience/ 
Here, you need to remember to not make it very simple to get exclusive rewards. The customer needs to feel special if they are paying over and above to get that status. Ensure that your exclusive customers are the only privileged ones to receive exclusive rewards!

Targeting the Right Customer
By pricing 2 stars at $1, Starbucks made sure that all their clients will have an easy time accumulating stars at a decent pace. And when you take things like the Double-Star Days we just mentioned into account, it becomes apparent just how customer-friendly the new Starbucks mobile app and Loyalty Program is.
Many people who complained that this point system was not acting in their favor are the ones who abused the old check-out system in the first place. Starbucks actually managed to target consumers who are truly valuable to their business – people who love spending both time and money at their Starbucks.

Loyalty Program Members Get to Enjoy Mobile Payments
Mobile payments are becoming more and more popular – and they’re directly linked to Loyalty Programs! Most consumers, approximately 70%, state that it doesn’t only make paying easier, but they could also enjoy the benefits of various rewards and discounts. It’s expected that mobile wallets will end up surpassing the use of both credit cards and debit cards by 2020.
Plus, the Starbucks mobile app goes the extra mile. It allows program members to easily check their balance and reload their cards in seconds.
Reference Source: https://home.bluesnap.com/snap-center/blog/22-mind-blowing-mobile-payment-statistics/

Giving It the Personal Touch
The Starbucks Loyalty Program offers their customers access to:

• Member Events

For instance, Gold Members can get a drink of any size, or a single pastry, for 125 stars.

• Free Birthday Rewards

Starbucks gives the customer a free drink on their birthday to make their special day, extra special!

• Product Customization

Starbucks provides personalized suggestions based on the customer’s previous orders. For instance, if the customer often orders dairy-free drinks, the system recognizes this preference and recommends dairy-free products. In addition, the Starbucks app enables users to save their favorite orders and recommends things to add to an order.

• Special Offers

Starbucks loyalty members can find personalized offers in their offer card on their Starbucks mobile app. This offer can be easily redeemed with a simple tap on the app!

• Additional Third-Party Benefits

Starbucks has a tie-up with Spotify which allows the customers to identify the music playing in Starbucks and save the songs to their personal Spotify playlists.

Incorporating Location Functionality
Allow the app to trace the location of the customer (of course, asking for customer permission is mandatory). Incorporating the location functionality, allows the app to cater better. For instance, Starbucks allows its customers to set a location to pick up their order. Moreover, customers can easily find the nearest Starbucks and check the available amenities.
Starbucks also uses the app to send personalized push notifications with different offers to its customers. For instance, it may be information about featured drinks or promo items in the nearest store.

Engaging Customers
Customer engagement keeps them interested. Customers need to be reminded once in a while about your upcoming product or offers. They provide well-timed recommendations – they can predict a customer’s wishes before they even know they want something.
The Starbucks Happy Hour campaign uses a customer’s location data and time zone to send a push notification guiding them to a nearby Starbucks shop for a free Happy Hour drink. When customers get the invitation, they’re led to a screen in the app that explains the promo, then guides them to the nearest location.

Access to Product Information
In today’s date, the dietary preferences of customers have changed, and each of them have their own preferences. It is best that the customer knows the ingredients are sourced and what ingredients are used in the products that they are ordering.
Starbucks is on its way to implement a feature for its mobile app that gives users information on where its packaged coffee is delivered from, where it was grown, and what the company is doing to support farmers in those locations. With this feature, Starbucks also tells users where and when their coffee was roasted and provides tasting notes.
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Wrapping It Up
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​Let’s summarize what we can learn from a successful customer Loyalty Program like Starbucks:

• Give access to customers to pay conveniently only if they join your Loyalty Program.
• Provide only the most exclusive and loyal members exclusive rewards.
• Incorporate the order-ahead feature – this makes the customer feel special and also makes it super convenient for them.
• Keep the Loyalty Program budget friendly keeping a subtle balance between customers who actually enjoy and love your product versus those who are just in it for free goodies.
• Personalize some of the rewards, so that the members truly feel like your brand cares about them – this will help you build a brand-centered community of loyal consumers that will promote your services.

Designing a successful Loyalty Program like Starbucks in the year 2020, would be the best investment for any restaurant or business. It will help build a following for your brand and making customers feel special. If you wish to create an app and a brand like Starbucks, contact the App Scoop Vancouver Mobile App Development Team or Mobile app developers– https://app-scoop.com. 

​The sole purpose of creating an app for a service or product is so that customers can use it. But when the customer has got a plethora of options that provides a similar service or product, then why should they download your app? What does your app offer that the other doesn’t? To ensure that the customer picks your app each time, you can use a tool that will help you build the product or service that the market needs: The Product/Market Fit Canvas.

What’s a Product/Market Fit Canvas?

Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape and Andreessen Horowitz defined product/market fit as, “Product/market fit means being in a good market with a product that can satisfy that market.”
https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee204/ProductMarketFit.html
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In a great market with lots of real potential customers, the product or service has to be able to solve the user’s problems. You need to create a need for your product/service in the market by targeting a market segment that finds your product/service attractive. 

While drafting the product/market fit canvas you need to focus on:

• Creating a better product than the product/service launched in the market or be the first to launch it
• Developing an app that solves a core purpose and help the users solve problems with key features available in the app
• Outlining the strengths of your app and constantly updating it as per user feedback and updating trends
• Identifying metrics that are important for the app and ensure that the user is visiting it at regular intervals

​Using Product/Market Fit Canvas at Each Stage
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​​During the pre-launch stage, use the canvas to update your targeted user’s profiles according to their type.
Based on their type, segment them into a user group; for instance, classify them according to their gender, profession, age, etc.
Thirdly, list the features that your app offers them which will help them solve their problems; for instance, Uber solved a core problem which is door-to door travel service and then later kept solving user’s crisis by introducing Uber Pool, which is cheaper and more environment friendly.
Taking the Uber example, take a look at the table that can be created: 

Of course, not every column can be filled as per your assumptions; some data will surface once the app is launched.
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During the Beta testing stage, use the canvas to:

• Analyze the application features and come up with ideas to improve them (Update App Features)
• Identify the main competitors and find a way to out-do them by introducing better features

Taking the Uber example, take a look at the table that can be created: 

Factors of an App that is a Product/Market Fit

Requesting User Feedback
User feedback is the most important factor that decides if your app is going to be a hit or miss. Email surveys can be used to ask users to give feedback. One of the most popular way is to use the Net Promoter Score (NPS).
An NPS is obtained using a survey that asks users to rate an app on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means they would never recommend this app to family and friends and 10 means they would definitely recommend the app to family and friends. You can add some extra questions to such a survey to let users explain what they like and dislike about the app.
Once the user shares their feedback, you can make the necessary changes and use the Update feature to incorporate it. Although, there are times when the feedback received is not valid or has confusing and not very detailed feedback.

