AppsFlyer Survey Reveals Majority of Enterprises Are Mobile-first as Over 40% of Total Sales Are Now Exclusively Through Mobile Apps

New study conducted with insights from Adobe explores enterprise corporations’ mobile strategy through the lens of post-pandemic mobile transformation

AppsFlyer today published The Mobile-First Enterprise: How Corporations are Being Transformed by Mobile Devices, a study conducted with insights from Adobe on the mobile practices of leading executives in large corporations. Globally mobile-first has become the standard, and with almost half of total customers using mobile, corporations must weigh their mobile experience as a key decision factor in their business strategy.

Spurred on by the pandemic, mobile transformation within enterprise corporations has reached critical momentum. According to the study, apps are now considered the leading way to securely connect with brands. On average, 40% or more of existing sales are conducted exclusively through mobile in addition to becoming an indispensable determinant in customer acquisition.

“Mobile-first is now the norm, with many corporations aspiring to achieve a majority of their business functionality from mobile,” said Brian Quinn, President and General Manager, AppsFlyer. “Focusing on the app-centric future is pivotal because mobile-first customers are truly in control of their relationship with enterprise brands. To contend with the mobile-first transformation, corporations must face their biggest challenges: solidifying cross-channel measurement and incrementality, and the lack of organizational change management that could drive real mobile success.”

Key Findings

• Mobile has become an integral part of the customer lifecycle with more than 40% of total customers engaging through mobile. Nearly two-thirds of enterprises are strongly “mobile-first”, with the goal for the majority of enterprises to have over 60% of customers connecting through mobile apps.
• Enterprise corporations today see mobile as an acquisition as well as a retention channel. Nearly 75% of corporations engage with existing users through push and in-app messaging, and over a third use mobile apps to upsell current customers.
• On average, 40% or more of existing sales are now being conducted through mobile. Future looking, over one-third of respondents see over 50% of their sales coming through their mobile apps.
• Mobile is now replicating much of business functionality and for nearly a quarter of respondents, the goal is for it to replicate 100%. The goal for over half is to be able to conduct more than 75% of their functionality via their app.
• Privacy issues are of growing concern, with nearly 85% concerned about privacy developments. However, nearly 40% don’t know their Apple’s Track Transparency (ATT) opt-in rate, with a large share of respondents unsure or unaware of how many users of their app would reject the prompt.
• Lack of organizational change and the hiring crisis pose the greatest challenge. Realizing mobile success continues to pose serious challenges within enterprise corporations. The pandemic hiring crisis in mobile shows that most companies are still unsure on how to secure and maintain the right talent.

In addition to the quantitative study, Adobe experts in the healthcare and finance sector provided insight into the accelerated digital transformation and shift to mobile in their respective industries.

“Mobile is now the primary channel in terms of usage in financial services today. The established players are competing against mobile-only companies, where the entirety of experience is delivered through a mobile application,” said Christopher Young, Director, Financial Services Industry Strategy, Adobe. “To create more meaningful digital experiences that improve the financial health and well-being of their customers, banking apps have to evolve from simplifying transactions to helping consumers make smarter decisions with their money.”

Methodology

This B2B survey was conducted among executives at enterprise companies, here defined as those with 1,000+ employees, involved in digital operations, growth and marketing roles. AppsFlyer developed the survey with participation from Adobe. 302 respondents total for the quantitative survey plus 8 qualitative surveys of VP-level executives were conducted. The survey was fielded between August 29 and October 5, 2021 by NewtonX, a B2B research company which verified and screened all participants.

The Mobile-First Enterprise: How Corporations are Being Transformed by Mobile Devices is available here: https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/reports/mobile-first-enterprise-survey/

About AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer helps brands make good choices for their business and their customers through innovative, privacy-preserving measurement, analytics, fraud protection, and engagement technologies. Built on the idea that brands can increase customer privacy while providing exceptional experiences, AppsFlyer empowers thousands of creators and 9,000+ technology partners to create better, more meaningful customer relationships. To learn more, visit www.appsflyer.com.

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