"The world is going digital," would have implied something different a few months to what it does now. At the start of the year, the 'going digital' phrase meant a continuous forward movement of humanity as it embraced technological tools. It was an evolutionary process; slow yet inevitable. And now, there's a very different connotation and ring to the same phrase; it implies safety, security and a sense of urgency. Digital is no longer a choice but a necessity. The best example of the shift can be gauged in how our interactions have changed with the ubiquitous mobile apps. The apps which earlier were just a distraction in our lives are now vital. From buying grocery to keep us safe from the epidemic, apps have become an integral part of our daily life.

In many ways, this shift from diversion to necessity was a continuous shift. As mobile smartphones became cheap and ubiquitous, it was inevitable that the mobile app industry will grow exponentially. According to Statista, there are three billion smartphone users in the world, with several hundred million to be added in the coming years. Of all the countries; China, India, and the United States are the countries with the highest number of smartphone users. According to market research firm techARC, India had 502.2 million smartphone users as of December 2019, which means over 77% of Indians are now accessing wireless broadband through smartphones.

The growth of Mobile Apps

This humungous growth in smartphone users has had a direct impact on the mobile app ecosystem. As of March 2020, there are 2.56 million apps on Google Play and around 1.85 million on Apple's App Store. The increase in the market size is a good indicator of the growth of the mobile app ecosystem. The global mobile application market size was valued at $106.27 billion in 2018 and projected to reach $407.31 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.4% from 2019 to 2026.

Mobile apps can be a very engaging mechanism to interact with the user. Companies, both big and small, are realizing the potential of it. According to a global study, more than 90% of smartphone users use apps. App and smartphone users share the same socioeconomic profile. Thus, it does not matter if you are a male or female, young or old - everyone uses an app, be it to order grocery or booking a cab. Undoubtedly social media apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter or TikTok account for a majority of users, but almost two-thirds (68%) of the total smartphone audience use news, games, entertainment or sports apps.

The same study states that smartphone users claim to spend almost an hour each day on average between news, games, entertainment and sports apps. Usage is particularly high for games apps, where users claim to spend an average of six and a half hours per week, with eight in ten (78%) accessing them daily. People engage with apps at times when they don't necessarily engage with other media.

The India Story

India is one of the countries which is seeing extensive action in the space. For instance, India might be the second-largest market for app downloads after China in the world, but when it comes to the pace of growth in the last three years, it has been on the top. India has emerged as the fastest growing app market in the world with 19 billion apps downloaded in 2019, up from 6.55 billion in 2016, according to data from analytics and market intelligence firm App Annie's State of Mobile 2020 report. The global average growth of 45% pales in front of India's growth which witnessed a rise of 190% in the space of three years. In total, consumers globally downloaded over 204 billion apps.

One of the many reasons for the phenomenal growth of mobile apps in India could be credited to the techno-savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The NDA Government, led by PM Modi, has promoted the uptake of mobile apps like no other leader across the world. Over the past few years, the Government of India (GoI) has launched numerous apps to connect and engage the populace. From Narendra Modi App (Namo) to PMO India the official app for the prime minister, to MyGov that allows user to communicate with various ministries, Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan app that allows users to report garbage around monuments or museums, DigiLocker App that serves as a platform for issuance and verification of documents and certificates to eliminate the use of physical documents, UMANG app that brings all government services under one umbrella, and so many others have been launched by the GoI.

Even in the face of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic that has affected millions, the GoI launched Aarogya Setu App, which is India's COVID-19 contact-tracing and self-assessment app. Aarogya Setu supports 12 languages, is available on three platforms – Android, iOS and KaiOS (Jio Phones). The app reached the mark of 100 million downloads in 41 days. It had more users than any other contact-tracing app in the world as on May 26, 2020, as per a statement by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

COVID-19 & Mobile Apps

It is not only healthcare apps that are seeing a boost in downloads during the COVID-19 epidemic. The whole world is downloading and interacting with mobile apps like never before. With a majority of people confined to their homes, quarantined, the time spent on mobile phones has increased manifold. Mobiles are also becoming an essential go-to tool for a variety of things, including office-work. The best instance of this shift can be gauged by how Zoom, a video-conferencing app has grown over the past couple of months. Back in December 2019, Zoom used to have 10 million daily meeting participants on its platform. As of April 2020, Zoom had more than 300 million daily Zoom meeting participants, that a whopping 30X growth in just four months. Corporates are now adopting video-conferencing like never before. A recent Wainhouse Research survey of 222 companies found that video-conferencing has become much more pervasive from the shift to remote working. Before the pandemic hit, 61% of those businesses used Microsoft Office 365 (which includes Teams), 49% used Webex and 30% used Zoom. Now, 66% use Office 365, 59% use Webex and 57% use Zoom. It represents 8% growth for Office 365, 20% growth for Webex and 90% growth for Zoom. Similarly, e-stores like Amazon, BigBasket, D' mart Ready, have witnessed a phenomenal increase in traffic.

But it is not the big players that are realizing the power of the mobile app. Even smaller businesses are embracing mobile apps like never before. With the extensive quarantine in place, companies have realized the immense potential of mobile apps. Creating an app is no longer considered a cost but an investment. Harnil Oza, founder & CEO, Hyperlink InfoSystem, points to that aspect. "Over the past few months, we have seen a big increase in the number of small businesses wanting to create mobile apps. Earlier, it used to be big and mid-size segments that would explore the app ecosystem. Now, even the small mom & pop stores are wanting to create an app after realizing that it is not as costly as it seems. It is very heartening," he states.

Indeed, Ahmadabad-based Hyperlink InfoSystem would know better; it is one of India's most prominent mobile app developers. Using its unique pricing-model, the company has brought down the cost of app development significantly. The company is now seeing a boom in demand.

Going forward, as the world recovers, many things will return to normal. What will not is our digital engagement. Just as digital currency got a boost after demonetization, and has stayed on. Similarly, our interactions with mobile apps is only going to grow and not diminish. In that sense, an (h)appy future awaits us all.

This is a partnered post.