App developers looking for total marketdomination should forget all about Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials.Sure, these might be huge and potentially lucrative audiences but the only marketthat is completely absorbed with their smartphones is Generation Z – and theyare about to change everything.
WhoAre Generation Z?
Generation Z (the demographic group thatfollowed the much-maligned millennial), were born around the turn of thecentury and were technologically weaned on smartphones at the expense of morecumbersome laptop and desktop devices. For them, the Internet and the digitalservices they access are primarily delivered via a mobile device and theyhaven’t known anything different.
100%Market Penetration
Smartphone ownership amongst Generation Zis off the scale. In the US, it is estimated that 96 percent of Internet usersin the US between the ages of 16 and 20 own a smartphone. Perhaps even moresurprisingly, the US is actually lagging behind the rest of the world with 98percent of their counterparts in Europe, Latin America, and the Asian Pacific,and a staggering 99 percent of the same demographic in the Middle East andAfrica access digital services via their smartphone.
And Generation Z certainly knows how to usetheir smartphones, with the average user glued to their device for more thanfour hours every day.
What’sa Laptop?
While the laptop still has some clout inmore mature digital markets, a third of Gen Z Internet users in the UnitedStates still prefer to access the web in a less mobile fashion, its influencein emerging markets is on the wane (if it ever existed). In APAC and MEAregions, 80 percent of Generation Z cites their smartphone as their primarydevice for accessing the Internet and online services.
When 80 percent of Internet users have noconnection (physically or emotionally) to a traditional computer – change isinevitable.
Let’s face facts, if by the time you havereached the age of 20, you have managed to manage your digital life on asmartphone screen, the (in)convenience of a bulky laptop becomes a verydifficult proposition to sell. As mobile devices become more powerful, screensize increases and app developers re-imagine the old way of doing things tosuit the smartphone environment – why would anyone ever want to go back tousing a piece of technology that needs its own bag to carry it around or isactually tethered to a desk?
FurtherReading: Whythe Foldable Smartphone Isn’t a Gimmick.
MobileFirst Creativity
For those of us who are slightly longer inthe tooth, Gen Z’s apparent addiction to their mobile devices might seema little unusual (it may even appearto be a complete waste of time) but when you take the time to study what theyare actually doing, you’ll see the generational divide isn’t so wide.
They are communicating with their friendsand wider social networks, they are engaging with businesses and otherorganization, they are being entertained, and they are being creative. The onlything that is different from the old way of doing things is the interface bywhich they are connecting and engaging with the world.
ANew Way of Working
It’s all too easy to dismiss the youngergeneration (every generation has done it) but Generation Z will, we believe,completely change the shape of the way we do business in the future – and thesmartphone (and associated devices) will be at the heart of this change. The good news for Gen Z (and the bad news foreveryone else) is it will be the older generation that has to catch up.
FurtherReading: TheSmartphone: The Millennial in Your Pocket.
As Generation Z enters the workforce, theywill take their smartphone habits with them. Why should they be hunched up overa desk, staring at a device that looks like it should be in a museum when theycan lounge on a sofa or stand-up at communal poseur table?
Expect a big boom in the office furnitureindustry as organizations completely reshape their offices of the future aroundthe needs of the Generation Z workforce. We can expect office spaces to fostera more collaborative, creative environment – where the smartphone bringseveryone and everything together.
But what about all those other jobs thatyou just cannot do on a smartphone you might ask?
Sure there will be one or two largerscreens dotted around the place – but it’s not just Generation Z who will bedisrupting your workplace, AI might just do away with many of those laborious,computer jobs we love to hate.
Will the spreadsheet still rule the roostin tomorrow’s game of office politics – I hope not.
ProductivityApps
In the not too distant future, expect themarket to be flooded with a range of disruptive productivity apps to serve thechanging market.
Will this mean the end of Word, Excel,PowerPoint, and all those other everyday Office tools that we take for grantedin today's computer-led office environment. Perhaps not immediately but changeis coming and the most dangerous thing anyone in business can say is"We've always done it this way."
The future belongs to Generation Z and thoseof us who are Generation Z at heart.
The next big question is: What comes afterZ?
Pre-loadYour Productivity App for Generation Z
Pre-loading your productivity app tospecific smartphone devices, networks or SIM cards, is the best way to ensure GenerationZ engage with your service straight out of the box.
Talk to a pre-loading expert at DigitalTurbine today about how we can help you become part of the Generation Zworkplace revolution.
