Australians’ bad experience with apps includes crashing devices, draining phone batteries and making it difficult to sign in – and more are hitting delete.
An index released on Wednesday by tech firm Cisco shows the majority of Australians surveyed (58 per cent) say they have higher online expectations than a year ago.
More than half (54 per cent) have deleted more apps than they installed in the past 12 months as their expectations rise and tolerance of underperforming apps falls.
A brand that delivered poor digital experiences simply did not value them as a customer, consumers said.
Consumers also feel they could probably live without almost half (40 per cent) of their downloaded applications for food delivery, entertainment, shopping, banking, news and work.
Some 50 per cent of Australians feel that clumsy apps show a lack of respect from brands, mirroring global sentiment.
When asked what applications are used to help with the cost of living crisis, price comparison apps (42 per cent), budgeting or money management (42 per cent) and voucher and discount sites (40 per cent) were most popular.
The report also identifies the rise of “the application generation”, which is even more selective and demanding than the average user.
The app generation is aged under 35 and, on average, uses 41 different applications each month, compared with 30 among people aged 35 and above.
People want reliable, simple apps that are also intuitive, fun to use and personalised. And they’re on a mission to punish any brand that lets them down by spreading the word.
Performance issues were most common from digital entertainment, work tools intended for collaboration and productivity, government services, and when connecting with family and friends.
The index tallied 15,031 respondents across 13 countries, including 1003 from Australia.
Marion Rae
(Australian Associated Press)
