Why The "Web Versus Application" Debate Is Irrelevant To Your Mobile Product Strategy

Consumer product strategists designing product experiences for mobile phones and smartphones must decide on their development priorities across the mobile Web and applications. While some believe this is a fundamental "either/or" choice, current consumer behavior suggests that consumers are using both. The more frequently consumers access the mobile Internet, the more they download and use apps and vice versa. Despite the improvement of mobile browsing technologies, we expect both mobile apps and the mobile Web to coexist going forward. Consumer product strategists should not let technology dictate their product marketing choices; they instead need to ask themselves which services they need to mobilize for which audiences. They should also prepare for an era in which mobile services will be just one of many consumer touchpoints on increasingly connected platforms and local devices.