On what factors customers focus when shopping at online app stores

The Strategy Analytics Wireless Media Lab analyzed user experience evaluations of seven application stores – Android Market, Apple App Store, BlackBerry App World, Mobango, MOSH, Ovi Store by Nokia and Palm App Catalog, and released 21 best practice guidelines to provide a superior application store experience. In its report titled “Mobile Application Stores: Best Practices for a Superior User Experience the Strategy Analytics makes recommendations to providers how to improve their application stores so as to retain their customers.

According to Paul Brown, Senior Analyst in the Strategy Analytics User Experience Practice, the best practice guidelines developed by Strategy Analytics relate to all steps a user undertakes within the application store process: 

Discoverability & Accessibility; 
Structure & Organization; and 
Content Relevance & Context; 
Download Process; 
Billing; and 
Portability. 

Kevin Nolan, Vice-President at Strategy Analytics, said: “With the market for application downloads predicted to grow, it is important for application store providers to optimize the application store user experience to capitalize on this opportunity.”