Brits App-Sessed: New builder.AI Data Reveals Over 20 Million Can’t Live Without Social Media Apps

The average Brit uses just 10 of the 17 apps on their phone according to new research from Builder.ai. Yet, over a third (35%) claim that they couldn’t live without using social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. The survey of 2,000 UK adults reveals all about Brits’ app habits, including:

• The typical Brit has 17 apps on their phone, with 7% having over 50
• On average, Brits use 10 apps regularly
• Social media platforms are the most popular type of app in the UK, with 35% of users claiming they couldn’t live without them
• A third (33%) of UK respondents now use mobile apps for business purposes
• Over half (53%) of Brits say they wouldn’t pay for an app
• Since the pandemic, 39% of Brits have started using apps for shopping, 27% for money management and 26% for healthcare
• Three-in-ten (30%) downloaded a food delivery app for the first time during the pandemic

“This research shows how integrated apps are with every aspect of our lives. We use them to socialise, bank, shop, eat and do business,” explains Sachin Dev Duggal, Co-Founder and Chief Wizard of Builder.ai. “And this is just the beginning – the future of apps is limitless. But there’s this idea that apps are difficult to design and build – it’s only for a select few with coding skills. And this perception restricts creativity and prevents good app ideas from ever getting started. That’s why we started Builder.ai, an AI powered app development platform, where anyone with an idea can build an app in record time. We’re about making software development accessible to everyone.”

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Builder.ai, a leading AI-powered low-code/no-code app development platform, commissioned the research to find out how people interact with their apps in 2022. The research explores everything from Brits’ app usage and favourite apps to their views on app development and the skills needed to create an app.

While the average Brits uses 10 apps, almost a third (32%) say they use fewer than five, indicating a need for developers to create more apps that meet users’ increasing day-to-day needs. Social media apps are – somewhat unsurprisingly – the most popular type of app, with over a third (35%) of UK users claiming they could not live without them. However, this rises further among Gen Z respondents to almost half (45%). Finance apps used to undertake day-to-day banking (34%) and entertainment apps such as Netflix and Spotify (30%) are the next most popular categories. The latter, four-in-ten (40%) 16–25-year-olds wouldn’t be able to live without.

In addition to using apps for pleasure, the survey also found that a third (33%) of respondents in the UK now also use the apps on their phone for business purposes, demonstrating a shift to a more hybrid working existence. This number rises to 51% among 16–24-year-olds and 49% among 25–24-year-olds.

The research also highlights the extent to which COVID-19 has shifted Brits’ app behaviours. Since the pandemic, Brits have started using apps for shopping (39%), money management (27%), healthcare (26%), work (15%) and education (13%). On top of this, 30% downloaded a food delivery app for the first time during the pandemic.

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Whilst the deeply ingrained use of apps throughout society is clear, surprisingly over half (53%) of respondents said they wouldn’t pay for an app. The practice is far more prevalent with younger respondents, however, with 26% of 16–24-year-olds saying they would be willing to pay £2 to £5 for an app and 29% saying they would happily spend £5 to £10.

Whilst 42% admit to not knowing how long it takes to develop an app, the average length of time estimated by respondents was 18 months. Only 18% thought that an app could be built in under six months, whilst less than a quarter (23%) thought that an app could be built without knowledge of coding. However, with the rise of no-code/low-code platforms such as Builder.ai, entrepreneurs can now build, run and scale their app idea without the need for coding expertise. Employing a human-powered AI assembly line, Builder.ai delivers six times faster and 70% cheaper than using traditional development services – providing customers with a free prototype in less than 10 minutes.