mHealth Apps Growth to Reach $1.3 Billion

We understand how important mobile applications are to the healthcare field and predicted its rapid growth late last year. However, we were still surprised to learn that according to a report released by research2guidance, the market is expected to grow to $1.3 billion in 2012. This figure is a substantial increase over the numbers for 2011, which came out to $718 million.

With the number of mobile health application users predicted to reach 247 million in 2012, this method of using technology is here to stay. Since it is gaining in popularity, mobile health creates an opportunity for advertisers to reach specific target markets. Drug companies and others involved in the medical field will be able to get their messages directly in front of people who are interested in buying their products.

In some cases, revenues from mobile health applications will come from direct transactions. In other situations, money will be generated from providing patients with sensors that allow them to track information at home and forward it to their physician so that a specific medical condition can be monitored.

While some members of the public will resist mobile health applications, people who already own smartphones are probably more likely to embrace it. With smartphones becoming almost a necessary accessory for a certain segment of the population, I can see that people in this demographic will look at mobile health apps as just another type of application available to them.

Consumers Still Struggling with Mobile Commerce Applications

Mobile commerce has been growing in popularity amongst consumers in the past year. They are actively using smartphones and tablets to buy all kinds of items without having to actually visit a brick and mortar store. The results of a survey conducted by Harris Interactive show that businesses are losing money because their mobile sites are frustrating or confusing to consumers. 

The survey revealed that 84 percent of respondents stated they found mobile transactions challenging to complete. Another 25 percent of those surveyed said that they had trouble logging in to a mobile site.

I know that internet users have notoriously short attention spans, and they have no problem with abandoning a mobile commerce transaction if they perceive it as difficult or time-consuming. Once the customer has been lost, the business has an uphill battle to get that person to go back onto its web site. In most cases, I can see that the customer would move on to buy from a competitor.

If these kinds of issues are not enough of a concern for business owners, they also need to be aware of consumers’ concerns about fraud. Forrester Research has conducted a survey that has led to some very interesting results. A full 44 percent of respondents stated that they would be more likely to buy items through mobile devices if they were more confident about linking their credit card and banking information through them.

Mobile Security Features a Necessity for Consumers

I read the results of a study conducted by PC World magazine with great interest. Of the 1,410 readers who responded, 65 percent stated that they felt mobile security is needed on smartphones and tablets. A full 57 percent of respondents stated they would be prepared to pay for this type of protection.  

Given the amount of personal information stored on a consumer’s smartphone or tablet, I think it’s important for owners to consider all reasonable measures to keep it secure, and this includes installing security software as it becomes available. 

The threat to a mobile device owner’s information can also come in the form of malware, which can be introduced to them when downloading seemingly innocent files. Desktop computer owners are already familiar with the idea that they need to have good quality virus protection software in place if they want to keep the device running properly. 

The results of the survey are further broken down between Android and iOS owners. People who chose Android were more likely to state that they understood the need for security software than consumers who have an iOS system. The iOS owners, on the other hand, were more likely to state they were willing to pay for software that would make their mobile devices more secure. Android tablet owners were more likely to state that security software was necessary than people who bought an iPad.

Demand for Mobile Health IT Products on the Rise

I wasn’t surprised at all to learn that the medical profession is embracing mobile health IT products. Healthcare providers want to take this one step further and work with even more sophisticated products that can provide them with patient medical records and other information they need quickly and efficiently.

Mobile Point of Care devices are becoming more commonplace in hospitals. Workstations on wheels, tablets and smartphones are part of the equipment doctors and other healthcare providers use to do their work. Seeing a doctor using them at a patient’s bedside or in an examining room is to be expected.

I found the results of a survey conducted by IDC Health Insights very interesting. The respondents reported using an average of 6.4 mobile devices every day. A full 42 percent stated that the physicians working in their facility had a high to very high adoption rate for these items. A full 86 percent of them predicted that the adoption rate would increase over the next year or two.

Laptops were the most popular mobile device, with 84 percent of respondents saying that they used them on the job. Over half of those surveyed said that they use workstations on wheels or a tablet while at work.

I predict that spending on these types of mobile health devices will continue to increase. If these devices help doctors do their work better, it can only be a good thing.

Mobile Health Trends for 2012

Mobile health applications are becoming increasingly popular among healthcare providers. I can see that doctors would be interested in being able to access information on the go. The quality of the data they can access has a direct impact on the level of care they can provide to their patients. 

An app that can help doctors diagnose and treat various health concerns should help to streamline the delivery of healthcare services. A device used to collect EEG data paired with a lightweight head harness can be worn by a patient while sleeping. The collected data is forwarded to a remote server. The doctor can access it over the internet. 

