Muslim lifestyle apps—gaining share in a $20 billion market

Productivity apps represent a small portion of lifestyle apps, but are growing in popularity and adoption. The market for lifestyle apps has been estimated at $20 billion in 2015, and there is clear demand among Muslims for Islamic lifestyle productivity apps—Muslim Pro has been downloaded over 20 million times, and several other startups, such as Hajjnet, Ahli App, Musallah and Ramadan Legacy, have recently secured funding. What are the opportunities for new productivity apps addressing Muslim lifestyle needs?

HIGH-GROWTH GLOBAL MARKET

The global mobile app market was estimated at $17 billion in 2014, with 102.1 million apps downloaded according to Transparency Market Research. The market is projected to grow by 16 percent cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach $55 billion by 2019, driven by increasing smartphone penetration that is resulting in the migration of digital services to mobile devices.

Personal productivity apps represent a considerably smaller share of the total app market, accounting for 2.8 percent of revenues in the Apple App Store in 2015.

The productivity app market is highly fragmented, with over 7,000 apps identified by mobile analytics firm Flurry in 2014, likely higher now due to low barriers to entry for new apps. Apart from apps developed directly by Google and Microsoft, top-grossing independent apps across both Apple and Android include Dropbox, Everalbum, and Evernote.

Dropbox is a leading document storage app and has raised over $607 million in funding since 2007. Everalbum is an app that allows users to organize photos and has raised $8 million in funding since its launch in 2013. Evernote is a digital workspace that can store notes of all types and has raised $205 million in funding since its launch in 2007.

However, several sub-categories are beginning to emerge within productivity that have high potential. For instance, TaskRabbit, which offers to complete tasks for time-pressed professionals for a fee, has raised $38 million since 2008. Accompli, an easy-to-use app that integrates email, a calendar, and a contacts list, raised $7 million since 2013 before being acquired by Microsoft in 2014.

DEMAND FOR ISLAMIC CONTENT

There is a clear demand for productivity tools catering to Islamic lifestyle needs. In the State of the Global Islamic Economy Report 2015/16, productivity tools account for 12.7 percent of the 394 prominent consumer-facing digital Islamic services identified, the majority of which were predominantly focused on providing qibla directions and prayer times.

Muslim Pro is the leading digital Islamic app. Launched in 2010 and available globally, this integrated mobile app provides prayer time calculations, the Quran with translations, and a qibla locator. It is the flagship app of Bitsmedia, a Singapore-based technology company, and achieved over 20 million downloads by Ramadhan 2015 according to an interview with founder Erwan Macé by Salaam Gateway in Oct 2015.

Other leading players across the Android and iOS include Athan—Your Prayer Companion, developed by the Islamic Finder Foundation, and Quran Majeed, developed by Pakistan Data Management Services.

However, newer apps are beginning to emerge to address a broader range of lifestyle needs.

Salam, the flagship app of U.A.E.-based Hajjnet, was launched in 2014 as the first web- and mobile-enabled app that helps Muslims fulfill hajj and umrah pilgrimages. It crossed over 500,000 downloads in October 2015.

Ramadan Legacy, launched in June 2015 and founded by a team in Scotland, aims to help Muslims set goals for Ramadan and share their achievements. Ramadan Legacy has raised over $24,000, with $10,000 crowdsourced through LaunchGood.

Launched in 2015 in the United States, Musallah aims to help Muslims find places for prayer in any city. Musallah raised over $14,000 through a Kickstarter campaign, and the developer is currently working toward building their mobile app.

CONSIDERATIONS AND CHALLENGES

There are several considerations for new applications that seek to address Muslim lifestyle needs and reach substantial scale:

Differentiate in an already crowded marketplace

Launching another prayer app will put you at a disadvantage given the plethora of apps. The key to success is exploring the full range of Muslims’ needs—such as praying together, navigating hajj and umrah, and managing Ramadhan—that have recently been addressed by new high-potential apps.

A major opportunity that remains unaddressed, but which could be the next step in productivity, is developing apps linked to wearable devices. Saudi Arabia–based Smart Muslims is seeking to develop wearable technology (aiming for Ramadhan 2016) that captures users’ spiritual activity data and facilitates the user’s spiritual growth.

Be prepared to launch in several countries

Many of the recently launched apps have been based in the United States, and although Muslim Pro was originally based in Indonesia, the company realized that the U.S.  and Europe were more favorable to testing and enhancing the app due to much higher levels of smartphone penetration. (See Salaam Gateway's interview with Erwan Macé here.)

Leverage both crowdfunding and Muslim-focused advertising platforms to reach scale

Several apps launched have used crowdfunding to raise awareness and build a community of followers. Leveraging sites such as LaunchGood as well as Muslim-focused advertising platforms such as Muslim Ad Network or Halal Ad will help build awareness and drive organic growth.

© SalaamGateway.com 2016