On top of people’s health worldwide, the coronavirus pandemic has also affected the global economy. Business owners are forced to adapt to the pandemic conditions, optimizing practices and workflows. Most have already implemented significant operational changes and continue to develop new strategies.
Read also: Top Mobile Apps for Entrepreneurs to use in 2020
One thing’s for sure – currently, not a single established company can do without the proper applications for business. We went through the most popular business apps in Google Play and App Store today to tell you how the quarantine affected app stores and who took the place of TikTok in the Ukrainian business market.
How the Pandemic Influences Business
Global mobile app revenue grew 32% in Q3 2020. The indicator reached $29 billion in total value. For the first time in a year, at the end of the third quarter, the number of app installs exceeded 100 billion. The reason for this is the impact of COVID-19 on consumer spending in applications (+31% in App Store and +33.8% in Google Play as compared with the same period last year).
Source: SensorTown
The “Business” and “Games” categories stay the most popular both in terms of downloads and revenue. This suggests one thing: consumers use gadgets heavily for both work and play during the day. Business apps help companies organize team work, automate processes, optimize logistics, find talents, etc.
Source: Sensortower
How in particular has the pandemic influenced the above rating of applications for business – which have achieved new heights and which lost positions? Let’s find out.
How the Best Apps for Business Shifted During the Pandemic?
Zoom deservedly receives the title of the savior of quarantined businesses. In January 2020, the app was among the top ten most popular business products. Already in April, it broke into the first position in both Google Play and App Store. Google Meet and Microsoft Teams tagged along. They made a sharp jump in the rankings at the beginning of the pandemic and made it to the TOP 10 best apps for business.
As of October 31, 2020, Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams continue to hold positions in the top five. No wonder. Employers are forced to organize team workflows under quarantine conditions. These applications have become the most convenient solutions for remote communication from all over the world.
The only outrunning competitor locally is the Nova Poshta application. At the beginning of the quarantine, it got into the TOP-10. And as of October 31, 2020, it occupies a leading position in the “Business” section and 11th in the overall App Store rating. As for the direct competitors of Nova Poshta, the international postal and logistics solution, Meest took the fourth place. The TOP-13 also includes Ukrposhta and myMeest. Another mobile app – Justin – is ranked 17th. These services are popular not only in one category but in the overall rating as well.
Source: App Store
Job search services were beating all sorts of records, too. The global crisis took both employers and employees by surprise, and companies were forced to say goodbye to many specialists. The popularity of the remote work format grew by 15% in March alone, at the early stages of the pandemic. Over 85% of business owners are still introducing freelancing opportunities into their regular business processes.
This allows mid-sized companies to save about $11 million annually. Moreover, about 80% of remote employees perform better than office-bound workers. As of October 31, 2020, Work.ua and Rabota.ua ranked sixth and seventh among business apps in App Store respectively.
Source: Buffer
The top ten leaders in the “Business” category included the application that brought together tons of Kiev-based services in one place – SmartCity. In the spring of 2020, it was ranked eighth on Google Play and fourth on App Store. At the end of October, it was in ninth place in App Store and dropped out of the TOP-10 in the Android market. This is due to the strengthening of quarantine measures.
The Top Popular Apps Among Ukrainian Users During the Pandemic
The pandemic gave a great push to ad board services, such as OLX, Rozetka, Prom.ua, Izi, and Auto.Ria. Mobile provider applications My Kyivstar and My Vodafone have hit the TOP-100. Banking solutions such as Privat24, Monobank, and Oschad24/7 have also been used by millions of Ukrainians.
Food delivery applications, Raketa and Silpo, entered the TOP-20 at the kick-off of the quarantine. Glovo and joint delivery of ATB with Rozetka hit the TOP-100. A Sensor Tower’s global report demonstrates that the 2020 global pandemic has driven food and grocery apps growth by 30%.
Source: SensorTower
Taxi and transportation services have become real life-savers during the quarantine. The ban on public transport simply left no other choice for citizens without private cars. Uklon, Bolt, and BlaBlaCar remain in the TOP-100 of app markets. Interestingly, the situation was different for BlaBlaCar back in the midst of the pandemic – it lost its 52nd place in the ranking (as of January 6, 2020) and didn’t even make it to the TOP-200.
Before the quarantine, the Uber app in the American App Store was in the TOP-50. At the height of the quarantine, it took 170th place in the ranking. As of February 1, 2020, Uber ranked 24th in England. In April, it didn’t even make it to the TOP-200.
In the Ukrainian App Store, Uber took 126th place (as of April 21, 2020). At the same time, there are alternative travel applications in Ukraine and a whole monopoly in the USA. This suggests that the Ukrainians, despite the quarantine measures, are forced to continue to participate in business processes. There are no state support programs:
- no repayment, rent, or mortgage holidays are offered;
- no food and social aid is provided;
- businesses don’t get any grants.
Then, there are also healthcare apps, among which Kyivstar’s Doctor Online is the leading product. It is in the TOP-100 in app marketplaces, has an extensive staff of operators, and is absolutely free to use. As for the most popular entertainment solutions for Ukrainians during the pandemic – there are Sweet TV, Kyivstar TV, and Megogo.
Summary
The market of mobile applications grows continuously. The expanding coronavirus pandemic simply forces companies to go online. Providers have to optimize their work according to the “new reality” by automating workflow processes, making interfaces more accessible, etc.
At Gravum, we will help you implement a top-notch web or mobile solution, design a product from scratch, provide tech consultations, and develop a strategy to meet your particular business goals. Hit us up!