Another interesting mobile health trend that I can see being popular in 2012 is an app that allows doctors to remotely monitor patients as they go about their daily activities. Not only is this approach more convenient for the patient, but the doctor may receive more accurate information by being able to constantly monitor a patient over time. I can see that a person who is in familiar surroundings will be more relaxed while being monitored.

The patient would be outfitted with a T-shirt that has a censor and the data collected would be transmitted with an iPhone. This mobile health app will allow the doctor to understand what types of events trigger a reaction in the patient. These details give doctors a better picture of the patient’s health and can help develop an effective treatment plan.

Majority of Doctors Using Mobile Technology at Work

I knew that mobile technology was popular among consumers, but recently, the use of mobile technology has been used by many physicians, nurses, and others in the medical field on a regular basis. According to a study conducted by Jackson & Coker, 80 percent of physicians are using these devices in their work on a daily basis.

Why are mobile devices so popular with people working in the medical field? I can see a few of the reasons why doctors have stepped up to embrace mobile technology. For one thing, they are easy to use. Smartphones and tablets are portable and are easy for the doctor to take with him or her when moving from one patient examination room to the next.

Another advantage to mobile technology in the healthcare field is that doctors can access information about their patients quickly and easily. Having patient records at hand is an important part of diagnosing and treating ailments, and now that hospitals and clinics are moving toward storing them electronically, it makes sense for doctors to use mobile devices to access them quickly.

Doctors make decisions that have an immediate impact on their patients’ lives, and they need to have the best possible information to make them. If carrying around a smartphone or a tablet on the job means they can offer better patient care, then this is a great strategy.

Mobile Devices to Lead the Way in Holiday Shopping

If you’re like me and are not a huge fan of going to stores during the holiday season, you may want to embrace mobile technology this year and shop with your favorite electronic device. The day after Thanksgiving, “Black Friday” may even lose its distinction of being the busiest shopping day of the year in the U.S.

Search engine giant Google is predicting that a whopping 15 percent of “Black Friday” searches for merchandise will be made from mobile devices. This makes perfect sense to me: if I can save time and maybe some money by shopping online, that is the way to go. Using a mobile device makes it even more of an attractive option to me, and I bet that plenty of other shoppers will feel the same way.

An interesting trend is that shoppers are getting an even bigger jump on their holiday shopping by starting the process on Thanksgiving Day. Retailers who attract customers through Facebook appear to be the big winners here, with companies reporting that Turkey Day was the biggest single day for sales for the entire year. Internet users who visit a social networking site first and then click through to the parent site convert into buyers at twice the standard rate.

Savvy online retailers take note: there are customers who are ready to pull out their wallets once they get up from the Thanksgiving dinner table, and you tap into this market by establishing a presence on social networking sites.

Source: http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/executive-style/2011/10/13/five-disruptive-holiday-shopping-trends

Digital Wallet Technology Means More Opportunities for Mobile Marketers

If you have ever struggled to find the right rewards card in your wallet like I have, you will welcome the news that a digital wallet will allow you to store all of this type of information in one convenient place. Anything that will make it more convenient for me to get a transaction completed when visiting a retailer is a good thing as far as I am concerned.

It appears that Canadians are ready and willing to embrace this type of mobile technology. A survey conducted by Leger Marketing for PayPal Canada found that 56 percent of Canadians said that they are very comfortable with the idea of making cash-free purchases. A full 36 percent of Canucks stated that they would be willing to use a mobile device to make a variety of purchases, from something as small as a daily cup of coffee to larger items, like electronics.

What does this mean for mobile marketers? The increasing popularity of mobile devices opens up multiple opportunities to interact with consumers by placing targeted ads and offering special promotions to customers through mobile devices.

If modern consumers are already embracing the idea of going shopping with their devices, it simply makes good sense for marketers to tap into mobile shopping as a way to increase revenue. Over time, they will continue to reach out to customers in this manner.

New Mobile Technology Turns Your Cell Phone into a Mobile Scanner

I was really pleased to discover recently that the very bright folks at MoBeam have turned their attention to developing mobile technology that will make some applications much easier for consumers. I’m looking forward to the day when I can buy tickets for a concert online and avoid having to go to the Will Call window at the venue to pick them up or waiting for the post. MoBeam’s technology, which may be available to the public by early 2012, will allow me to store this type of information electronically and then present it to a retailer, who will simply scan it and direct me to my seat.

MoBeam, a technology company founded in 2010, will also make it possible for consumers to get away from having to clip paper coupons and keep them organized before heading out to the stores. This approach should satisfy even the most extreme couponers and should make it easier for the average person to take advantage of this money-saving technique, which I am definitely supporting.

