Methodology

In this study, Forrester conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers in the US, UK,

Canada, and India who use mobile devices, a survey of 200 technology and

business professionals for mobile apps in the US, UK, Canada, and India, and six

qualitative interviews with mobile app initiative leaders in enterprises of 500+

employees.

Base: various mobile app professionals, sorted by respondents who self-rated

their best-performing mobile application as either “great” or “good”

*Base: 1,000 consumers in US, Canada, UK, India who use mobile devices

Source: A study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, September

2015

The Rise of the Great Mobile App

A “great” mobile application yields significant, long-term improvements in customer loyalty and employee productivity, all while lowering operational costs and driving both direct and indirect revenue.

Good mobile apps are not good enough.

What separates a “great” mobile app from a “good” one?

Consumers say great apps excel in the following areas*:

Great apps are a key differentiator for

your business.

Great apps outperform good apps in four key areas.

“Our mobile app is a digital representation of our physical

store… when customers walk into our stores, they want speed

and convenience. We want to bring that to the app, for instance

we don’t overload the front pages with heavy media images.”

Director of product management and mobile

commerce at US retail chain

#1 Creating direct revenue

Great apps make an average of FIVE TIMES more

revenue than good ones.

Influencing sales in other channels

People use mobile apps to compare prices, check

reviews, and research products they later buy in-

store or on the Web.

#2

“By how much would you estimate the app influenced sales through other channels?”

Average increase

#3 Lowering costs

Great apps go right to the bottom line.

Great apps beat good apps on cost savings by 12 percentage

points. Productivity rises an additional 10 points.

Find out more about the upside of delivering a great app,

including obstacles to avoid and tips for how to get there.

Download the full study: ibm.biz/GreatApps

TLP

29% 44%17% 34%

Great Apps Good Apps

Decrease operational

costs

Improve employee

productivity

Increasing customer loyalty

Engaged mobile users spend more money and

recommend products and services to other friends.

#4

Great apps improve customer loyalty rates by 15 percentage points.

Flawless uptime, power use, and speed.

Easily accessible; anytime, anywhere.

Give the user control over the interaction.

Provide relevant contextual experiences.

Great apps

$45,609,066

Good apps

$9,526,037

“The mobile channel has proven

to be a large driver of sales and

customer satisfaction and

engagement. We are pro-

portionately aligning our mobile

investment with that growth.”

Director of product

management and

mobile commerce at

US retail chain

Great apps

44.1%

Good apps

38.3%

47% 32%

Great Apps Good Apps

“We’ve seen 10-figure sales

through mobile devices. But that

number is insignificant until you

attribute sales in-store to mobile

— for each dollar spent online,

it influenced $5.00 in in-store

purchases.”

eCommerce director,

US discount retailer