10 App Categories That Will Rule in 2021 and Beyond

by | Oct 28, 2021 | 0 comments

The world is evolving. Recent global events have altered the way businesses operate, in some cases for the better and in others for the worse.

As an entrepreneur or business owner, you must recognize and adapt to these trends.

Some of you may own a business in an app category that previously did not require an app. Consumers now expect to see apps in that category due to circumstances beyond your control.

Other entrepreneurs may be looking for a competitive advantage in a new industry or business venture, and certain types of apps are superior to others.

This guide was created to show you the types of apps that make money based on current and future trends. You can use this guide to generate app ideas and grow your business by developing a new app in a popular category. Let’s get started.

1. Medical Applications

In this category, there is a high demand for mobile apps with a diverse set of use cases.

Apps can be used by doctors and physicians to schedule appointments, check-ins, and appointment reminders, among other things. Apps are also useful for post-appointment surveys.

Health education is one of the most popular features in this category. There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about various illnesses, vaccines, and so on. As a result, medical professionals are using mobile applications to provide accurate and relative information to patients.

You could, for example, create a symptom checklist for various illnesses. You can also provide helpful resources on what patients should do if they experience specific symptoms. Apps can also be used to find doctor information, addresses, phone numbers, and even doctor biographies.

A recent study found that 90% of US adults use at least one digital health tool. According to Statista, the mobile health market will be worth $189 billion by 2025. That isn’t all. A staggering 93% of doctors believe that mobile health apps can actually improve patient health.

Such statistics and trends truly speak for themselves. A medical app can benefit your practice if you are a doctor, dentist, OB/GYN, pediatrician, podiatrist, dermatologist, or any other professional in the medical field.

2. Apps for Health and Wellness

Let’s continue with a similar theme but with a different emphasis. Aside from medical apps for doctors, several other types of businesses have the potential to dominate the health and wellness space.

Anyone who runs a fitness business should consider going mobile.

The possibilities in the health and fitness industry appear to be limitless. Among the use cases and examples in this app category are:

  • Apps for the gym
  • Apps for personal training
  • Apps for cooking
  • Dietitians and nutritionists can benefit from apps.
  • Apps for weight loss
  • Apps for meditation
  • Apps for yoga

The list could go on and on. In this app category, there are numerous ways to grow your fitness business and make money. I’ll go over a few specific scenarios that have exploded in the last year or so.

Virtual personal training is becoming more popular. Apps are being used by trainers to create 30-day workout challenges with custom videos and lessons. Users of the app find this extremely useful because they have on-demand access to these training sessions.

Apps are being used by gym owners to manage memberships, share class schedules, schedule training sessions, and facilitate mobile check-ins.

According to Statista, by 2022, there will be 86.3 million people in the United States using health and fitness apps. This is an increase from 68.7 million users in 2019. As you can see from the trajectory of this trend, health and fitness apps have the potential to be huge money-makers in the future.

Check out our blog post on how mobile apps are changing the gym world for more information.

3. Apps for Grocery Shopping

Several years ago, ordering groceries online was a fairly niche market. However, this is no longer the case.

Consumers have quickly adapted as major players such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target began offering grocery delivery and pick-up services.

Anyone who owns a grocery store should create a mobile app. Everything from large chains to small mom and pop shops, specialty stores, and everything in between is available. Take a look at how online grocery shopping has penetrated the US market, according to a recent Business Insider study.

Mobile apps provide businesses with a significant competitive advantage in this space.

To begin with, forcing people to open a laptop or desktop computer for grocery pick-ups or deliveries is inconvenient—everyone prefers to use their phones. Mobile sites alone will not suffice. They aren’t as user-friendly as an app, and they can frustrate customers.

The ability for users to save information in the app is arguably the most significant win for grocery stores. This streamlines the checkout process and increases conversion rates.

Within the user’s profile, the user’s name, address, phone number, email address, and payment information can all be safely stored. So, when it comes time to place an order for pickup or delivery, all you have to do is click the buy button—no need to re-enter this information for each order.

In the grocery industry, there is a growing demand for mobile applications. Businesses that can adapt quickly to changing market conditions can make a lot of money in this app category.

4. Apps for Education and E-Learning

Remote learning is becoming more popular. As a result, there is a greater demand for education and e-learning apps.

There are numerous applications for educational apps outside of traditional schools and universities.

Many people use e-learning apps to gain new skills or credentials. Last year, for example, Udemy saw a 425% increase in online course enrollments. Duolingo, a mobile app for language learning, saw a 148% increase in new user signups in a single month in 2020.

There are also numerous new educational and e-learning apps for children on the market. This is exemplified by Kids Learning Tube.

Kids Learning Tube is a children’s online learning resource. Through animated videos and music, children learn about geography, nutrition, the solar system, and other topics. On YouTube alone, these videos have received over 615 million views. The videos were so popular that the online learning company decided to create its own e-learning mobile app.

With so many possibilities in the online learning space, we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of educational app potential. In the coming years, there will be a significant increase in the number of apps released and users who use them.

5. Apps for Restaurants and Food Delivery

Over the last year or so, the food and beverage industry has faced significant challenges. Lockdowns, government regulations, and consumer behavior have all played a role. Restaurants that have adapted, on the other hand, will continue to exist and thrive in the future.

