Apigee Survey: Users Reveal Top Frustrations That Lead to Bad App Reviews
Now, a new survey of mobile app users shows that Americans value the performance of their maps app (63%), second only to the safety and security of their banking app (74%).
Apigee today announced the findings of its 2012 Mobile App Review Survey of over 500 American mobile app users, aged 18 and older, conducted online by uSamp in October. The survey, which was aimed at revealing the expectations and ratings criteria for mobile apps on smartphones and tablets (e.g., iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy S3), found that fully 96% of American mobile app users say there are frustrations that would lead them to give an app a bad review, including:
• Freezes 76%
• Crashes 71%
• Slow responsiveness 59%
• Heavy battery usage 55%
• Too many ads 53%
Nearly every respondent (98%) stressed that performance matters. When asked what types of apps performance matters most for, 74% said banking apps, followed by maps (63%), mobile payments (55%), mobile shopping (49%), games (44%) and social media (41%). When apps dont perform as expected or advertised, 99% of respondents said they would take action:
• Delete the app immediately 44%
• Delete the app if it freezes for longer than 30 seconds 38%
• Tell my friends and colleagues how bad it is 32%
• Complain about the app on Facebook and Twitter 21%
And an unforgiving 18% admitted they would even delete an app immediately from their device if it froze for just 5 seconds. While nearly everyone says they would take action, 27% reported that they would keep the app a little longer if they paid for it.
However, mobile app users do recognize that problems will arise and gave some insight into how companies can respond when that happens. Overwhelmingly (89%) mobile app users say the number one thing companies can do is fix the problem quickly, followed by easy refunds (65%), provide a customer service number (49%), give the user a personal response (46%) and make a public apology (21%).
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Whatever the response, mobile app users say they will continue to search for and discover new apps. The survey respondents revealed that the top way they find new apps is simply searching app stores periodically (75%). This was followed closely by in person word-of-mouth (58%), Facebook postings (45%), reading news stories & blogs (26%) and Twitter (14%).
In the growing app economy, there’s a natural Darwinian effect, and only the best apps will survive,” says Chet Kapoor, Apigee CEO. “These survey findings underscore the importance for developers to closely monitor app performance, identify problems quickly and react immediately to resolve them. ”
The survey was conducted by uSamp (uSamp.com), the Answer Network, a premier provider of technology and survey respondents used to obtain consumer and business insights. The survey was conducted online from October 17-18, 2012 on behalf of Apigee and asked 502 U.S. respondents to provide insight, preferences and feedback on the subject of mobile apps.
For more information, visit:
http://www.apigee.com
