Engaging apps engage; activity better than inactivity

The last big breaking news in the world of totally obvious facts was: if people jump off high-storey buildings, they are very likely to die. This week, two others join the fray, both backed up by data-driven studies. One, the more engaging a mobile app, the more chances that customers will use it to spend. And, two, by replacing inactivity with any form of physical activity, one increases one’s longevity. For some of our more cynical readers, these truisms may sound too obvious. But there is a perfectly valid reason why such conclusions are concluded upon after proper, well-funded research: for quantifiable confirmation.

The Iowa State University study found out that two features are critical in making apps attractive to users: information lookups (point balances, transaction history, etc) and checkins (finding the products in the e-store). Funk up these two and you increase customer spending by 19% to 48%. Ergo, attractive features are attractive. Even more elemental is the finding of the University of Sydney which tells us that by exchanging even one hour of sitting with walking, or any other physical activity every day, decreases the chances of an early death by 12-14%. It is mum about activities like swordfighting or going to office. But hey! Who would you trust? Your gut, or quantifiable research?