Today, loyalty rewards apps have become a monumental source of revenue for businesses. While some retailers have created vast online marketplaces, others were created entirely in the digital realm. In turning to the internet, some businesses have undoubtedly made the shift better than others. Here are some of the best apps by review scores and some of the things that made them successful.
Starting off with shopping apps, the most highly rated app is Etsy, with a 4.9 on the App Store. Etsy, as a marketplace, is very unique. It will display sellers directly and connect buyers in a much more transparent way to who they're buying from. This has fostered the more homey vibe that Etsy is known for today.
As an app though, its success comes from more subtle touches. The shopping app's biggest advantage is its structure. While other modern retailers like Shein or Temu will cloud the front page with deals and ads, Etsy remains simple. Its selection is undeniably massive, but it makes navigation and searching extremely easy and direct.
The other thing that Etsy does well is create novelty. It can be easy to artificially inflate the market or create urgency in a purchase. Although for more experienced shoppers, these tactics aren't always effective. Etsy circumnavigates this issue by offering products that are much more unique and personal than other sites. It offers a service that no other shopping app does in this way.
Although Etsy is, of course, just one app. Moving over to restaurants, the top rated App Store app is Chick-fil-a. Obviously, the overwhelmingly popularity of the fast food chain will make it popular, but there's more to it than that. Most importantly, Chick-fil-a has a robust points system.
Today points and rewards systems are not at all uncommon. The basic premise is if a customer buys from a store a lot, they'll get some benefit. This concept has been pushed to its extremes by some businesses. Mobile game apps, for example, will reward users for every little action they take. Even logging in and opening the app will give the user some sort of reward.
While this is extremely addictive, consumers aren't typically very fond of this style after enough time. Chick-fil-a's point system manages to balance this line. It's addictive, it keeps people coming back, but people genuinely like it. Ultimately it benefits both the consumer and business by keeping people at Chick-fil-a but genuinely rewarding them for it. Other point systems are either too honest or give too little reward to be satisfying.
Finally moving over to travel apps, Uber and Lfyt are two of the most well rated apps today. What feature is driving their success? Obviously the service itself is incredibly useful, but what makes it a successful app is its formatting. Lyft and Uber have managed to gamify their system, making it almost fun to spend money on.
This is able to be done because these two services were designed explicitly to be apps. They make great use of everything that a modern smartphone has to offer. The customer can text their driver, get constant updates, and update their location using their phone. Imagining any attempt at this service without a phone produces a drastically different product.
The notable feature then is simple modern design and utilization. Other well rated travel apps such as Fly Delta do this as well. Nowadays the ability to have a digital boarding pass and updates is vital to how airlines operate. There is a difference though between airlines caught in the past and accepting the future. The best airline apps clearly embrace the utility of the smartphone and are designed with few bugs. Looking at negative reviews makes this difference incredibly clear. There's nothing worse than missing a flight due to an unclear or buggy app.
These are just a few of the best modern apps and some of the simple reasons behind their success. None of the discussions made here are comprehensive, instead they're meant to illustrate general points. The philosophy behind designing an app will undoubtedly vary across industry. Etsy is successful for different reasons than Chick-fil-a and Lyft. Ultimately though there's something to learn from each, as people love them more than any other.
