It seems like a lifetime ago that the iPhone first transformed how we do everything from sending text messages to browsing the internet. In fact, it’s only been with us for a little over 14 years. It also seems like a distant memory to think back to the time that mobile apps were a genuine revelation to most people, not to mention a real game-changer in so many ways.
Suddenly we could load up our shiny new smartphones with neat and clever ways to do everything, from arranging our finances to playing games without the hassle of logging on to a website. One sector that was also quick to develop apps was the online bingo industry. The logic was perfect. More and more players were choosing to play on mobile devices – and it was a game that suited the medium perfectly.
Anyone who wants to play bingo games today will find that this is still very much the case. Also, there’s an even wider choice of games than ever before, as well as exciting recent developments like Slingo. This is a mash-up of online slots and bingo that offers the simplicity of the latter combined with the bonus features of the former.
But now there may be a cloud on the horizon not just for the online bingo sector but for every business and service that relies on apps for their success. That’s because there is a certain groundswell of opinion that we may have just too many apps on our phones and tablets, and it could be time to cut out the ones that are less important to our daily lives.
It’s reckoned that the average smartphone user has around 40 apps installed, but 89% of their time is spent on just 18 of them. The proportion of splits are even worse for millennials – that’s those born between 1981 and 1996. For them, the corresponding figures are 67 apps installed, but only 25 are used frequently. Although today’s smartphones have internal storage capacities that are many times larger than when apps first appeared on the scene, it begs the question of whether people can really give over so much of that memory to apps they never use.
Yes, there are dissenting voices who believe that there are plenty of reasons why we should be grateful that the number and quality of apps is increasing. But, for many individuals who have to scroll through screen after screen to find the one seldomly used app they’re looking for, some may soon start looking to uninstall the redundant ones.
So, for any business that doesn’t want to fall victim to this cull, the writing may be on the wall. Make your app indispensable or face the risk. With its frequent new games and promotions, the bingo sector seems to protect itself against this fate. Make sure that your services are available outside of apps too.
As to how many other industries are also showing this foresight, we’ll just have to wait and see.
