The ubiquitous nature of the smartphones and other mobile devices has given rise to a highly informed and connected consumer base. They walk into a retail outlet and they would already be whipping out their mobile devices to compare products or prices available in-store to those available online. Moreover, they expect the retailers to be well aware of not only the merchandise, but also about promotions and discounts on offer. Interestingly, the number of e-commerce transactions has been on the rise, where mobile accounts for 29% of all e-commerce transaction in the US and 34% on a global scale...

In today’s times, the consumer is spoiled for choice with the number of options they have with respect to owning mobile device hardware and their operating systems. This diverse availability raises a critical question for both independent developers as well as large app development companies as to which platform to target. Although for larger app development companies, it is possible to simultaneously develop for multiple platforms, it might not be the case for small-scale enterprises. In this article, we list seven factors that add a significant ‘edge’ to the mobile app deve...