The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people use apps. Nowadays more users are turning to mobile apps for work and entertainment, while companies leverage them to improve business processes.

According to the latest statistics, Android is the leading mobile operating system in 2021, so Android app development is on the rise. Businesses across different industry sectors integrate mobile apps in their digital transformation strategies. Below we’ll discuss what industries can leverage mobile apps.

Why Mobile Apps Are Important for Your Business

• Provide more value to your customers

To meet the evolving customers’ expectations, business owners have to expand their landscape and leverage new channels. Mobile apps are among the tools that can add more value to your customers. Listening to your customer’s needs will help you understand what value to add.

Businesses now understand that branded mobile apps work better than other marketing options. Since mobile devices have become an essential part of our lives, it’s a great chance to build your brand by adding unique elements like logo, colors, etc. to your mobile app to let customers remember your brand.

• Reach higher customer engagement level

In today’s digital world, people perform more and more tasks via mobile devices. For businesses, it means an increased level of engagement in their services as customers always have their smartphones at hand.

• Offer instant, better customer service

Mobile apps offer instant access to services and products. Your customers will need to do a few clicks to reach you instead of visiting your company offline.

The better experience your customers get, the more loyalty to your services they will express. With mobile apps, businesses can provide a user experience tailored to individuals’ needs.

• Have a competitive edge in your niche

Nowadays, going mobile may provide you with additional competitive advantages, but in some industries, you may need it not to stay behind your competitors.

5 Industries That Benefit From Mobile Apps

Healthcare

Mobile healthcare can revolutionize the industry by enhancing communication and the quality of patient care and services. Mobile apps are beneficial not only for doctors and patients but also for other medical staff employees, including nurses, pharmacists, etc. Mobile healthcare apps can also assist patients in various areas such as weight loss, health tracking, pregnancies, nutrition, and others. In particular, here’s how healthcare providers can take advantage of mobile apps:

• Online appointment. Hospitals can reach patients easier by allowing them to arrange a visit to a doctor online. Patients don’t need to go out of their houses, so it provides immediate access to hospitals’ services. Moreover, you can communicate with patients directly via mobile healthcare apps.
• Notifying about emergency cases. Mobile apps can be also used to take an emergency call faster. With mobile apps, doctors can receive all the information about the emergency directly on their devices, which saves the time required for preparing for an emergency.
• Easy coordination with doctors and patients. Mobile apps enhance communication not only between patients and doctors but also across different departments and labs. Doctors can send prescriptions to patients directly, while labs, for example, can notify doctors about the test results.
• Integration with wearables. Mobile apps can be connected to wearable devices to collect data about patients, including blood pressure, pulse rate, etc. This will provide doctors with additional information to make a more precise diagnosis and help doctors monitor their patients’ conditions based on daily health records.

Finance

There are many aspects of how mobile apps can be used in the financial sector, and here are a few of them:

• Mobile banking. With the COVID-19 lockdown, the digitalization of banking services has been crucial like never before. Being trapped in their houses, users needed to complete their financial transactions via mobile gadgets. To keep up with the growing demands of mobile banking users, banks should continue to adapt their services to market demands. Unless they do it, they won’t be able to stay relevant.
• Mobile payments. Since most governments have been adopting cashless transactions, mobile application developers are considering this feature very seriously and integrating it into financial mobile apps. Millions of users have already been using Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others.
• Personal finance management. Another area where mobile apps are up-to-date nowadays is personal finances that require smart management. With such apps, consumers can have a better accounting of their finances, stay confident with their financial decisions, and meet their financial goals.

E-commerce

E-commerce is among the first industries that started adopting mobile apps to attract new customers and retain the existing ones. Mobile apps give a lot of benefits to retail brands. By developing a mobile app in addition to an e-commerce website, they can increase conversions, improve user engagement, and offer a highly personalized shopping experience to their clients. According to Statista, the number of m-commerce sales has been significantly growing since 2016 and has reached 72.9% of e-commerce sales by 2021. In today’s world, people prefer making purchases on the go, so the potential of mobile apps in the e-commerce industry is unlimited.

Education

The education industry can also benefit from mobile app development. Mobile apps can be applied to solve learning tasks and support other challenges like students’ security or hiring a teacher or babysitter on-demand. Here are several useful ideas of how educators and parents take advantage of mobile applications.

• AR learning apps. It’s a great way to explain things most efficiently. Such apps grab students’ attention and help them understand complicated things easier as they’re provided more realistically.
• Game-based applications. Another brilliant idea is to leverage games for educational purposes. Both children and adults like games, so why not introduce this approach to the learning process?
• School bus tracking apps. This type of mobile app allows parents and administrators to track the geo-location of a school bus in real-time. What’s more, parents can be reminded to pick up children when the bus reaches a certain spot.

Logistics

In today’s competitive market, organizations use logistics and supply chain mobile applications to improve operational efficiency. These apps help workers address different challenges ranging from inventory management to transport tracking. Below are the examples of mobile apps for logistics and supply chain management:

• Trucking applications eliminate paperwork by tracking the GPS locations of trucks.
• Inventory optimization applications automate procurement processes to be able to forecast the demand efficiently.
• Issue management apps solve issues while drivers are on the move.
• Barcode scanning apps streamline inventory management by an intelligent recognition of QR codes.
• Field service management apps integrate field service contracts, order management, and other operations related to field services.

Final Thoughts

Since COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of businesses, it’s vital to adapt to technology trends. With the growing use of mobile devices, mobile app development is the one to consider in the coming year. Whatever industry you operate in, It’s crucial to employ mobile applications in your business. They will not only improve your current processes but also give new opportunities for business growth and provide a competitive advantage that will allow you to stay relevant in the market.