40% Rule
Sean Ellis, who founded GrowthHackers, suggests that the company should use the 40% rule to conclude if the users actually like and need their app. Ask the users, “How would you feel if you could no longer use this app?” with the below options:

• Really disappointed
• A little disappointed
• Not disappointed
• Already not using the app

If 40% or more of surveyed users say they’d be really disappointed, your app is considered to be a success. This feedback should come from users who have either used the app twice or used it within the last two weeks. This will help you get a definite KPI for your app which you can set as a goal.
  
Active Users
Andrew Chen, the former Head of Growth at Uber and a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, stated that the app’s success depends on active users – further segregated into Daily Active Users and Monthly Active Users. The app metrics that showcases 20% of daily or monthly users, the app can be called successful; whereas, if an app has 50% or more daily or active users, they are considered to be “superstars”. Some examples include, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc.

Retention
Alex Shultz, VP of Growth at Facebook, has his own criteria to measure if an app has product/market fit. He focuses on the retention rate; when it remains stable for a certain period of time or even keeps growing, you’ve achieved product/market fit.
This helps you to have a definite metric to focus on based on your business specifics. The metric also hints at when you need to update your app and also helps you predict your app’s growth.

To Conclude
Most of the information you get on product/market fit is about making an app that achieves just more than a marginal niche. There are a number of products or tool kit apps that can be considered as good examples of a niche service/ product. These are rarely few brands in the mobile app industry, as most apps are mainly focusing on the mass markets.
To build a product or service that is worthwhile, mobile app developers need to keep their attention and invest their time on the product. If mobile app development is not your main business and you choose a company to help you achieve the best fit! Contact the Vancouver Mobile App Developers App Scoop team. 

​Digitization has swept across the world and has changed almost every industry – one such primary industry is the Real Estate. Gone are the days where you had to refer to newspapers and circle out the properties that you are interested in or find worthy agents to search your dream home. It’s time to welcome Real Estate 2.0! 

According to a real estate report, 

• 80% of all home buyers are searching online
• 83% of home buyers see pictures of the property online
• 52% of the prospects used an iPhone in their home search
• 49% of the leads come via referrals
• 91% of realtors use social media to list real estate properties
• 33% of first-time buyers research for real estate properties online

Reference Site: https://www.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/reports/2017/2017-real-estate-in-a-digital-age-03-10-2017.pdf
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The US real estate has taken a huge leap – the overall growth equity funding has been up by 84% in 2018, according to the Real Estate Technology Sector Summary 2018 Year-End Review by GCA Altium.
Reference Site: https://gcaaltium.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GCA_Real-Estate-Technology-Q4-2018-Review.pdf
There has also been a transformation in site visits since the past few years. It is said that by the year 2025, nearly 20 million households in the US would be owned exclusively by folks in the millennial generation. Hence, there needs to be a change in the way real estate is marketed and sold. Let’s take a look at how we can turn the tables around in this rapidly changing market.
​
First Step: Online Viewing of the Property (Searching and Listing)

Before buyers and sellers are matched to each other, they have to be matched to real estate agents; but now buyers and sellers can get in touch directly through online apps. At the same time, buyers and sellers can view the agent’s rating online and choose the best one in the marketplace.
There are already three brands that have made their place in the market:

Nobul.com is an online Canadian real estate marketplace that allows agents to compete for clients. It allows buyers and sellers to compare the agent’s services. Interested agents can then reach out with their offerings. Nobul charges agents a 20-basis point referral fee – $2,000 per $1 million of real estate value – for closed deals.

Property Whispers is an Australian matching platform that covers the residential marketplace, including real estate that’s advertised for sale and that’s for sale off-market. The platform is well-known amongst agents, brokers, and vendors since it helps them get the contact information of matched buyers. In a world where traditional advertising campaigns cost thousands of dollars, the platform charges agents only $99 plus GST per listing (with a free trial provided). Private vendors, in turn, pay only $139 plus GST to list their properties.

Homes.com has a Snap & Search feature that allows buyers to take a picture of the real estate that they wish to buy and the service helps them find a similar one. The platform also allows the buyer to navigate to their ideal location providing average area pricing. Filters such as “must-have” and “around” (for approximate pricing) enable buyers to find relevant listings. All property results have a match score on a scale of 0 to 100, showing how closely a property matches the buyer’s preferences.
In the distant future, there are going to be multitude apps with key features like location based, VR technology and more.

Second Step – Real Estate Showings (Viewing the Property)
​
Once the property has been listed, the next step is the buyer going to tour the property. Time is todays money; hence, technology has stepped in. Real estate apps can conduct showings online. According to a report by the NAR, 10 weeks was approximately the time spent by buyers to find a property (in the year, 2018).

There are two ways of real estate showings:

1. By booking an appointment to view the property
2. Virtual tours – where the buyer can see the property and its features online

For easy offline home tour bookings; the buyer can use:

The Redfin Aggregator asks the buyer to fill in the form of a “Go Tour This Home” option on listing pages. The buyer can also choose their preferable time and date. A lightning bolt symbol by the time slot means that it has been confirmed and accepted by the listing agent.

Another way is by using the Showing Suite app. This app is tailored to schedule property viewings through text messages. When an agent signs up, they can import their active MLS listings to the platform. Then agents can activate a Showing Robot on those listings to automate scheduling. They can also customize how they and their sellers prefer to be notified of new showing requests and confirm them manually.

