There are two types of people in this world: the ones that like doing sports and the ones that enjoy watching someone doing sports. Actually, the sports industry itself is as old as the first Olympic Games held in Ancient Greece - and ever since, it is being worshiped by millions of hardcore sports fans, be it sportsmen or spectators.
Perhaps, this phenomena is what drives contemporary mobile app developers to make sports apps. So, today we’ll cover what key features should be present in your app and how much such development would cost you.
Sports App Market: Facts and Stats
Before we dive into the features and costs, let’s take a quick look at why sports apps can be a good investment for you.
There is one interesting fact for you - the North American sports market size keeps growing each year, and it is estimated to be worth $76.05 billion dollars by 2020. Besides, did you know that the Dallas Cowboys sports team’s brand value, ranked as the most expensive one in 2018, amounted to $4.8 billion dollars?
As you may have already guessed, all of this means that people have been and will always be interested in sports. Therefore, the business owners operating in the sports industry should expect high profits, given a proper business strategy, planning, and management.
So, why don’t you enter the market using one of the most innovative approaches - developing your own custom mobile app and launching it for the mass market?
No doubts, this idea is not just good, it is sound. Yet, you need to think through the feature list of your future app very thoroughly if you want to withstand the cutthroat competition in the market (just take a look at ESPN or TheScore to see what competitors you may need to beat).
How to Make a Sports App: 12 Indispensable Features
So, let’s take at the key functionality your future sports app has to have to stay highly competitive and, therefore, successful.
User Account
This is what is subconsciously appealing to those who have already downloaded the app. Basically, provided the intuitive navigation and a smart set of features, the user account functionality will score you a few more positive UX points.
In particular, this is where users should be able to customize the app’s interface as much as possible to make it meet their needs. For instance, if you develop an aggregated app, you can allow the user to add its favorite sports team or sportsmen to the Favorites or Bookmarks list.
Besides, if your app includes in-app purchases, this is exactly where the user should be able to keep and manage the information on his or her banking card.
Payment Gateway
If you are going to implement in-app purchases, you should also take care of the payment gateway integration. Of course, you can create a payment gateway yourself; however, as the practice has shown, it is not the wisest choice for those who work on something other than the gateway itself. The thing is, getting the PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliance certificate is a very long, complicated, and bureaucratic process. On the other hand, integrating a ready-made solution that already has the certificate takes up to eight working hours on average.
Ticket Sale
- Dedicated fans don’t want to miss out on the games of their favorite teams or sportsmen. So, given you have a payment gateway integrated with your app, you can allow them to track and purchase the tickets right in the app, without leaving it.
- As an alternative, you can integrate your app with a third-party ticket sale service. In this case, your users will be able to browse the tickets, track their prices and availability, but they make the final purchase on that service (and you get a fee from every transaction as you generate a new lead for that third-party service).
Brand Store
- Most sports teams make a profit on selling their branded merchandise - scarves, T-shirts, flags, etc. So, if you aim to get an app for your sports team, this in-app store is a must for you if you want to get an additional source of income. (Of course, you’ll need a reliable payment gateway for implementing this feature.)
- In case you want to make an aggregated sports app, you can still implement this feature - but instead of selling your brand’s items, you can aggregate the merchandise of the most popular teams or sportsmen in your in-app store. In this case, you’d have to partner up with said teams and sportsmen and you’ll get only a share of the profit - but it’s still an impeccable way to monetize your app.
As for the latest technological trends (and the feasibility of using them), we’d like to point out two of them that deserve your attention - virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Both VR and AR actually can add their momentum to your app. For instance, you can implement AR-based functionality that would allow seeing the sportsmen amidst the environment that surrounds the user at the moment (like in the best traditions of Pokemon GO).
From a marketing standpoint, it is a costly yet extremely profitable approach - AR- and VR-based apps are now at the height of their popularity. So mentioning these technologies in the app description will guarantee the number of downloads to rise, even without sophisticated and expensive advertising.