Performance, Privacy,
and AI

Mobile Moments: Living in a Mobile-First World

Mobile Monopoly: Dominating Screen Time

Mobile apps command the lion’s share of our digital attention, presenting a golden opportunity for mobile teams. Almost 80% of consumers spend half of their time or more on mobile over desktop, with almost 40% devoting three-quarters of their screen time to mobile.

Users spend significant portions of their time on mobile apps, with over 35% spending 3 hours or more on their favorite apps. In fact, more than 30% of mobile users spend so much of their time on mobile apps that their friends and family have complained about it.

What percentage of your daily screen time do you spend on mobile
apps versus desktop web browsing?

How much time do you spend on your most-used apps each day?

Have your friends, family, or romantic partners ever complained
about the amount of time you spend on apps?

Beyond social media: Leaders in app usage

Industry reports that examine mobile app use by category consistently find the majority of time spent on social and entertainment apps. However, when looking at the categories by frequency of use, we get a different picture.

Social Media still maintains a significant lead, but Entertainment/Gaming is comfortably surpassed by both Shopping and Banking/Finance. Dating apps trail behind significantly to continue their struggle, with the overwhelming majority of users ranking them as the least used.

Although most apps cannot hope to match social and entertainment in terms of time spent, they still have plenty of opportunities to engage their users. This makes it imperative for mobile teams to make the most of every user interaction by optimizing their app’s user experience and eliminating any friction.

Please rank the apps on your phone that you use from most often to least often.

From couch to cart: Mobile shopping habits

The rise of mobile shopping continues with no end in sight, capturing the majority of e-commerce sales and dominating other channels. The convenience of mobile shopping is one of the biggest factors behind its growing popularity, with the overwhelming majority of consumers using mobile e-commerce apps while doing other activities or on the go.

More than 70% of users divide their attention between mobile shopping and watching TV, which is by far the most common scenario, followed by a tie between shopping at work, while commuting, or in the bathroom, at 22%. Notably, less than 5% of users dedicate some of their downtime to mobile shopping.

Interestingly, women are significantly more likely to do their mobile shopping while watching TV (77% vs. 66%), and less likely to do so while at work (19% vs. 26%), during family gatherings (16% vs. 20%), or on a date (8% vs. 15%).57% of consumers completed more than half of their Black Friday and holiday shopping through mobile apps, with more than 30% doing all or almost all of their shopping through mobile apps.

Like most mobile apps, shopping apps usually have to compete with many distractions and must fight for user attention, making a smooth and seamless experience a crucial component to keep users actively engaged and capture a share of their digital spending.

Where are you most likely to use shopping apps? Please select all that apply.

What share of your shopping for Black Friday or other recent
sales holidays did you complete through apps?

What other platforms do you typically use for shopping? Please select all that apply.

Zero Tolerance: Sky-High User Expectations

With mobile apps playing an essential role in our lives and taking up a significant part of our days, user expectations have dramatically increased. Mobile users demand a near-flawless experience and are not willing to tolerate poor app performance.

Stability or bust: You crash, you burn

App stability is foundational to an acceptable user experience. Mobile apps that regularly crash or freeze are highly disruptive to their users, easily reaching the point of being unusable.

82% of respondents say that stability is an extremely important or very important factor when choosing a mobile app, and less than 5% view it as slightly important or not important. This explains why the tolerance for app crashes is extremely low, with 63% of users ready to uninstall your app after three crashes or fewer.

Stability is simply a deal breaker for mobile app users, especially when offered a choice of the many competing apps that do the same thing.

How important is app stability (e.g., crashes and freezes) when
choosing an app for your needs?

How many times does an app have to crash before you uninstall it?

The Speed Imperative: Performance on a Countdown

Mobile app performance is another foundational pillar of an acceptable user experience. Slow, unresponsive apps burden users with a high cognitive load, making it difficult for them to retain their focus and frustrating them into ending their session.

Barely trailing stability, 81% of respondents said that performance is an extremely important or very important factor when choosing a mobile app, and less than 5% view it as slightly important or not important. 61% of mobile users are not willing to wait more than five seconds for your app to launch or process key functions before they uninstall it, with 20% expecting it to be done in less than two seconds.

Not only do mobile users demand excellent performance, but they also expect you to regularly add new features and steadily improve your app, with 72% considering that extremely important or very important.

In a world of ever-shorter attention spans, your app has a narrow window of opportunity to deliver value and keep users engaged. To have a chance in today’s fast-paced world, your app needs to make the most out of every second.

How important is app performance (e.g., load speeds and input responsiveness)
when choosing an app for your needs?

How long are you willing to wait for an app to open or process key functions
before you switch to an alternative app?

How important is it for you that the apps you use are constantly innovating
(adding new features or improving performance)?

Beyond Frustration: The Real-World Consequences

Poor stability and performance are much more than just a pet peeve. They have a significant emotional and tangible impact, stressing your users and provoking frustration and anger so much that 67% of mobile users find them frustrating enough to start cursing at the app.

Stability and performance are the most frustrating issues facing mobile app users, ranking far ahead of poor UI and lack of features. If they are a pain to use, it doesn’t matter how many features your app has. Both stability and performance are equally important to your users, with 52% finding them equally frustrating and the rest split between them.

Emotions —positive and negative— famously have a huge influence on the decisions we make. Mobile teams must avoid putting their users in a negative emotional state at all costs or suffer the consequences.

Have you ever cursed at an app because of frustration from performance issues
(e.g., slow load times, unresponsive inputs) or stability issues (e.g., app crashes)?

