Why are mobile apps becoming a necessity to businesses in Singapore?

Statistics have shown that the average Singaporean has 115 apps installed on their phones and use only 46. This is not very surprising, considering most of us do use apps on our smartphones on a daily basis. Be it for commute, shopping, banking, sending messages, and a thousand other things you can name, apps play a vital part in our daily routines.

At this point in time, Singapore is actually seen as a mature market for mobile apps. This points to Singapore having a vibrant mobile app landscape, which means apps are now crucial to Singaporean businesses as well. If your business does not take advantage of the opportunities a mobile app can bring, your business is losing out.

Observe your competition. Do their businesses have a mobile app version? If no, you can quickly steal an edge over them and have your mobile app developed. If yes, then you better catch up before they steal more market share through their mobile app.

You may be asking why do I need a mobile app for my business? What does it do that a website could not?

The answer is simple. People spend a lot of time on their mobiles, for example during their commute to work or any downtime they have. Just take a look in public and it would be pretty obvious that many people have their eyes glued onto their mobile. This trend is just going to rise further.

Apart from the sheer usage of mobile devices, mobile apps are also more personalized to the user as compared to websites. This allows your customers to have a more targeted user experience by using your mobile app. In addition, mobile apps could add convenience to user experience by incorporating gestures such as swipe or pinch into its interface while websites don’t. All in all, mobile apps bring convenience, improves user experience, helps with branding, and smoothen your transaction processes with your customers.

Now that the advantages are clear, you may be wondering how much it costs to make a mobile app for your business in Singapore.

Due to the complexity and customization on a case by case basis, there is a huge range of how much a mobile app could cost you. A basic mobile app could cost you approximately $10,000, and a sophisticated social media app could be upwards of $50,000. Some mobile app developers in Singapore may charge by the hour as well, for even up to $250 an hour.

It really depends on the customization and needs of your business and it is hard to give one-size-fits-all pricing for everyone. The best way to go about it is to consult with a mobile app developer and communicate your business needs for them to see and access what needs to be customized and quote you accordingly.

Furthermore, you could make use of the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) which could cover up to 90% for your transition to going digital, if you take it up within these 6 months.

“As announced at Supplementary Budget 2020, the maximum support level will be raised to 80% from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020. For enterprises that are most severely impacted by COVID-19, the maximum support level may be raised to 90% on a case-by-case basis.” – Enterprisesg.gov.sg

It is a great time to make use of these government grants to improve your business’s digital presence and usability during Phase 1 and 2 of the reopening of businesses in Singapore. This is so that when phase 3 comes, your business is properly digitalized and ready to take on more customers in the future.