For virtual tours and video walkthroughs; the buyer can use:

Zillow à Zillow 3D Home feature, a free platform for listing agents. Agents just have to capture panoramas and the app automatically creates a tour.

Realync is an app that is solely dedicated to virtual tours. It allows buyers, agents and sellers to interact via live video and audio, take pictures and notes, and send messages. Each tour file is automatically saved to the cloud for later access and sharing.

The Zillow Real Estate app (iOS only) can be used to show walkthroughs, i.e. short videos of a listing recorded by a mobile phone or some other device. As an intermediary between a seller and buyer, agents strive to ensure stable communication until the deal is closed. The best way to do that is in-app messaging.

Another app that can be used for showings is the Periscope app. It is a live-streaming app by Twitter It allows anyone to film any event they want. This is what is required for an open house! Periscope can help buyers, sellers and agents to sell homes if it is not possible for any party to make it physically to a showing.  

Third Step – Digital Documentation

After the showing is done and the buyer decides to buy the property, he/she no longer needs to run around pillar to post like before. Today, there are several websites and automated tools available that take a fraction of the time needed earlier to prepare all documentation. 

If engaged early during the transaction, these portals record and manage each step:

• Documents needed for the first visit pre-requisites to transaction-related documents
• Payment information
• Ongoing rental revisions

Such portals also allow direct validation credentials with government authorities, enable digital verification of documents, and help with other legal requirements. For the buyer, this means transparent pricing and taxation, transparent and legal payments and the elimination of fraudulent transactions.
The real estate industry involves huge quantities of signed paper documents which must be kept for several years due to legal purposes. Staying organized, finding documents on time and making sure you have all the right papers with you when showing a house can be complicated. In today’s era, the buyer, seller or agent can opt for digitized:

• Signature cards
• Leases
• Contracts
• Loan agreements
• Affidavits
• Assignment of liens
• Purchase agreements
• Real estate disclosure forms
• Financials
• Work orders
• Move–in and move-out documentation
• Notices
• Invoices

This would help realtors save time, boost productivity and increase room in the workspace.
 
Some the real estate apps include:

• Follow Up Boss for centralizing communication
• Folio for organizing your inbox
• Cloud Attract for building real estate-specific landing pages
• Wise Agent for real estate marketing automation
• LeadSimple for reporting on real estate leads and sales
• LionDesk for recording and embedding videos into emails and texts to bring properties to life
• Mojo Dialer for dialing real estate leads
• Showing Suite for scheduling home viewings via text messaging
• Spacio for digitizing open house sign-in forms
• Magicplan for digitally creating floor plans and furnishing rooms
• PalmAgent ONE for estimating closing costs
• Disclosures.io for organizing and sharing disclosures
• DocuSign for signing offers and closing documents

 
To Conclude
​
Every good thing comes with its own set of challenges. Similarly, online transactions and interactions could also prove to be a death-wrenching experience if gone wrong. Ensuring that the opposite party, i.e. the buyer, seller or agent that you are speaking with is genuine. Apps like Silent Beacon and Trust Stamp are tailored to ensuring realtors’ safety. 

For example, Silent Beacon has a panic button and is considered the most trusted app. It provides a list of emergency contacts to send alerts to by means of call, email, or text message. In addition, it shows an agent’s current location to trusted people within five seconds. The greatest feature of the app is that agents can use it to reach 911 directly.

As per the recent trends, there has been a speculation that the agents in real estates will be redundant since all the formalities can be taken care of through different apps and digitalization.

There are also speculations that the Bitcoin market will have a gigantic impact on the financial transactions that are done in the real estate industry. This technology is considered to be a secure system because cryptology is used to ensure that nobody can intermingle with the timestamps or blocks. If somebody does so, there is digital evidence in the system. This makes it ideal for handling data structure and to keep track of records of anything that is valuable, such as financial transactions. A significant benefit of Blockchain in real estate will be an immediate reduction in service fees.
So, if you wish to know more about how to digitalize the real estate industry or make an app for the real estate industry; feel free to contact the App Scoop Vancouver mobile app developers and app development team: https://app-scoop.com/

Advertisements are the oldest form of marketing. They catered mainly to a mass audience who were grouped based on gender, occupation, etc. In today’s times, companies are trying to target each individual based on their unique preferences. Hence, the best way to target individuals is through mobile apps!

Did You Know?
There will be roughly 7 billion mobile users worldwide, by 2020? Annual mobile app downloads in 2022 are projected to reach 258 billion? App store consumer spending is projected to increase by 92% to $157 billion worldwide in 2022?

Yes, it’s all TRUE!
Reference Source: https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/app-annie-2017-2022-forecast/

​In the United States, the average user spends almost three hours a day in mobile applications out of less than four hours a day spent on mobile devices. The mobile app industry is blooming, especially with the constant changes being made in the AI software. Artificial Intelligence helps mobile apps store the user’s data to identify and pre-empt their preferences, needs and choices of the user. This immensely helps brands to market their products. 
Currently, businesses are targeting different app stores for enhancing their brand’s visibility and to reach out to their customers; they are monetizing the applications and reaping out large profits.
 
Advantages of Having a Mobile App for your Business

Quick Search, Quick Find
If the user wishes to purchase a product, he/she needs to log in online, search for the product, keep waiting for URLs to download and gives them the opportunity to compare it with other brands. With a mobile application, companies can ensure that the user just needs to click on an app, type in their preferred product in Search and voila!
An app makes it for the user to even find a product if they are offline and it hardly takes a few seconds. Amazon is one of the leading e-commerce apps because it allows the user to search and get their items delivered by just performing a few steps.

Enables a Direct Marketing Channel
Using mobile apps allows brands to directly sell their products to end-users. It serves many functionalities such as it can provide general information, product prices, search features, news feeds, and so on.
Through push notifications, brands can get even closer to a direct interaction with their customers; and even alerting them if new or discounted products and services are being launched. 

Awareness and Visibility of The Brand
There are different ways to increase awareness and visibility of the brand – as we mentioned, initially different ways of advertising the brand included radios, hoardings, TV, pamphlets, etc. Using a mobile app is like a blank hoarding. Brands can make it stylish, informative and functional as per the business requirement.
For best results, brands should create apps with features that the customers would get attracted to, for instance, simple payment methods, virtual intelligence features, etc. The more often customers get involved with the brand’s app, the sooner they tend to buy their products and services.

