Apps versus browsers

The top ten activities accessed using an app or a browser

Question. For each of the mobile activities below, would you typically use an app or a browser?

Weighted base: Respondents who own or have access to a smartphone (3,251) Source: UK edition, Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, May–Jun 2016

Smartphone users like apps for some, but not all activities. Apps tend to be most successful for processes or tasks which are used regularly. Among UK smartphone owners, 56 per cent would typically use an app to check the weather, whereas only a fifth would use a browser.

While apps can be very useful, smartphone owners are in general disinclined to download them in large numbers. Among smartphone owners aware of how many apps they have, the majority have downloaded 20 or fewer. Only ten per cent have downloaded 30 or more.

This means that most users download just 0.00001 per cent of the millions of apps available. The most common reason, noted by 61 per cent of respondents, for not downloading more apps is lack of perceived need.