Presso Events
The Death of the Event App Download (And What Replaces It)
Picture this: You’ve just registered for an exciting industry conference. The confirmation email arrives, and buried in paragraph three is the dreaded phrase that makes your heart sink: “Please download our event app to access the full networking experience.”
Your enthusiasm deflates instantly. Another app. Another login. Another digital barrier between you and the connections you came to make.
If you’re an event organiser still telling attendees to download your custom app, it’s time for some hard truth: you’re actively sabotaging your own event’s success.
Why “Download This App” Has Become the Worst Four Words in Events
The Friction Monster
Every additional step between registration and networking is a conversion killer. When you ask attendees to download an app, you’re demanding:
- Time to find and download the app
- Mental energy to create yet another account
- Trust that your app won’t be abandoned post-event
- Storage space on already-cluttered devices
- Patience to learn another interface
Every one of those steps is a point where someone gives up. By the time attendees have navigated app stores, downloads, account creation, and onboarding, some of your potential networkers are gone before they even walk through the door.
The Participation Plunge
Not every registered attendee downloads the event app, and not everyone who downloads it finishes the profile setup that meaningful networking needs.
Each drop-off shrinks the pool of people who can find each other, and you end up running a networking event where many attendees are invisible to each other.
The Abandoned App Graveyard
Here’s an uncomfortable truth: most event apps are downloaded, used briefly, then forgotten forever. Your custom event app joins the digital graveyard alongside apps for conferences they attended two years ago, restaurant loyalty programs they used once, and travel apps for cities they’ll never visit again.
This isn’t just wasteful - it’s actively training your audience to be skeptical of your next event’s digital experience.
The Solution: The Progressive Event App® (PEA™)
That’s exactly why we invented the PEA™ - the world’s first PWA specifically designed for event organisers who are tired of watching downloads kill their networking potential.
Zero Download, Maximum Participation
The PEA™ operates entirely through web browsers, requiring zero downloads. Attendees access networking features through a simple link sent with their ticket confirmation. No app stores, no downloads, no account creation friction - just instant access to the networking experience.
With the PEA™, attendees can build profiles and browse other participants from any device using tools they already have - without installing a single new application.
What That Means for You
Your agenda and speakers sit behind the link in the ticket email, and when you change them, attendees see the change the next time they open it. When your competitors are still asking for app downloads, that instant access becomes a differentiator that attracts both participants and sponsors.
The Choice Is Yours
We’re witnessing the death of the traditional event app model, and the PEA™ is leading the revolution. Event apps as standalone downloads will soon seem as antiquated as requiring attendees to bring printed programs.
The question isn’t whether the download-first model will disappear - it’s whether your events will lead this transition with the PEA™ or be left behind by it.
Stop asking attendees to download your app. Start delivering the frictionless networking experience they actually want - with the Progressive Event App® that makes it possible.