Collecting Consumer Data
If an app appears to be trustworthy and is helpful for the users, then certainly the users would love to share their personal data with the brand. Brands can use the AI feature in their app to get personal data from their users.

Onboarding option is one of the best options through which the brands can collect information about the users with a set of few questions that would be produced while registering. If the application offers special offers, discounts or bonuses, then the brand can present a set of questions in return of bonuses that would likely attract the users.
Another way is to track reviews about products and tracking in-app behaviour – this would help the brands take initiative for making effective digital marketing strategies. For instance, the Starbucks mobile app helps Starbucks collect user data, try out new ideas, and roll out targeted data-driven initiatives. The company’s personalization and customer satisfaction efforts are reaping excellent rewards. As of April 2019, Starbucks boasted 16.8 million active loyalty program members.

Geo-Targeted Push to Increase User Base
One of the biggest beneficial factors of the Internet is shattering borders and making the world one place. Mobile apps can not only increase the brand’s user base in the country of their origin but also gives them the scope to enter the International market.
With the help of geo-targeted push notifications, localization and location-based content brands can send specific messages to the right user base. Brands can give users specific content based on their region or even exact location mapping. Location-based calls-to-action feel much more personalized and drives more effective sales.

Connecting with Users
With mobile apps, it becomes easier for the brand to connect with individual users.
Personalizing content for each user makes them feel special and they keep coming back for more. Customers want to experience content that is relevant to them and their interests.
Push-notifications reminds users about your brand and encourages them to use it. Although brands should remember not to overdo it – too many push notifications about irrelevant information would just irritate the users.
In-App messages allows the brands to message the user in the app itself. It is a good way to reach the target audience as it is built into the app experience and is extremely personalized. Messages can introduce new features, and drive conversion.

Social Network Marketing Through Mobile Apps
Due to the ability to synchronize with the social networks, the brand has a higher chance to disperse the virtualization of their content. Users can easily share the brand’s content on their social networks, thus creating viral posts. For instance, the new PUMA ad of Propah Woman has created a stir in society and gained many followers and brand customers.

Summarizing Mobile App Marketing
Mobile apps make the brand stronger. They break all boundaries geologically. The user can walk through the application anywhere and anytime, whether it is during their leisure time or long journeys. To attract maximum attention from the user brands should create apps that reflect all the features the target audience is looking for and involve the users in the app as much as possible. ‘Effective frequency’ exposes the app to more users, hence, the chances of a purchase are even higher.
If you are a brand and wish to create a mobile app, you can contact the Vancouver mobile app developers App Scoop team.

Most times developers and companies measure their app’s success based on the downloads of their app; but most forget that the app only gets profitable if the user actually uses it. The “traffic of the users” on the app is what actually measures its success. You could attract the user to download the app but the question is the user actually using the app after a week, a month or a year. This in the app world is called retention of users.

Keeping the users engaged is one of the most difficult stages; especially in this fast-paced world where similar functionality apps are being introduced in the market with new and better features. This is where customer loyalty comes into play. A loyal customer is the one that will choose your app over your competitors even after a week, a month or a year. The key to gaining a loyal customer could be achieved by gentle “pushing” – in the app world known as a Push Notification.

​What Are Push Notifications and How Do They Help?

​As most of you must be aware, they are the messages that pop up on your smartphone reminding to use the app or sending you offers and updates.  As a whole, push notifications are effective; they encourage both purchases and user retention. However, these messages become even more effective when they’re expertly crafted and personalized.
It’s worth investing time and effort into building push notifications that users really care about. These ensure the most engagement. Remember, if your push messages aren’t valuable, people will simply opt out; or perhaps they won’t opt in to begin with.
As per Localytics, most app users who have enabled push notifications will use an app for at least 9 sessions, with 46% remaining beyond the unofficial retention point of 11 sessions. However, almost half of users who don’t enable push notifications will abandon an app after just 2 sessions. Also, they discovered that the perception of push notifications has improved over time, with 52% of respondents to a 2018 poll stating that pushes were better than they were several years ago.
Reference Source: http://info.localytics.com/blog/21-percent-of-users-abandon-apps-after-one-use

There are 3 essential types of push notifications to inspire loyalty from your users: ​

1. Mechanical Push Notifications
2. Behavioral Push Notifications
3. Location-based Push Notifications

Let’s take a look at each one in detail.
​
1. Mechanical Push Notifications: This type of push notification is sent for a specific activity – it is triggered by a user action, predetermined time, or event. 

• User Action: For instance, if the user has been shopping on an e-commerce app and leaves their cart abandoned, he/she will get a push notification to go back and purchase the items. Nearly, 75% of all shopping carts are abandoned – hence, mechanical push notifications are important.

• Time: For instance, a phone provider will send a notification to the user 24 hours before their card expires. If an app is integrated with a calendar, it can send reminders every time a user has an event planned.

 

• Event: For instance, if someone comments or likes a picture on Facebook, the user will get a notification stating so. This push notification is triggered by a simple event.

Mechanical push notifications are used in a wide variety of apps and have simple logic. Google and Apple provide their own native services for building mobile apps with push notifications for business. Check out these services for Android and iOS.
To set up mobile app push notifications, you can also use third-party tools such as Kinvey, Localytics, and Kumulos. Their advantage is that they can be used cross-platform.

​2. Behavioral Push Notifications: This type of push notification uses Artificial Intelligence to gauge user behavior based on user data and statistics. In other words, the application predicts what the user wants before they even know it.

A recent study by Localytics discovered that users consider notifications triggered by in-app behavior as spying. About 49 percent of respondents stated that they prefer apps that send pushes based on stated preferences over in-app behavior.
 
Reference Source: http://info.localytics.com/blog/push-notification-survey-2018
 

• New Releases: For instance, if a new comedy show is going to be released on Amazon Prime, and the user has seen most comedy shows on this platform; it will send a push notification to the user that a new show is going to be released soon.

