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Capitalizing on the Millennial Love of Mobile Apps Younger people use smartphones a lot and engagement with mobile apps is soaring.

By Patrick Schock

This story originally appeared on Bizness Apps

I have an iPhone. My coworkers have iPhones. In fact, everyone I know my age has one model of smart phone or another and we use them all of the time. This shouldn't be a surprise, Millennials own the mobile market. Oracle recently found that 85% of young people (ages 18 – 34) own a smart phone and marketers are quickly learning that it isn't ads that drive young people – it's apps.

Millennials cannot be discounted as an important market to tap into but you don't have to be a marketing expert to take advantage of this growth. That's where mobile apps come in handy. If you're a small-business owner or an app designer you can build an awesome app that generates interest from young people. There's a common misconception that apps are high-maintenance in nature and they cost an arm and a leg to develop. This is simply not true. Small-business apps are easier than ever to design and publish. As a design agency you should be on the phone with your clients, small businesses look into designing one yourself or find your local web agency and give them a call!

The study showed that this group of people are using their smart phones for a wide range of uses; everything from paying bills to interacting on social media and much more. The majority of these functions are done via apps, rather than a web browser simply because it's easier and safer due to security protections built into the apps.

Top items millennials prefer to do or have in-app (by percentage):

74% – Purchase a product or service through a company's app

65% – Flag issues or raise complaint/concerns that are submitted directly to the company

62% – Receive notice of upcoming deals/offers

60% – Advice on how to best use products/services received from the company

Always try to maintain a balance as well, make sure your apps highlight your client's (or your) business. Keep clear functionality and a clean layout with an aesthetically pleasing design. Don't overthink it, its cliché but if you build it they will come. Just give them a reason to keep coming back.

Patrick Schock is Campaign Manager at Bizness Apps.

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