Strategies to improve app store content discovery.

1. Developing an Interface for the Future
of Mass Market Software Distribution
presented by Stephanie Rieger
Informa Mobile User Experience Conference: 18, November 2009

2. 8 ways to improve
the app store user experience
(that don’t involve squeezing
more stuff onto a small screen)

3. what I will not talk about

4. who has a store

5. what it looks like

6. the platforms it supports

7. the ecosystem around it

8. its billing mechanisms

9. revenue models

10. its politics

11. or, the number of apps in the store

12. these things are all (incredibly) important,
so important that...

13. stores that are launched on a whim,
have low reach and unpopular tools,
policies or platforms will eventually have to
adapt, re-think...or go away

14. and when the dust clears,
it will simply leave
a great big store full of content :-)

15. so let’s take a closer look a the store

16. stores have been around a long time
and they all have one thing in common...

17. products, or if you prefer...inventory
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidw/1245345652/in/set-72157601682265152

18. they also share similar concerns...

19. discovery
CC-BY 2.0, http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracyhunter/101864931/

20. search
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidw/1245345652/in/set-72157601682265152

21. wayfinding
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/slybeck/25847359/

22. and compete in similar ways...

23. drawing you in
CC BY 20 http://www.flickr.com/photos/roosterfarm/445442722/

24. by impulse
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jetalone/2171035379/

25. through need or convenience
CC-BY 2.0, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bignavijp/3800631373/

26. cost
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/2899006860/

27. recommendation
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/glynnis/358502163/

28. (pointless) differentiation
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/slybeck/25847359/

29. opportunities for personalization
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/smith/81109/

30. ...and service
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/scornish/1764306516/sizes/l/

31. ...in other words,
basic retailing and merchandising

32. ok, but...the digital stores are different

33. we have these things called databases

34. endless shelf-space

35. contextual advertising

36. a decade of best-practices,
design patterns

37. algorithms, tagging, microformats...

38. you can find anything, anytime

39. intelligently target and profile everyone

40. recommendation is practically “built-in”

41. a lot of “real-world”
problems just go away...

42. or do they...?

43. TIP #1: plan for ‘real people’

44. app stores see content as inventory
(which it is...)

45. except people don’t actually want inventory

46. when people make a purchase,
they are looking to fulfill a need

47. play
celebrate reciprocate
make friends solve a problem
share explore
they want to
feel comforted communicate
show off save face
feel happy

48. because unlike computers, people are
fickle, unpredictable...complicated

49. but app stores, tend to view people like this
+ +
1 person 1 phone 1 culture

50. when in fact...

51. “not available in
the UK store”
user accounts assume one-region

52. few stores consider (or enable)
a multi-device experience

53. real people also shop for other people

54. gifting apps or content

55. +
gifting + out of box experience

56. TIP #2: Prioritize metadata

57. Board games:
page 1 of 70
the more popular your app store is,
the less useful categories become

58. ...so then there’s search

59. but indexing this is not exactly easy

60. so search has to rely on metadata
provided by app vendors
(which might be fine if these guys
were metadata experts)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/haimediagroup/2402295757/

61. Case study: iStockphoto
online content marketplace

62. 5+ million items for sale
70,000+ artist contributors
detailed approval process
primary discovery mechanism: search

63. detailed (curated) and tiered categories

64. disambiguation
taxonomies & assisted keyword generation

65. TIP #3: Editorial is your friend

66. roll up your sleeves and actually
look at the content :-)

67. iStockphoto again...

68. Not needed
Needed files
(i.e. closed category)
inventory management:
open and closed categories

69. TIP #4: Help them, help you

70. think of it as a partnership

71. if vendors look good, you look good
and vice versa

72. proactively simplify their pain points

73. iStockphoto again...

74. manage vendor
expectations
increases approval
rate
clarify guidelines
(e.g. IP, legal)
training manual

75. another example...Apple

76. remember these guys?
http://www.urbanartguide.de/
making an app is easy,
making an icon...not so much

77. icon glow can
be disabled if
needed
start with this
automated
corner radius
and transparency
icons made effortless

78. TIP #5: Make it personal

79. “staff picks” make things more personal,
now take them to the next level

80. iStockphoto again...

81. 1% of overall
collection
premium cost
iStockphoto, Vetta collection
premium content hand-picked by domain
experts + higher royalties for vendors

82. TIP #6: Make it acessible

83. a lot of purchases just happen

84. people stumble-upon stuff they want
while doing other stuff...

85. so discovery is hard to architect

86. if you make it insanely easy
to reach your content
(from any platform)
you start to see stuff like this....

87. iPhone
apps
movie marketing

88. TV +
desktop
Click to buy
from the App
Store
Jamie Oliver (TV + web tie-in)

89. which can then come full-circle...

90. “iPhone Apps
from TV Ads”
with stuff like this...

91. TIP #7: Explore other touchpoints

92. offline app sales could be
a natural extension for certain stores

93. here’s how they could work...

94. Duoguo
mobile content stores and kiosks in China
http://duoguo.cn

95. ...and a less formal (and legal) variant
in Thailand

96. and it’s not just an “Asian thing”...

97. “would you like a Google app with that?”
+
Best Buy “Walk Out Working” service
http://bestbuyinc.com/news_center/11-05-09/best-buy%C2%AE-mobile-announces-partnership-google-co-market-google-mobile-app

98. now what if...

99. destination stores...
True Urban Park, Bangkok
buy a mobile... some books, or music.... bring your laptop...
have a coffee...
and buy some apps...?

100. Apple stores
Microsoft retail
even better if you can make it an activity
CC BY 2.0 http://www.flickr.com/photos/smith/81109/

101. TIP #8: Consider segmentation

102. we’re familiar with segmentation
in other industries

103. “great fashion, “accessible luxury”
great prices”
“iconic style”
fashion

104. Cadillac Chevrolet
GMC
automotive

105. so far, app stores are selling pretty much
any app that passes the acceptance criteria

106. but segments are emerging
which could justify a “store within a store”

107. the “pass-back” apps for kids

108. adult

109. business/enterprise

110. personal shopping “money--but no time”

111. and a final tip:
if you’re not in it for the long run,
get out while you still can :-)

112. thank you
steph@yiibu.com