 

• New Arrivals: Similarly, if the user has been shopping in a certain store, for instance Marks and Spencer and a sale is going to come up; M&S will send a push notification to user intimating them about the upcoming sale.

 
H&M uses deeply personalized behavioral push notifications to increase sales. The H&M app acts as a personal stylist, offering items that go great with your latest purchases.
 
Reference Source: https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/h-m-we-love-fashion/id834465911?l=en
 

• Cheer-up Notifications: Apps belonging to Fitness genre or Mental Health genre would ideally send out a message to the user during the day. For example, Activity app on Apple Watch is a fitness app that sends helpful and supportive notifications during the day; MyFitnessPal, will kindly remind you if you forget to log a meal; Headspace, a mental health app, sends users notifications to improve their mental state.

 
3. Location-based Push Notifications: This type of push notification is geo-targeted; which means that it is sent to the user when they go to a certain place. These are relatively new in the market. Say for example, if the user has an M&S app, they will be sent a notification that a M&S store is 500m from their current location. 

According to a Localytics survey from 2018 of 1,000 smartphone users, 49% would use an application more if it sent them push notifications in their hometown, and 42% said they would use an app more if it sent pushes triggered by their present location.
 
Reference Source: http://info.localytics.com/blog/push-notification-survey-2018
 
Two types of location-based push notifications:
 

• Based on collected user data: This type of notification is based on a user’s IP address, city, region, and country.

 

• Geo-triggered pushes: Such notifications are sent in real time when a user enters or leaves a certain geographic zone (if they’ve shared their location via their phone).

 
These two types of location-based pushes may contain:

• Announcement of discounts, rewards, and other special offers
• Information about new products
• Information about buying top-ups when travelling
• Updates on the status of orders (for example, when a taxi has arrived)

 
Examples of location-based push notifications:
 
Welcome to Paris! At Starbucks? If you use Foursquare, you probably recognize these questions.
 
Alexa, set a reminder to pick up a book from Penguin Bookstore. When you pass by Penguin’s bookstore, Alexa will notify you. The Alexa app lets users adjust the reminder location radius to as close as 500 feet, which is helpful if you’re on foot.
 
Google Keep, an easy-to-use note-taking app, looks like a dashboard and provides a location-based option for each note. A user can tap “Remind me,” choose “Pick place,” and type an address or search for a location. Users can share notes and location-based reminders with friends who have Gmail accounts.
 
Don’t Push the User Away with Push Notifications  
 
Like they say, all good things should come in small packages; similarly, make sure that you do not overwhelm the user with push notifications. Sending them a lot of information in a short duration of time could drive the user away instead of winning him/her. Give the user the opportunity to choose the push notifications that he/she is interested in; for example, a retailer could add preferences such as, Online Specials, Product Suggestions, New Range, etc. 

When users download an app, give them the option to opt out of allowing you to collect data related to their location and send them pushes. Permission is key! You don’t want the user to feel like they are being stalked or their personal information is being used against them. Conduct thorough research and test notification timing and content to figure out what resonates with your customers.
 
If you are building your app and require assistance with setting push notifications, you can contact the App Scoop mobile app developers and app development team: https://app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

In today’s time, there is not a single service that can’t be availed via a mobile app. Anything you want is literally, “at the tip of your fingers”. There are over five billion mobile users in the world, with global internet penetration standing at 57%.
Source: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/app-statistics/
​
Did you know: As of the first quarter of 2019, these app users could choose to download between 2.6 million Android, and 2.2 million iOS apps. And they certainly are choosing: App Annie sets the total number of app downloads in 2018 at 194 billion; up from 178 billion in 2017.  

The Apple App Store and the Google Play Store dominate this landscape: as such, they are two of the most importance marketplaces in the world, truly global in scope.
Let’s take a look at 50 mobile app statistics, and what we can look forward to in the year 2020.
​
General Mobile App User Statistics:

• Total time spent on mobile devices per day: 215 minutes, or three hours and 35 minutes. It’s expected to reach three hours and 49 minutes by 2020.
• Time spent on mobile websites? 13 minutes a day, according to eMarketer. By 2020, that will likely drop to 12 minutes daily.
• Expected mobile ad spending in the future: Over $160 million worldwide in 2019, and more than $186 million in 2020.

​Source: https://www.inmobi.com/blog/2019/05/21/52-in-app-advertising-statistics-you-should-know

• There are over 10 Million voice-enabled units in circulation between Alexa and Google Home with over 20% of mobile queries being voice searches in 2018, growing to 10% by 2020.Source: https://quoracreative.com/article/mobile-marketing-statistics
• As consumers spend over 5 hours a day on smartphones, and the number of mobile devices is anticipated to reach 16.8 billion by 2023.

Source: https://www.iflexion.com/blog/mobile-banking-trends

• There will be roughly 7 billion mobile users worldwide, by 2020.
• Annual mobile app downloads in 2022 are projected to reach 258 billion. That’s a 45% increase from 178 billion downloads in 2017.
• App store consumer spending is projected to increase by 92% to $157 billion worldwide in 2022.
• In 2019, the average US adult spent three hours and 43 minutes a day on a mobile device.
• Mobile app users in the United States have over 100 apps installed on their smartphones.

Source: https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/app-annie-2017-2022-forecast/

• The average mobile user checks their smartphone 63 times a day.
• Source: https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/smartphone-addiction/
• 87% of users will check their phones at least one hour before sleep, and 69 % of those users will check their phones within 5 minutes before sleep.

Source: https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/smartphone-addiction/

• Generation Z (ages 16-24) spends 20% more time and engages with their most-used apps 30% more often than the rest of the population.

Source: https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/gen-z-redefining-mobile-world-order/

• Mobile apps account for 57% of all digital media usage.

Source: https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2017/The-2017-US-Mobile-App-Report

•  By 2020, 30% of all B2B companies will employ artificial intelligence (AI) to augment at least one of their primary sales processes.

Source: https://www.mediabuzz.com.sg/research-analysis-and-trends-feb2018/by-2020-one-third-of-all-b2b-companies-will-have-employed-ai-to-augment-their-primary-sales-processes-gartner-said

• By 2020, Facebook predicts that more people are predicted to have mobile phones than running water or electricity at home. An estimated 3 billion people will gain access to mobile phones by 2020.

Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-2020/

• 83% of enterprise workloads will be in the cloud by 2020.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/01/07/83-of-enterprise-workloads-will-be-in-the-cloud-by-2020/#5b7666a96261

• The global mobile workforce is expected to reach 1.87 billion workers (over 42 percent of the global workforce) by 2022.

Source: https://www.ibm.com/topics/mobile-workforce

Voice-based Apps

• 50% of all online searches will be voice-based by 2020.
• 30% of all web browsing sessions will be done without a screen by 2020.
• 55% of households are expected to own smart speaker devices by 2022.
• Global voice commerce is expected to be worth $40B by 2022.
• Voice commerce is expected to jump to $40B by 2022.

Source: https://99firms.com/blog/voice-search-statistics/#gref

Banking Mobile Apps

• eMarketer expects that by 2022, almost 78% of the US millennial population will become digital banking users.
• By 2021, credit cards, debit cards, and mobile wallets are projected to surpass cash at all point of sales.
• By 2020, the expected fraud losses incurred on credit, debit, and pre-paid cards could surpass $12 billion.

Source: https://www.iflexion.com/blog/mobile-banking-trends

• By 2020, 90% of smartphone users will have made a mobile payment.
• By 2022, mobile transactions are projected to grow by 121%, eventually composing 88% of all banking transactions.
• The combined market share of Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Google Pay in mobile payment will be 56% by 2021 in the U.S.
•  U.S. in-store mobile payments will rise steadily at a 40% compound annual growth rate to hit $128 billion in 2021.

Source: https://carsurance.net/blog/fintech-statistics/

Fintech Blockchain Statistics

• Fully 77% of financial services incumbents responding to a recent survey expect to adopt blockchain as part of an in-production system or process by 2020.
• Global revenue from enterprise blockchain applications is expected to rise from $2.5 billion to $19.9 billion by 2025.

Source: https://carsurance.net/blog/fintech-statistics/

Artificial Intelligence in Fintech Statistics  

• Successful banking-related chatbot interactions will grow 3,150% between 2019 and 2023.
• Robo-advisors are expected to manage $2 trillion in assets by 2020.

Source: https://carsurance.net/blog/fintech-statistics/

Extended Reality Statistics

• The extended reality market amounted to $27 billion in 2018 and is expected to expand dramatically in the coming years, with forecasts for 2022 surpassing $209 billion.
•  By 2020, 100 million consumers will shop in AR both online and in retail stores.

Source: https://carsurance.net/blog/fintech-statistics/

Food/Restaurant Apps Statistics

• By 2021, more than 20% of US smartphone users will use a food delivery app.
• By 2020, food delivery app usage will surpass 44 million people in the US, reaching nearly 60 million by 2023.

Source: https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-food-delivery-app-usage-will-approach-40-million-users-in-2019

• Orders placed via smartphone and mobile apps will become a $38 billion industry and make up nearly 11 percent of all quick-service restaurant sales by 2020, according to Business Insider Intelligence reports.

Source: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/outside-insights/mobile-ordering-races-38-billion-future

Gaming Apps on Mobile Growth Statistics

• The mobile gaming industry has proven it’s on track to increase market share, with the global industry projected to reach $106 billion by 2021.
•  By 2021, mobile gaming (which includes tablets) is expected to account for over half (59%) of the entire gaming market.
•  The total number of U.S. mobile gamers is predicted to rise to 213 million by 2020.
•  The world’s mobile gaming population is expected to rise from 2.2 billion in 2018 to over 2.7 billion by 2021. China is one of the countries where mobile gaming is most popular, with 459 million total mobile gamers—the equivalent to the U.S and Japan’s populations combined.

Source: https://mediakix.com/blog/mobile-gaming-industry-statistics-market-revenue/
 
Advertising Statistics

• Global mobile app revenue is projected to generate $582 billion U.S. dollars through paid downloads and in-app advertising in 2020.

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/269025/worldwide-mobile-app-revenue-forecast/

• By the end of 2020, it’s projected that Instagram’s ad revenue will make up 30% of Facebook’s total ad revenue.

Source: https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/social-media-marketing-statistics/

Video Statistics

• 82% of internet traffic will come from video by 2020.

Source: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/12-video-statistics-to-guide-your-2020-online-marketing-strategy-infograph/562271/

• The number of users viewing video content on a mobile device in the United States is projected to reach 179 million in 2020.

Source: https://www.statista.com/topics/1137/online-video/

Social Media Apps Statistics

• Facebook predicts that by 2020, 80% of smartphone users are projected to be using a mobile messaging app.

Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-2020/

• By 2021 mobile users are predicted to spend roughly 47 minutes daily on social network apps.

Source: https://www.emarketer.com/content/daily-forecast-time-spent-with-social-network-apps-in-the-us-continues-to-outpace-messaging-apps

• The volume of brand-sponsored influencer content on Instagram is projected to amount to 6.12 million posts in 2020.

Source: https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/social-media-marketing-statistics/

In Conclusion
The year 2020 is going to be a beginning in the revolution of the mobile app industry. Remember, mobile marketing is not an easy task – with hundreds of apps being rolled out every week, it is imperative that you need a plan to break into the market by developing a mobile strategy that best suits your company’s or product’s business objective.
Breaking into the mobile market is an iterative process that requires in-depth research, extensive planning, and unbeatable dedication. If you need a helping hand to design and launch your app and take a piece out of the cake in 2020, get in touch with the App Scoop mobile app development Vancouver ​ Team: https://app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

Blockchain has been disrupting the tech and financial market since the past 5 years. Blockchain was originally created to support the Bitcoin but soon the tech community has started using this technology for other purposes.
​
Blockchain is the brainchild of a person or a group of people known by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. In 2017, the global Blockchain technology market is predicted to reach 339.5 million U.S. dollars in size and is forecast to grow to 2.3 billion U.S. dollars by 2021.
Reference Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/647231/worldwide-Blockchain-technology-market-size/   

