Does coronavirus boost mobile marketing?
The situation of coronavirus is becoming worse daily. To stay safe and healthy, people avoid going to crowded places. When we think about the coronavirus, we regard it as a terrible infectious disease. However, for grocery apps, it boosts their business.
MOBILE MARKETER published an article called “Grocery apps see record downloads during coronavirus outbreak” on March 17, 2020. The article shows the increases in daily downloads of some grocery apps. From those data, we can analyze the influences of coronavirus and ask ourselves the question, “Does coronavirus boost mobile marketing?”
Brief & Insight
Comparing to last month, daily downloads of Instacart, Walmart Grocery, and Shipt have increased by 218%, 160%, and 124%, respectively. Target also has a 98% jump in average. However, for good delivery apps, the daily downloads declined by about 20%.
The article also shared some of its insights. Adam Blacker, Apptopia’s vice president of insights, states that consumers want to come in contact with fewer people, but “still need to accumulate supplies and groceries to hunker down during a period of intense social distancing.” Retailers like Target and Walmart have been aggressively cleaning their stores. Thus, people who prefer convenience over in-store shopping can use the grocery pickup program. A recent survey shows 74.6% of respondents said they would limit their trips to the mall if the situation got worse.
My Opinion
I thought the downloads of both grocery and food delivery apps will increase, but the fact is that only grocery apps increase while food delivery declines. As for myself, I placed a lot of orders using both grocery apps and food delivery, and that’s why I thought others do. Now I feel it may because people try to avoid engaging with the crowded environments, but they still go to retailers to get their daily supplies. Some grocery apps can help reduce the time they spend in stores. Also, COVID-19 made people prefer self-cook food, nobody knows if the chef who prepares your food has coronavirus. That’s why the downloads declined. However, the event did help mobile marketing, specifically, the grocery apps growing. Maybe the boost is one of the very few good things coronavirus brings to us.
