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 Mobile/web-based app usage?

Charlie Catacalos's profile image
Charlie Catacalos posted 07-07-2025 10:33 AM

Hi all,

I'm doing some informal research around how visitors are engaging with mobile apps/digital platforms in museums (think Bloomberg Connects and similar). We have a partnership with a new app for museums and cultural institutions and have been fluctuating around 5% engagement with visitors. For a bit of context, we have video and audio stories, trivia, and fun facts available through the app and online. We're also working to roll out a few other features, audio descriptions being our biggest focus right now. We have plenty of signage throughout the museum including table signs in rest areas, digital banner on welcome screens, and QR codes throughout the galleries that direct users to specific stories.

I'm curious to hear what level of engagement other institutions are seeing with their digital content and what kinds of strategies are working to get visitors to engage. Thanks, everyone!

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Charlie Catacalos
Interpretation Manager
Yale Peabody Museum
New Haven, CT
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Mark Osterman's profile image
Mark Osterman

At the Wolfsonian-FIU we have Bloomberg Connects. We have not yet done analytics to figure out what percentage of visitors are using the App, but we have found an uptick in users since Bloomberg released Web App version allowing visitors to access experiences without having to download the App. We have also been expanding our audio experiences and these have been successful as well with more engagement from visitors. We placed QR codes in our lobby on table toppers and within our Design Store + Coffee Bar marketing the Bloomberg Connects experience as well as in the galleries and these have been successful in getting new users. 

Mark  

Jeff Danziger's profile image
Jeff Danziger

Hi Charlie,  I'm with Guide-ID and we provide audio guides for museums and historic sites around the world: https://www.guide-id.com/  We also have a mobile solution as an add-on to our simple to use hardware.  We have found that when visitors are given a choice between a simple to use device and a mobile solution, they overwhelmingly prefer the simple device as opposed to using their own phones. 

What you describe as a 5% take-up rate sounds pretty typical from what we've seen and/or heard from the field for BYOD solutions.  However, most folks that I talk to respond similarly to Mark in that they haven't drilled down into the data to get the actual number.  I suspect that the typical number is actually even lower that 5%. 

On the flip side, we have clients that can achieve 50% or more take-up rates with our hardware.  We also have data from our clients around the world that I'd be happy to review with you.  Feel free to reach out to me at jeffdanziger@guide-id.com or 203-246-4829 if you'd like to take a look at this in more depth.  Thanks and hope to connect with you or any other viewers of this thread who would like to learn more.  With best regards, Jeff