App development is a booming market area, with new apps popping up every other second to make users’ lives easier, more comfortable, and more fun. Competition is as sturdy as never before. So, no new app hits the market without a clear understanding of the target audience in mind. Today’s consumers come from three generations – X, Y, and Z, each born in various historical epochs and possessing distinct perceptions of an ideal app they would buy. Experts of Litslink.com share pro tips on generation-sensitive app design. Read on to find out how to design an app for iPhone or Android Gen Xers, Yers, and Zers will love.
Who Are Gen X-ers, Y-ers, and Z-ers?
First, you should understand your target population well to design an app fitting it ideally. Generation X includes individuals born in 1965-1981. They are commonly individualist, ambitious, and workaholic. Gen Yers, aka Millennials or digital natives, were born in 1982-1994. They grew up with technology in hand, so their level of tech-savviness is greater. Finally, generation Z, Net Gen, or iGeneration, is the youngest cohort of app consumers born between 1995 and 2010 with the Internet as part of their DNA.
App Preferences and Use Trends among Gen X, Y, and Z Consumers
Technological progress was immense in the past couple of decades, so each of the generations has a distinct experience with technology and attitude to it. For instance, Gen X is the least tech-dependent cohort. They enjoy stability, physical, and mental activity. Most Gen Xers are professionals with families possessing high spending power. They use smartphones for social media mostly and favor personal interaction over visual stimulation. So, their favorites among apps are Facebook-like ones.
Gen Yers are crazy about social networking, self-centered, and interested in music streaming and games. Also, they have received a label of a lazy, narcissistic, and spoilt generation (the ‘me me me generation’). Thus, they will love apps offering communication, entertainment, and an individual focus of some kind.
Gen Zers are independent and demanding consumers. They multi-task but have a very limited attention span (only 8 seconds as compared to 12 seconds of Gen Yers). 98% of Gen Zers own a smartphone; most of them get a smartphone at a younger age and consider smartphones the most important Internet device. Representatives of this population prefer visual apps like Snapchat and consume video content most of the time. Successful mobile app design examples include Bitmoji and VSCO.
App Design Tips for Pleasing Gen X, Y, and Z Market
With these details about Gen X, Y, and Z in mind, the tips for designing mobile applications for these generations are quite different. Here’s what you need to keep in mind about Gen Y and Z app preferences:
- Companies that design mobile applications for Gen Y and Z should take proper care of giving as much individualized experience as possible.
- Reconceptualization of social media. Gen Y and Z use social networks for entertainment, not communication.
- Creativity and interactivity. If you think how to design an app for Android or iPhone that a Gen Yer or Zer will rave about, add a creative touch. Enable users to share their creations, to express their personality and skills.
Universal tips for all three generations include:
- Designing cross-platform compatible apps. Gen X, Y, and Z are heavy smartphone users, try prototype testing an app that is usable and friendly to them.
- Take care of privacy. With so much cybercrime and rising digital literacy, Gen X, Y, and Z users are equally concerned about security online.
- Make content delivery as intuitive and efficient as possible. Amid the information overload, attention spans are getting shorter, so your app should be maximally efficient to be popular.
As you can see, Gen X, Y, and Z representatives are different, but they all progress together with the advancement of technology and keep up with the trends. Capturing these distinctions is a clue to designing the right product with strong market potential.