Mobile Web vs. Apps Throwdown: No training wheels, please!

One of the goals of AOL’s recent Big Mobile Study, was to understand their opinions about apps vs. mobile web sites.

As comScore reports, consumers spend 4 out of every 5 mobile media minutes with apps vs. mobile web, and we wanted to understand why.

We heard an earful. Turns out, one hot-button issue with consumers is their frustration and disappointment with mobile-optimized web sites. On the one hand, these mobile sites can provide speedy load times and fast information for first time visitors and general searches. But for regular visitors, mobile web sites are considered to be “infantile and basic,” leaving many consumers dissatisfied with the experience and wanting more.

As one mom in our study explained: “Most mobile sites are just basic information, so trying to access anything beyond that is a struggle.” Because of the perception that mobile sites are restrictive, many consumers prefer apps for their favorite brands on the go. Two to one, our study participants preferred apps—because they made it easier to quickly access the content they wanted. As Chia Chen, SVP and mobile practice lead at Digitas, recently wrote in Digiday, “This preference towards apps means that marketers need to figure out how best to extend the brand’s value proposition into mobile by envisioning it as an app.”

For more details, download the Big Mobile Study today.

Keywords: aol mobile, research