The decision maker likely wants the app installed because it increases the friction to users to “replace” the app with a competing one. Amazon used to offer $5 credits to install their app years ago, and I initially struggled to understand the reasoning; however these days its so convenient to buy via the amazon app compared to signing up for an account on different websites (i am more likely to use Amazon which is already installed than to go directly to some manufacturer and buy directly)
For Amazon, I prefer the web-app since it's able to open tabs for products I'm comparing. With the app, you're forced into a forward/back/forward navigation pattern that I think is sub-optimal when comparing products.
Is there something I'm missing here? It seems that the app is the less usable experience to me.
Yeah this is a common theme. The web presence often gets more attention ironically, because it is the facade and starting point for the given endeavor. Then comes greed and they try to discourage web usage ... we've all seen it play out over and over.
