On Demand Apps – The Future of App Development?
When we talk about on demand apps being the future of app development – first we must understand exactly – What is an on demand app?
Have you ever watched Netflix? Have you ever shopped on eBay? Have you ever booked an air bnb? These are all on demand apps.
- An on demand app is simply an app which, for a small fee brings a service closer to your door.
- An on demand app is an online marketplace for a specific product.
Uber and Uber Eats are prime examples of these services; Uber brings the transport to you and takes out the effort of waiting on the end of a phone to the local taxi service and the uncertainty of whether the taxi is actually going to turn up, it streamlines the process by showing you exactly where your ride is and what time it’s expected to arrive.
Uber Eats is the same format; you can order your food, see the location of the driver and know exactly when your hot tasty pizza is going to arrive at your door!
The on demand economy is growing larger and larger each year with a multitude of industries now wanting a slice of the pie.
The transportation sector is absolutely soaring with various rideshare companies that are now in direct competition with Uber. We are now starting to see a trend in other companies such Ola, Didi, Scooti and even Shebah (which is specifically for women) all maximizing on the demand for rideshare options which provide not only a smoother service but even security and peace of mind for the rider.
Online marketplaces such as eBay and Etsy have always done well with 16.3 million consumers each month spending almost $36 billion annually.
More recently we have begun to see a real surge in the pharmaceutical sector with giants like Amazon most recently launching Amazon Pharmacy whereby the user can access medication, prescriptions, book appointments and have real time chat with doctors and other medical professionals.
As we move into a contactless world, the demand and the necessity for services which reduce human contact are becoming not only accepted but expected particularly with the younger generation, some of which have never lived in a world without smartphones – crazy!
Key industries and sectors who have had to reposition in the wave of the pandemic are now starting to offer on demand app services. We are seeing businesses who would have never thought of building a mobile app now considering this option in order to continue to provide a service to their customers.
We now have on demand services for food and grocery delivery such as Coles and Woolworths. We also have options for beauty services, travel, fitness and even pet care!
A Harvard Business Review uncovered the following statistics:
Unsurprisingly, almost half (49%) of on-demand consumers are millennials (age 18-34), but 30% are between 35 and 54, and 22% are age 55 or older.
However, the majority of on-demand consumers are still white (63%), followed by African American (17%), Asian (12%), and Hispanic (9%) consumers.
The on-demand economy is attracting more than 22.4 million consumers annually and $57.6 billion in spending.
The largest category of on-demand spending is online marketplaces (e.g. eBay, Etsy), with 16.3 million consumers each month spending almost $36 billion annually.
Transportation (e.g. Uber, Lyft) comes in second with 7.3 million monthly consumers and $5.6 billion in annual spending, followed by food/grocery delivery (e.g. Instacart) at 5.5 million monthly consumers and $4.6 billion annual spending.
Other on-demand services including home services (e.g. TaskRabbit), freelancer services (e.g. Elance), and health and beauty services (e.g. StyleSeat) accounts for $8.1 billion in spending each year, and all other on-demand activity comes in at $3.8 billion.
Final Thoughts
We can clearly see by the data that the appetite for convenience services is growing year on year, and as we continue to work through the ognoing effects of the pandemic the team at Media Shark HQ believe there is a great opportunity for startups and entrepreneurs to make a success of an on demand mobile app.
Firstly you must choose your target audience or your niche, and identify the problem they have or the service they want.
Read our next article A Guide to Building An On Demand App and following on from that Gain Investment For Your App – Our Top Tips to gain further insights into our recommendations of hw to make your app development journey a success.
