Static websites and open platforms could give way to the mobile app and tablet aesthetic as the focus on device-native applications may lead user experience further down the walled-in path of single brand bookmarking and a loss of open web functionality.
It could be said that there is not a great deal of difference between adding an app or bookmarking a site in a browser as the two experiences appear to be similar. However, the key difference is, undoubtedly, the placing of interactive functionality of an app above the content. As a result, consumers are beginning to always expect to receive a more immersive experience from an application - a big departure from simply clicking onto static website pages!
An apparent shift of online marketing approach from open web platforms to niche, user-specific apps seems to be taking place. Rather than just bookmarking, and thus, aiming to compel direct, audience engagement, the danger is at the same time that potential market reach and creative development may become increasingly restricted. In other words, a majority of consumers do not yet possess smartphones or tablets!
As the mobile industry gears up for rolling out the next generation of enhanced user experience devices by incorporating the value added tools of augmented reality, QR and bar code scanning, the emphasis on top loading 'added-value' functionality could, in some instances, lead to individual brand identity losing some visibility from the web itself.
Consistent brand user experience is crucial and the maintenance of web standards, such as the development of HTML5 and the open platform, is vital to the universality of access. We seem to have quickly arrived at a situation where every platform appears to need to have its own entirely different application rather than offering universal experience. Yet, many apps are being created which are no more than bookmarked coding available to access traditional website design architecture.
As mobile device functionality, such as GPS, start to become more standard and web browsers increasingly capable of accessing location and other sensor data, optimising for web standards is a vital process to sustaining open and competitive eCommerce and online engagement with the majority of a market customer-base.