Take a look at the revenue generated by food delivery apps in the United States over the last six years.

Revenue increased to $26.5 billion in 2020, up from a meager $8.7 billion in 2015. As the graph shows, these figures were rising long before the world was rocked by a global pandemic.

However, consumer usage and preferences for food delivery extend beyond the well-known names such as GrubHub and UberEats. Statista reports that a whopping 67 percent of people in the United States prefer to order food directly from a restaurant’s website or mobile app.

This is fantastic news for restaurant owners all over the country. It gives you complete control over your margins because you won’t have to pay fees for third-party services.

A dedicated restaurant app also allows you to manage reservations, send targeted promotions, set up a customer loyalty program, and do other things. Customers can save their payment information and address for faster checkouts.

6. Apps for Dating

30% of adults in the United States have used an online dating app. This percentage rises to 49 percent for people aged 18 to 29, and 38 percent for adults aged 30 to 49.

The stigma associated with dating apps has also changed over the last few years. Many people are using these platforms to find a committed partner, and it seems to be working.

Take a look at this graph based on Stanford University research. The data depicts how couples in the United States met over the last 60 years.

As you can see, only one of these trend lines has a significant upward trajectory and is growing at an exponential rate: online dating.

According to Statista, the United States has 44.2 million online dating users. This app category generates $602 million in revenue each year.

This lifestyle app category has a lot of money to be made. Aside from the big players like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and OkCupid, there’s plenty of room for smaller niche dating apps as well.

7. Apps for Finance

The demand for finance apps is increasing at an alarming rate. The overall fintech market has been growing over the last few years.

User adoption and usage of mobile banking apps, mobile payment apps, asset management apps, and personal finance apps are all increasing.

According to Google, 73% of smartphone users used a mobile app to manage their finances in the previous month. Searches for investment and stock trading mobile apps are up 115 percent year on year.

Finance apps will have a 90% increase in global install market share by 2020.

People like the idea of using an app to track their expenses, pay bills, save for large purchases, trade stocks, and do other things. These apps enable the average person to feel more in control of their finances, and this trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Finance apps and subcategories are popular on every operating system, from Android apps on the Google Play store to iOS apps on the Apple App Store.

8. Apps for Pets

Beyond social networking apps, productivity apps, and entertainment apps, you’ll find a niche target audience that’s ready to spend money. Americans are devoted to their pets. This obsession is causing them to spend an increasing amount of money on animals.

There is a greater awareness of pet health and quality foods. The days of dogs and cats eating bulk, low-cost foods stored in the closet are slowly fading.

Gifts are even being given to pets. In fact, 92% of Millennials buy gifts for their pets, with 51 percent doing so at least once a month. Pet clothing is also one of the fastest-growing ecommerce app categories. For example, pet hoodie sales increased by 622 percent in a single year.

There are numerous ways to make money with a pet app, including pet grooming, pet food delivery, dog walking, pet insurance, and more.

In a given year, 45 percent of pet owners in the United States spend the same or more on pet healthcare than they do on their own healthcare.

People are willing to spend money on their pets, and there is plenty of room for apps in this space.

9. Apps for Ecommerce

It should come as no surprise that ecommerce apps are included on our list. This is a category that has been growing at an exponential rate for several years and shows no signs of slowing down.

When compared to online shopping via a mobile site or desktop browser, an app provides significantly more benefits to both users and businesses. Consider the conversion rate comparison in the ecommerce space between mobile browsers and mobile apps.

Apps have an advantage in every category, including personalization, speed, convenience, customer support, offline access, user experience, engagement, and checkout optimization.

A mobile app has become a must-have feature for those of you who have an ecommerce presence.

Even if you’re a small retailer looking to expand your online presence, ecommerce platforms like Shopify make it simple to create an ecommerce site.

10. Employee Apps and Internal Communication

Aside from general consumer apps, we’re seeing a significant increase in demand for internal business apps and workforce apps.

Employee communication and HR apps For the modern workforce, apps have become the new normal. With so many remote employees and field service workers on the market, apps allow businesses to stay in constant communication with their employees from anywhere.

Employees appreciate the apps’ employee self-service functionality, which includes quick access to critical information, company news, and more. Many businesses even add a social media-style function to the app, where employees can communicate and share stories informally.

These apps can be used to help with schedule changes, training lessons, employee safety, compliance, and employee onboarding—the list is endless.

We’ve seen a significant increase in requests from businesses of all sizes for a mobile app with these features here at Marcelo Design X. Employee apps will continue to grow in popularity in the long run, from small businesses to enterprise organizations and everything in between.

Conclusion

Apps can be used to make money in a variety of ways. However, focusing on app categories that are on the rise is the best place to begin.

As you can see, these categories were not created at random. They’re all based on current statistics and trends. Identifying these opportunities and adapting accordingly is what distinguishes the best business owners and most successful entrepreneurs from the rest.
Book an app strategy session with MDX if you want to get the most out of creating an app in one of these categories.

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Marcelo Design X

We are a creative agency that offers digital solutions for businesses that want to impact the digital age, build awareness of their products or services, and increase their business income. We are specialized in Web Design, App Development, SEO, Branding, Digital Marketing.

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