12.28.09 : 0 comments
The lack of retailer iPhone apps
Since I bought my iPod touch, I’ve taken a serious interest in mobile design. Particularly with the applications you can use on it. And lately, I find myself surfing much more with my iPod than with my laptop. I also do quite a bit of online shopping, so I’ve sought out apps from retailers like Amazon, REI, and Best Buy. Unfortunately, there just aren’t that many out there, and the few that do exist aren’t very popular. (Lots of poor reviews in the app store.)
Anyone keeping up with industry news regarding mobile usage knows that it’s getting huge. So much so that Luke Wroblewski made the argument that mobile applications should be designed before the desktop. That’s pretty significant. So, why are so many retailers missing the boat? My guess is most companies lack the proper APIs to be able to port their data to an iPhone application, but I could certainly be wrong there. Maybe the cost of designing and building an app is too high? Perhaps there’s a lack of qualified people to build and design those apps which would contribute to the high cost of building one?
I’m really curious to find out the answer. Whatever it is, companies are missing out on some serious cash because of it.
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