Along with the many changes of the 21st century, mobile applications and loyalty programs have served to improve consumer experience greatly. Major brands such as McDonald’s, Walmart, and Uber have all released their own applications to the Google Play Store and App Store. But with the breadth of benefits that loyalty programs provide, which ones do consumers prefer?
On the App Store, users show preferences for restaurant apps like Chick-fil-A, Wingstop, and Starbucks, which are in the top 3 most downloaded apps. Additionally, the list of top-10 most downloaded apps includes McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell, which has a range from 4.68 to 4.93 stars. However, on the Google Play Store, the user preferences are quite different. The top 3 most downloaded are Domino’s, Dunkin’, and Arby’s. Furthermore, the top-10 list ranges from 4.75 stars to 1.95, considerably lower than the App Store counterpart. This is a prime example of how consumer preferences can be vastly different for the same application, depending on who uses it.
In the travel sector, the list is more similar than dissimilar. In both marketplaces, the Fly Delta app is the most downloaded, with only a 0.1 star disparity between the two. However, this starts to change as the top 2 and 3 spots go to Lyft and Uber on the App Store. Furthermore, the App Store only sees a range from 4.9 to 4.6 stars on the top-10 most downloaded list. Alternatively, the Google Play Store has IHG and Expedia as the second and third most downloaded with a star range from 4.8 to 3.8. Interestingly enough, the same Hilton app rating goes from 4.6 stars to 3.8 when comparing the App Store ratings to the Play Store ratings. As aforementioned, this is a prime example of different ratings based on the type of users.
In the shopping sector, we see a lot more similarities. On the App Store, there Is almost no star disparity between the top 10 most downloaded apps, ranging from 4.9 to 4.8 stars. However, the Google Play Store has a slightly wider range from 4.9 to 4.2 stars, still a narrow margin in the top-10 list. Furthermore, major apps such as Etsy, Nike, Walmart, and Amazon Shopping can be seen as highly downloaded in both marketplaces. However, the main difference is that apps like Etsy and Lulelemon lead the App Store, whereas Sam’s Club overtakes Etsy in popularity on the Google Play Store.
Ultimately, whether you find yourself a user of the App Store or the Google Play Store, keeping up with all applications and loyalty programs can be a daunting task. In order to keep up to date, having all the news in a consolidated place via a platform like Rewards That Matter is quintessential. With varying consumer preferences, you can also choose to filter loyalty rewards news that is most important to you. Whether you choose to participate in loyalty rewards for many or few companies, taking advantage of platforms like Rewards That Matter is the best way to go.