An article in Forbes states, “One of the most notable changes was the increase in vibrant conversation around Blockchain, which is being introduced to broaden the market’s transparency, track ownership and provenance, and provide an infrastructure for the tokenization of fractional artwork sales.” But the question is, why is the Blockchain technology being leveraged above all the other technological upsurge?
Reference Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zoharelhanani/2018/12/17/how-Blockchain-changed-the-art-world-in-2018/#480288a23074
 
Blockchain’s Key Feature: Secured Database

Blockchain has its database in more than one location, with hundreds, thousands, even potentially millions of duplicated records around the world, all updated every 15 minutes and unchangeable, immutable. 
Furthermore, this technology is considered to be a secure system because cryptology is used to ensure that nobody can intermingle with the timestamps or blocks. If somebody does so, there is digital evidence in the system. This makes it ideal for handling data structure and to keep track of records of anything that is valuable, such as financial transactions.
Hence, Blockchain technology is being widely adopted by sectors who need a secured database for financial transactions. Let’s take a look at how Blockchain is being used in the Auction Industry.

Blockchain: Auction Industry: Real Estate

As we know, that real estate forms a big part of the Auction Industry. It touches the lives of just about everyone, but we also know that real estate transactions can be complicated for the parties involved; buyer, seller and sometimes the agent.
An article in Biz Journals states:

“Blockchain is now being used to list and sell properties as I wrote about here at Business Journals for a recent “Packer’s House” in Greenbay, Wisconsin. Now it is being used for a first-ever real estate auction in Rome Italy for the renowned Palazzetto Hotel.
This is listed and being serviced by Propy, a real estate firm in the San Francisco Bay Area. In a recent interview I spoke with the CEO, Natalia Karayaneva, and CTO, Alex Voloshyn, about the ramifications of this for buyers, sellers, and for real estate professionals.”
Reference Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/technology/2018/07/how-Blockchain-can-change-real-estate-transactions.html

Real estate in the Auction Industry is one of the perfect examples that could benefit from adopting Blockchain. For the buyer, seller and the agent, it can:

• Save money (taxes, service fees, etc.)
• Increase security in transactions
• Make the processing time faster than ever

A significant benefit of Blockchain in real estate, out of the above, is an immediate reduction in service fees. You need to involve a professional (ideally, who would charge a good fee) for a real estate transaction. But what if we said that Blockchain can make a smart contract that would take care of the following:

• Prepare a detailed, thorough, extensive contract that would lay out what is needed to be done, and when
• List the nitty-gritty in important details and didn’t allow funds to transfer until specific requirements were met
• No interference in exchange of funds due a third-party or ‘a bad actor’ once they have been verified as completed

Great, right!? This technology is changing the workings of the real estate world, especially people who
have won the auction on a house.

Blockchain: Auction Industry: Art

Another sector that is popular in the Auction Industry is the art world. According to an article in Forbes:

“The art world witnessed an extraordinary auction on November 13th at the Christie’s Auction House in New York. Not only the collection of the late Barney A. Ebsworth raised over $300 million, setting the new world auction records for Edward Hopper and Willem de Kooning, but also for the first-time-ever, the results of the major auction sale were recorded using Blockchain technology. To do so, Christie’s has collaborated with Artory, the leading independent Blockchain-based registry for the art market built on Ethereum Blockchain.”

​Reference Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/elenazavelev/2018/11/26/is-Blockchain-the-right-solution-for-the-auction-houses/#70b4d2a31bf8

Artory’s Registry, built on the public Blockchain, creates a system for vetting, memorializing and protecting transactional data, while simultaneously allowing the artwork’s owner to stay completely anonymous. One of the striking features of Artory’s Registry is that the company uses third-party vetted service providers, such as auction houses, to supply the data for their registry, creating a reputational guarantee that the information is correct.

Weeks before the auction Richard Entrup, CIO at Christie’s, commented in a press release: “Our pilot collaboration with Artory…reflects growing interest within our industry to explore the benefits of secure digital registry via Blockchain technology.”
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Reference Source: https://news.artnet.com/market/christies-artory-blockchain-pilot-1370788

The art world wasn’t very open to a decentralized database technology, but as we are approaching a new era of online transactions, Blockchain would benefit the younger collectors who want to partner with notable brands and establish relations with living artists.

Another reason of the art world excepting Blockchain is because of the success of Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Jason Bailey, the founder of Artnome and an advisor to Portion suggests that, “the lack of good data has led to a major problem with forgery and misattribution”, and the fact that Christie’s used “Blockchain for the Ebsworth collection is an early step towards data transparency and improved provenance.” Bailey also suggests that “the art market currently fails to support most working artists in any meaningful way.”

Reference Source: https://coinspectator.com/news/1084395/is-blockchain-the-right-solution-for-the-auction-houses

​Future of Blockchain in the Auction Industry

Now, that the world is opening up to a decentralized database for secured transactions, we are to see if all auction houses will now add Blockchain tools to record auction data routinely.
Real estate professionals at Propy state their opinions on how it will affect the industry in an interview recorded: https://steemit.com/blockchain/@terrybrock/blockchain-first-ever-auction-in-real-estate-what-it-means-to-you

The art industry’s growing interest in blockchain was made evident by its presence in the media. There was a noticeable increase in art and blockchain-related news, and a number of conferences were dedicated to the subject. 2018’s Ethereal Summit, a global conference about blockchain technology, placed emphasis on the art world, even concluding the event with a live auction.

Reference Source: https://www.etherealsummit.com/

A lot will depend on the extent to which the big art market players, will adopt this technology in their operations and we are yet to observe how long it will take. If you need more information on Blockchain, you can get in touch with the App Scoop mobile application development Vancouver team: https://app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

How many times have you been not able to obtain information or receive help from an app because of network issues or no network? We have become so dependent on our smart devices that when they don’t work, we feel helpless; like time has come to a halt and we are back in the 90s. In order for the user to retain your app, it should also work offline. Apps with GPS navigation, medical facilities/information and banking apps should be programmed in a way that they can also work offline.

Some of the advantages of offline working apps include:

• No internet connection
• Quick information download
• Not draining the phone’s battery

Let’s take a look at how to create an app that can be built for offline use.