This company is demonstrating its belief that mobile technology should include this type of personal scanning by getting a cash injection reportedly from Matsui, Samsung and yet2Ventures of $4.9 million. These funds will be used to further develop the technology and bring it to major cell phone manufacturers. This new feature would then be offered to consumers as part of the cell phone’s package of features.

Holiday Shopping with Mobile Web and Apps a Popular Choice

The holiday shopping season is almost upon us, soon we will be making our lists and checking them twice before starting to search for gifts. I always look forward to this time of year, and like the majority of shoppers (54 percent), I plan on doing mine in November or December. I can’t get organized enough to start shopping for Christmas in October but 33 percent of people decide to get an early start and (hopefully) beat the holiday rush.

When holiday shopping with mobile devices, there is no need to brave the genuine crowds at the mall to get your Christmas shopping done. People who own these types of devices are very likely to use them to get their shopping done. According to a study conducted by Mojiva, about half of mobile device owners will use them for this purpose- that includes me.

               

Shopping with mobile apps      Shopping through mobile web

Not only will mobile device owners do their holiday shopping through mobile web or applications, they also plan to spend more on electronics than consumers who favor more traditional Christmas shopping methods. The same study found that 70 percent of them will spend $20 or more on a gift, while 40 percent will go as high as $50 on an item for someone on their Christmas wish list. Overall, it sounds like shoppers are embracing their mobile devices this holiday season. Personally, I am quite happy to skip the crowds, put on my iTunes and buy my gifts on my cell phone.

Guess Using Mobile Technology to Attract Young Buyers

Guess, a clothing retailer focusing on providing fashions for men, women, children and babies, has decided to harness the power of mobile technology and social apps to bring customers into its brick and mortar stores. I think this is a really interesting concept, since young people have already enthusiastically embraced smart phones and social networking sites like Facebook.

Here’s how the concept works: Prospective Guess customers can check in at the company’s stores using Foursquare. When they do it, they are rewarded with access to a special promotion. First up for this new venture was the Urban Jungle Check-In Challenge, which is in place to promote the company’s G by Guess clothing line.

This first effort wrapped up on September 30, and now the company will need to evaluate how well this use of mobile technology has paid off for it. I find it interesting that the campaign was directed at employees as well as consumers, and I can only conclude that adding employees to the target audience helps to keep the staff engaged in the company’s products and promotions.

To keep customers and staff interested in the number of people checking in at Guess stores through Facebook and Foursquare, an online leader board was set up. Store employees and customers alike could check it out to see how “their” location was doing. What a fantastic way to create competition between stores.

Mobile App for Last Minute Hotel Reservations Benefits Consumers

Priceline.com is definitely on the right track with its latest mobile application for travelers, in my opinion. The company’s Tonight Only Deals for hotel reservations will be posted each day at 11 a.m. and people who are looking for a reservation at the last minute can access these deals until 11 p.m. or all the rooms are filled, whichever comes first.

    

Just like me, the 70% of mobile device users prefer to wait until the day of check-in to make a hotel reservation. I adore this new app and others will appreciate it as well. Just under half of desktop computer users choose this strategy to help them find a place to stay at the last minute.

Plenty of people resist the urge to make their hotel reservations well in advance, and it’s not surprising when you consider that sites like Priceline.com offer much better deals for those of us who are prepared to be flexible and not limit their choices to a particular hotel chain. If this applies to you, consider yourself in good company: approximately 58% of consumers will wait until they get within 20 miles of a hotel to make a reservation, and another 35% of travelers do not make a move to find a place to stay until they are a mile away. This mobile application makes the process of finding a place to stay a much simpler process. Thanks to this app and the mobile web, I will never book in advance again.

Can Mobile Technology Help to Improve Students’ Writing Ability?

At first glance, I wouldn’t have thought that mobile technology would have anything to do with helping students improve their written skills. Many companies have taken this particular bull firmly by the horns to develop a number of essay apps designed to help young people learn how to write better and put together more convincing arguments when faced with a writing assignment.

Mobile applications have been developed for use with the iPhone and iPad, which means that students can get access to writing help quickly and easily. Why focus on helping students learn how to be better writers? Well, if falling SAT scores in the written portion of the test are any indication, this is where they need the help, so why not combine it with their favorite gadget?

Being able to communicate clearly is a skill that can be learned, and it’s to a student’s advantage to master it. Not only will they need good written skills if they want to do well in school at the post-secondary level, these skills are necessary for success on the job since employers are actively looking for candidates with superior writing abilities.

If mobile technology can help young people develop the skills necessary for success, then more schools should consider using the apps that are easily available. I’m all for doing whatever works to remain focused on the ultimate goal.