In 2016, the annual I/O developer conference brought us many cool advancements such as Allo, a messaging service with an embedded Google Assistant, Duo, a video chatting application, Google Home, a new home assistant, and a lot more. Another important announcement was Android instant apps, a feature that allows mobile apps to work like websites. In this article, I will show you what is an instant app and what benefits does it provide.
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In 2016, the annual I/O developer conference brought us many cool advancements such as Allo, a messaging service with an embedded Google Assistant, Duo, a video chatting application, Google Home, a new home assistant, and a lot more. Another important announcement was Android instant apps, a feature that allows mobile apps to work like websites. In this article, I will show you what is an instant app and what benefits does it provide.
Android Instant Apps explained
Android instant apps enable users to try an Android application without downloading it from the store. With this feature, it’s possible to check out some part of the functionality and see whether you like it or not. By tapping a link, the user goes to the web page, which serves as a small product version. Since instant apps don’t require installation, there is no need for their storage on the device. As a consequence, they are loading faster than websites.
As this new feature lets businesses get loyal customers from the very beginning, this is being widely introduced at the moment. BuzzFeed, Periscope, Vimeo, and the NY Times have already provided support for instant apps and took a competitive advantage.
The implementation of this Android innovation in 2017 allowed Vimeo, a world-famous video platform, to increase the length of sessions by over 2 times (+130%) and native applications users by 20%. You can find more information about this use case in the post “Vimeo increases session duration by 130% with instant apps”.
Android Instant App development in two words
Having been delivering mobile development services and helping companies achieve their goals since 2012, we believe that an Android instant app is a perfect way to increase customer loyalty and boost sales. However, how to produce it?
Simply put, you don’t have to make a new app from scratch. You just need to create two builds—of a native application and its instant version. To develop it, a mobile product is divided into small modules, each of them having compartmentalized components of the whole solution.
When the user inputs a corresponding request on Google search, he or she is provided with a link to an Android instant app. It is noteworthy, that the traffic coming to them is often no less than the traffic of popular websites.
The main benefits of Android Instant Apps
Representing a mix of a web page and mobile app, this feature works in the following way: the user taps a link browsed on the search, social media, messenger, or via another channel. Then he or she is automatically redirected to the web page containing the functionality part, which generally includes an CTA (call-to-action) button such as “Buy”, “Try”, “Install” or something like that.
This is a great way for users to test an Android product before installing it and not to store a bunch of unnecessary apps on the smartphone. According to statistics, most of them are forgotten, not opened at all, and sometimes are just deleted. This worsens analytical indicators and store rankings, which leads to a sales decrease.
Therefore, by giving customers the opportunity to try, a business also wins. They see the application and download something they already know and are really interested in. So, the company or product owner receives a loyal user who is ready to use your service and/or pay.
Improved analytics metrics that you will get include a higher retention rate, more sessions, a higher number of motivated users, and so on. With quality traffic and enhanced customer engagement, your store rankings will be extremely increases and sales—boosted.
Android instant apps are especially valuable for various industries that involve e-commerce, gaming, real estate, video, and many others. Concerning practical examples, The New York Times launched one of the first instant apps for its crossword game, called NYTimes Crosswords. This enabled the organization to double the number of sessions per user.
Dotloop, an online service that provides real estate professionals with a transaction management platform, increased the number of users logged in by 62% with the new feature. Thus, an instant app is a powerful tool for enhancing the customer experience.
Closing thoughts
Having plenty of mobile apps in our portfolio and solid development experience, one could say that an amazing user experience and value that you add to your audience are the main success factors. Certainly, thoughtful marketing does matter but without ensuring high quality and taking care of your customers it will be difficult to achieve great results and earn income. An Android instant app is undoubtedly a simple and effective way to engage users, increase service quality, and boost sales.
