If you’re in the marketing business the findings of this next research study are going to make a lot of sense to you. ABI Research, a company focused on technology in marketing,performed a study in December of last year of about 2000 mobile device users. About half of those users were smartphone owners.

The piece of the puzzle we are looking at right now has to do only with those smartphone owners. The study titled, “Mobile Shopping and the Mobile Wallet“, found that more than 45% of the users downloaded a branded app, and that of those who downloaded them, over 40% were more likely revisit the site and buy more products.

Sound a bit confusing? Simply put, if you have my app, you are 40% more likely to buy my products if you’ve purchased from me in the past. If the sample size is in anyway similar to the real population that means almost 25% of American mobile users are persuaded to buy more branded products because of a branded app. I would say that’s a powerful relationship.

Mark Beccue, a senior analyst on the study comments on the results:

“These are overwhelmingly positive numbers,”

“They are so compelling that if retailers do not have a smartphone app strategy in place right now they are in danger of being left behind by their competitors.”

“Clearly consumers are using retailer-branded apps as an engagement tool. Once a retailer can capture a consumer with one, there is a real opportunity to leverage smartphone apps to enhance customer service, deliver richer, more relevant product information in real time, shorten checkout lines, and more,”

Here’s another interesting tidbit from the study; people who have already downloaded a branded app are almost 38% more likely to download another one. Sounds a bit like an addiction. I guess the moral of the story here is don’t get addicted, but also, if you’re in the sales business, branded apps are a must-have.