The Black Friday digital swarm is approaching. Are you prepared? Sure your infrastructure is ready to scale, you've issued a production code freeze, and you're actively monitoring your applications with Application Performance Management (APM), but many organizations are overlooking one major component that can have a direct impact on Black Friday revenue: the mobile app.  

Appbusters are the New Doorbusters

Mobile commerce is at an all-time high. In 2014, one in three online purchases came from a smartphone or tablet on Black Friday and at one point, mobile traffic surpassed 50% of all Internet traffic . From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, 70% of all traffic to Walmart.com was from mobile devices. This growth in mobile purchases is set to continue this year with an increasing number brands offering exclusive deals on mobile apps and in-store digital experiences. 
 
Despite the increasing importance of providing a great user experience for mobile apps, there are few companies who have mastered the mobile space. In fact, only 48% of organizations are using a mobile app analytics solution to understand user pain points and behavior. Without understanding how your users are interacting with your mobile app, it's impossible to put yourself in the shoes of your customers and answer key questions like: 

■ Where and when is the app used?

■ What are my users doing with our app?

■ Who is using our app?

■ Is our mobile app successful? 
 
But even if you have insight into user behavior, that alone isn't enough. Without a view into app crashes and performance, you won't understand why your users are behaving in certain ways. Take the following scenario as an example: it's Black Friday and you discover that 20% of your users are dropping off your mobile app at checkout. If you only have a view into user behavior, you won't know if users dropping off because the app is crashing on a specific device type or OS, if it's a certain carrier or network performance issue, if the transaction was taking too long to complete or if the users just decided to not to complete the checkout process. 
 
A mobile app analytics solution that provides you with insight into performance, crash, and usage analytics while providing end-to-end transaction visibility when combined with APM can give you the comprehensive view you need to effectively eliminate your mobile app blind spots.

Derek Stevens is Sr. Product Marketing Manager at CA Technologies.