Take the Long Road and Walk It: Critical Reflections and Future Directions for Standalone Apps Research

Since their introduction as an alternative to more complex software configurations in people’s hands, mobile applications (apps for short) have undergone a significant expansion, underpinning nearly 30 years of digital marketing growth (The Guardian, 2015). In more recent times, apps remain a common marketing tactic that facilitate the accessibility of products and services with remarkable adaptation to contingencies, irrespective of said contingencies being market or brand-driven, environment driven or consumer driven.

A type of app that embodies this unprecedented degree of adaptation are standalone apps. Standalone apps are not attached to an existing brand (online or offline); they are the main vessel through which a business or an entrepreneurial venture becomes available to consumers and have a brand identity of their own – for example, displaying a logo or a trademark, distinctive colour combinations, type font or functionality (Stocchi et al., 2022). Over time, standalone apps have attained significant market success, re-shaping specific industries and changing consumer habits. Classic examples include ride-sharing apps (explored in this special issue), with a global market size valued at USD 42.9 billion in 2024 and are also projected to continue growing at about 13.7% until 2030 (GrandView Research, 2025). Nonetheless, standalone apps still face notable challenges, which are arguably more pronounced than what we typically observe for apps attached to existing brands...