Deciding on Offline Features
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Let’s begin by listing down the steps that will help the company/organization to decide on offline features for the app:

• Firstly, it is important to have your app plan in place which includes listing down the core purpose of the app, analyzing the workflow of the app and jotting down the features that need to incorporated to build the app.
• The next step would be to prioritize the features (must-haves, good to have, etc.) for the app.
• After deciding the features that are the most essential for the app, the same needs to be communicated to the developer so that they are able to understand the business goals and plan a well-tailored solution.

The Eisenhower Decision Matrix can be used to help you see more intrinsically on what features are important and which are not. 

In order to fill the matrix:

• List the features that need to be available offline in your app
• Based on user vote and research, determine how important each feature is for them while using your app
• Decide the difficulty level of incorporating each feature
• Fill the matrix with the collected information and prioritize

For instance, if your app offers taxi service, there will be multiple features in it, such as map, costing, location of the driver, location of the customer, customer contact number, etc. Hence, the next step will be to decide which of these features need to be available offline and how difficult would it be to incorporate them offline.

Key Technologies that Allow the App to Work in Offline Mode

Mobile apps can be built with two core capabilities:

1. Local storage/database
2. Data synchronization 

 
Local Storage/Database
When the app works offline, the data will need to be stored on the client’s device, so that it can be used when its offline. Offline data storage can be done using different methods (and different for different platforms). Let’s go through them.

Local Caching and Cookies
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• If web technologies are used to build a mobile app, the browser application uses cache and cookies. In order to make the data available offline to the user, the developer will need to program a cache manifest, i.e. a simple list of essential files. In this manner, the browser can use pages that have already been downloaded rather than displaying an error to retrieve the page when there is no longer a network connection.

 

• The other approach is to retain browser cookies. This is one of the most basic approach but is very limited because cookies only tend to store 4KB of data. A disadvantage of using this method is that cookies are re-sent to the server with each HTTP request, which results in a waste of a lot of bandwidth to re-send the all offline data even when it is not needed. Storing data in cookies is only recommended only for simple storage.

 
Tools for storing data in the web browser:

• “IndexedDB is a low-level API for client-side storage of significant amounts of structured data, including files/blobs. This API uses indexes to enable high-performance searches of this data. While Web Storage is useful for storing smaller amounts of data, it is less useful for storing larger amounts of structured data.”

Reference Source: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/IndexedDB_API
 

• The service worker is like a shared worker in that it runs in its own global script context (usually in its own thread). It isn’t tied to a particular page and has no DOM access. Also, it can run without any page at all, can terminate when it isn’t in use, and run again when needed (i.e., it’s event-driven) and has a defined upgrade model.

Reference Source: https://github.com/w3c/ServiceWorker/blob/master/explainer.md
 
Shared Preferences 
For platforms such as Android and iOS, there is a certain mechanism that allows storing of user’s preferences (pieces of information saved persistently and used to configure the app) which allows the app to work in offline mode.
 

• Android platform provides SharedPreferences, APIs that can be used to save a relatively small collection of primitive data in key-values pairs. To simply put it, a SharedPreferences object is a reference to the file that contains key-value pairs and APIs provide simple methods to read and write preferences.

In this case, you have a key that can only be the string type, and the appropriate value for that key. In turn, the value can be one of the following types: boolean, float, int, long, or string.
 
Each of the SharedPreferences files is managed by the Android platform and is internally stored as an .xml file in a private directory. An app can have multiple SharedPreferences files and, ideally, they are used to store app preferences.
 

• iOS Platform uses the NSUserDefaults class in order to save and update user’s preferences. The NSUserDefaults class provides a programmatic interface that permits an app to customize its behavior to match a user’s preferences.

 
For instance, users can save a profile image offline or add a feature that saves documents automatically. These preferences are recorded by the app in what is known as the iOS “defaults system.” In this way, information is cached, which helps avoid the opening of the user’s defaults database each time you need a default value.
 
The iOS defaults system is available within all of the code in your mobile app, any saved to the defaults system data will persist through app sessions. What this means for the user is that after the app closes or reboots, the saved data will still be retained.
 
Reference Source: https://dzone.com/articles/how-to-make-mobile-app-work-offline
 
Local (Internal/External) Storage 
An Internal/External Data Storage method is used specifically for those situations that need to store data to the device filesystem which doesn’t require relational database capabilities. Furthermore,

• It allows very fast storage of data.
• It is easy to use.
• All of the data that was stored using the Internal Storage method is thoroughly private to your app, and after your app is uninstalled, the data is deleted from the device.

 
SQLite Database

Majority of mobile platforms, such as Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, provide support for apps to use SQLite databases for data storage, although database managing is specific for each platform. SQLite is an open source database system which works great on mobile devices as its storage offers an app the speed and power of a full featured relational database. SQLite uses a single file to store all the data to make management of data simple. It is an easy and simple to use alternative for queuing or caching information.
 
Reference Source: To read more, https://dzone.com/articles/how-to-make-mobile-app-work-offline
 
Data Synchronization 
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Performing some action in offline mode and then synchronizing it with a central repository is one of the core features of an offline app. Generally, an app has both client-side storage and server-side storage, and the app manages the flow of data between the server and the client. The offline mode feature allows the user to edit information on the server-side and, at the same time, on the mobile side. 

With this approach, the synchronization logic should ensure that after successful synchronization, data will be up-to-date on the mobile and server side at the same time. This can be achieved by adding certain “audit” fields to each object that should be synchronized between mobile and server, and vice versa. These fields can be like these: ‘last_updated_on’, ‘created_on’, and if the data isn’t physically removed: ‘deleted_on’.
Reconnecting too often might drain the battery, hence, slots need to be defined that are good for downloading data. It is necessary to determine different synchronization cycles for different data according to the needs of the business. It is better when small data packages require high-frequency updates.

Summarizing
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In today’s time, the user expects offline services from apps and hence, it can no longer be ignored. The mobile app’s user experience will improve leaps and bounds, if majority of offline scenarios are implemented. If you wish to incorporate an offline mode for your app, but need help or clarification, you can get in touch with the App Scoop mobile app development team and developers : https://app-scoop.com/contact-us.html