According to the Smartfonization of Poles 2014 report by TNS Polska, in 2014 about 50% of Polish residents had smartphones, while only less than half of them actively used mobile apps. The number of smartphone users has increased by one third since 2012. Commenting the results, Stefan Batory, Chairman of the Board of iTaxi, estimated that in 2015 their number would almost reach 60%, thus stimulating the growth of the mobile app market. Polish app developers are already actively developing apps which would appeal both to local and international customers.
Listonic
One of the most popular Polish mobile apps is Listonic, a grocery shopping app launched in 2009. According to its statistics, it has been downloaded over 1 million times, and is used for over 250 000 shopping trips every month. In addition, it has won many awards. It was chosen as the best mobile app at the TNW Polish Startup Awards 2013, the best m-commerce app at the Mobile Trends Awards 2012 and the Polish App of the Year 2012 in the T3 Magazine app ranking, to name a few titles.
Listonic is promoted as a smart shopping list. You can create your own list by selecting products you need. You can share it with others and update it together. The app gives personalized shopping suggestions and reminders based on shopping habits and preferences as well as some practical shopping tips and food recipes. For example, it explains how to choose the freshest products, which products are healthy or what the right ingredient proportions are. In addition, it can automatically sort products on your list according to their arrangement in a store. There is also a voice input function: you can add more items by simply pronouncing them. Finally, Listonic helps keep track of your expenses: if you enter product prices, the app will calculate the total cost of products you would like to buy.
In January 2016, Listonic updated its design: it made it more visually appealing, and added some extra features such as icons or animations. It also released an Android Wear app. By improving user experience (UX), Listonic is aiming to become the best grocery shopping app for Android devices.
DESK.WORKS
In December 2015, startup DESK.WORKS released an app for booking desks in coworking spaces. Within 3 months, it was valued at PLN 35 million (about $9.2 million). It is one of the highest valuations of European early-stage startups. According to foundation Startup Poland, 53% of Polish startups are never valued at more than PLN 1 million (about $263 000).
The app is targeted at freelancers, especially those who need to travel a lot. This choice is not accidental: The Global Coworking Survey 2015–2016 shows that the number of freelancers using coworking spaces will increase by 15% by the end of 2016.
DESK.WORKS works on the same principle as hotel booking apps: it automatically localizes a user and displays nearby coworking spaces. It already covers 250 locations and 35 countries. Users can check desk availability and book a desk wherever they want.
The DESK.WORKS team is going to introduce more search criteria such as the availability of bike parking stalls, accessibility to the disabled or facilities for parents with children, reveals CMO Maria Chudy.
The app also has the option to make individual desk rental offers. Any registered user can promote his / her facilities to other community members.
DESK.WORKS has a flexible payment system: you can pay $20 per day or get a monthly subscription for $390.
Spontime
Karolina Demiańczuk, a student of the Warsaw School of Economics (SGW), has created a mobile app for arranging spontaneous meetings, Spontime. It will be ready for downloading in the 2nd half of April. It has already attracted the attention of Protos Venture Capital and some angel investors. Krzysztof Piech, a project mentor, has estimated that the app is already worth about $3 million.
Spontime is targeted at millennials. The team has set an ambitious goal: to make the app the main medium for arranging spontaneous meetings with friends and to make the phrase spontime it part of millennials’ everyday language.
The app will be simple to use: if you want to invite someone for lunch, you will need to type in keywords like lunch, coffee house X, 12:00. Every invited person will get a notification. This will simplify communication: instead of contacting everyone in person, you will need to send just one message.
Although Demiańczuk is about to launch her app, she is already thinking how to customize it for smartwatches.
References: [1] TNS Polska via Stefan Batory, BRIEF / [2] Listonic (I) / [3] Listonic (II) / [4] Listonic (III) / [5] WM, pierwszymilion.forbes.pl / [6] Deskmag via ekonomia.rp.pl / [7] CHIP.pl / [8] DESK.WORKS / [9] Karolina Wysota, pierwszymilion.forbes.pl