If you already have a mobile-friendly website, is an app a necessity? Contributor Daniel Cristo says you only need an app if you don't want to fall behind your competition.

 

Those who think they don’t need a native mobile app because their site is mobile friendly are missing the huge potential apps have over websites.

 

• When was the last time you were able to send notifications to your website visitors?

• When was the last time your website notified a potential customer of a sale as they walked by your shop?

• When was the last time your website rewarded your customers for buying somthing?

• When was the last time your site adjusted the price of an item based on a customer’s social influence?

 

Biometrics, geo-location, cameras, sensors, augmented reality… these are potential game-changers that already exist natively in mobile apps — features you won’t find on a traditional website. Not only that, but new functionality that we haven’t really thought of is going to be available to apps much sooner than they are for an HTML-based site, if ever.