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Comment by 0des | Hacker News Reader

> First, many sites do not need a mobile app — people who sell apps like to present that as a requirement

Yes, Testify! Also, I'd like to mention, so many of these upsold apps end up being a wrapper around the normal web view. I've seen this being advertised/proposed as a plus, as well "No need for your customers to learn a new interface, we specifically engineer your app experience to be just like the web experience". It's interesting to see heads nodding in reply to this.

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Oh, yes — definitely saw those. My favorite were the ones in the pre-WKWebView era where the app was basically the website, except slower because it didn't have the JavaScript JIT enabled.

The idea is discoverability. Once, people looking to purchase Nespresso coffee online would go to Google. Now they go to their app store. If your app isn't there, they those people are going to install a competitor's app and buy your competitor's coffee.

Is this really the case? It never occurred to me but I'm web native, not app native.

If it is, in most cases we can just release a webview-in-an-app and render the usual responsive website on the phone. This is the low cost route to apps.

However there are products that could genuinely need an app. A Nespresso machine could be one of them: control everything from your phone and if a machine has some kind of cup automation, also make coffee from remote and walk to the machine to get the cup whan it's ready.

Do they? Really?? I know some people who don't even go the the store for apps and do everything through the Google app that includes app results as well, but the other way around?

I just searched for "buy coffee" in G Play and not a single one of the top 15-ish results let me buy coffee apart from one coffee shop in New York, which is off by roughly one half globe circumference. If anyone ever did that, they'd quickly realise there's nothing there and go back to a search engine.

According to the guy who does metrics for my client - and his company does metrics for the largest e-retailers in my country - this is the case. Maybe he's pushing his own agenda or dream? Maybe it's market-dependent? But this is a company who can be trusted in the industry.

Wouldn't be the first time industry research results were conveniently aligned with profits, but I'm obviously not accusing anyone of anything as my evidence is 100% anecdotal and any research is better than none.

I guess it's just that users are stupid? Like, I know calling users stupid is a bad trope and all, but this is one of those cases where the behaviour just straight up wouldn't produce usable results. Like, if they're looking to buy a bike, will they just search for "bike buying apps"? I get looking for "apps to buy things with" (like amazon, wallmart, whatever) and then picking one and seeing if they offer bikes, but looking for the product directly??

This actually seems to also contradict the recent trend of people moving to big apps like DoorDash and Amazon replacing individual apps with different niches like the McDonald's app and apps from smaller retailers. If you're looking for "buying a bike" the Amazon app won't even be on the list...

Again, all of this is my logic, I have no evidence. This is just one of those situations where something goes so strongly against my intuition that I can't imagine how it could possibly be correct. I'll have to look for some real research on this, if any is available...

For what it's worth, I agree with you. But I don't know if that is because I was just trained to google everything.

» This is just one of those situations where something goes so strongly against my intuition that I can't imagine how it could possibly be correct.

I think there are a few things at play here

1. Principal agent problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal%E2%80%93agent_proble...

2. Illusory truth effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_truth_effect

So like you said in the beginning, it makes sense that people selling something will highlight "evidence" that it works (principal agent problem).

Marketing is counterintuitive though. Please take a look at illusory truth effect and tell me what you think.

I’d really want to check the sources on that to see the methodology. I’m in different spaces so it could be different here but that’s pretty much the polar opposite of what I’ve seen – people use social media or web searches, and hit the App Store only when pushed with a hefty drop-off rate. I’ve heard that this is very different for a few categories like games, which makes sense, and I think a key part is how well you can sell the benefits to the user: games, Uber, etc. have a pretty clear benefit but it seems like installing an app is seen as committing to some kind of ongoing relationship.

I agree with the sibling comments, I've never actually seen anyone go to the app store before Google/Amazon for simple purchases.

When it comes to these companies selling apps though, it doesn't matter what the market thinks... What matters is what the suppliers think the market thinks.

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