What do you find more frustrating, poor app performance (e.g., slow load times,unresponsive inputs)
or poor app stability (e.g., app crashes)?

When it comes to performance issues, which are most frustrating to you?
Please rank your choices from most frustrating to least.

It’s not just irrational emotion. Stability and performance can be a hindrance to your users, causing a tangible impact on their professional and personal lives.

47% of users say their work productivity suffered because of poor app performance, and 57% saw it impact their personal plans. Moreover, 41% of mobile users ended up paying more for a service because of poor app performance.

These tangible effects, coupled with the emotional impact, explain why mobile users have steadily raised their bar for app performance. Successful mobile teams understand this and prioritize their app’s performance accordingly.

Has an apps poor performance ever impacted your productivity at work?

Has an app's poor performance ever impacted your personal plans(e.g., shopping, travel, etc.)?

Has an app's poor performance ever caused you to pay more for a service?
(e.g., rideshare app crashed, prices increased when you reopened the app)

The Bottom Line: Performance Pays

Most mobile app users are unwilling to let performance issues slide, swiftly taking actions that significantly impact your app's success. This includes uninstalling your app and actively discouraging others from giving it a go.

However, they are also prepared to spend more on your app, stay loyal, and recommend it to others if you offer a reliably smooth performance.

Retention roulette: gambling with revenue

With an abundance of alternatives available in app stores, the easiest way for users to deal with performance issues is to ditch your app for a competitor’s. In fact, 45% of users never bother to contact customer support before uninstalling your app, and 37% only do so occasionally. Moreover, many users just stop using the app without even bothering to uninstall it, with 60% of users having more than 6 apps that they rarely or never use.

Performance issues make 81% of your users very likely or somewhat likely to switch to a competitor. Even at peak times, 72% of mobile app users say that performance issues very significantly or somewhat significantly influence the likelihood of continuing to use your app.

Mobile app users also give a high priority to the user interface, with visual and navigational issues causing 73% to frequently or occasionally stop using an app. However, two-thirds of mobile app users are willing to give your app a second chance when it’s updated and fixed, but only after a long time or if they hear about it. However, men seem to be more forgiving and are more willing to give your app a second chance (70%) than women (64%).

Retaining customers is much easier than regaining them. Mobile teams need to do everything in their power to eliminate performance issues, the number one reason behind user churn.

Have you ever contacted customer support for an app-related issue?

How many apps do you have on your phone that you rarely or never use?

How likely are you to permanently switch to a competing app
or company due to issues with an application's performance?

How does an app's responsiveness during peak times (e.g., holidays, large events
conferences, festivals, etc.) influence your likelihood of continuing to use it?

Have you ever stopped using an app because of frustrating visual or navigation issues
(e.g./ buttons that don't work, pages that don't load properly, or layout problems)?

Do you revisit apps that you previously stopped using due to
performance issues after they update or fix bugs?

The performance premium: monetizing quality

Performance expectations may be exacting, but mobile users are willing to spend more of their money to have them met. This comes as no surprise, considering the impact it has on their daily lives.

59% of mobile app users have switched to a more expensive app because it offers a more reliable experience. As for how much, 22% would be willing to pay up to 5% more, and 19% would be willing to pay up to 10%. 6% are even willing to pay more than 20% extra for the peace of mind offered by a smooth app experience.

This presents a great opportunity for mobile teams to gain a competitive edge and boost their revenues.

Have you ever switched from a cheaper app to a more expensive one because it was more reliable?

How much more would you be willing to spend on services on an app that is known to be more reliable?

The review megaphone: amplifying experiences

Ratings and reviews are arguably the biggest factor in deciding whether users will give your app a try or go for your competitor. Naturally, your app’s stability and performance quickly reflect on its app store reviews.

Half of mobile users always or sometimes leave app reviews to share their experience, and while 26% rarely do so, it’s safe to bet they only do it after a very positive or negative experience.

Bugs and crashes are the number one reason that prompts mobile users to leave a negative review, followed closely by slow performance, leaving a confusing interface, and lack of features in the dust. It’s a similar story on the other side of the spectrum, with fast loading speeds the number one reason behind positive app reviews, followed closely by excellent customer support.

Additionally, 71% of users say stability and performance issues make them less likely to recommend an app, and 52% discourage others from using apps they had issues with through word of mouth. Women seem to care about slow loading speeds more than men when recommending a mobile app (35% vs. 29%), while men value UI design more than women (17% vs. 11%).

How often do you leave reviews on apps?

What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to app performance that would cause you to
leave a negative review? Please rank your choices from most frustrating to least.

Have you ever discouraged someone from using an app that you previously had issues with?

What types of app issues make you less likely to recommend it to others?

What are some of the factors that would encourage you to leave
a positive review on an app? Please select all that apply.

The loyalty loop: performance colors perception

Customer loyalty is hard-earned, and brand perception takes a lot of time and thoughtful effort to build, but poor performance can quickly erode them.

A third of mobile app users say that app performance has a significant impact on their loyalty to the app, and 39% say it has a moderate impact. Only 10% see their loyalty unaffected by performance. Over time, 55% demand a consistently high performance to remain loyal to the app, and 36% will only tolerate occasional issues.

To remain loyal despite the occasional bug or crash, 35% expect the app to be regularly updated with fixes and improvements, 26% require unique features that are not available from your competitors, and 24% demand excellent customer support. Emotional attachment is enough for only 12% of users.

Furthermore, it’s not just your app that falls out of favor. 74% say poor app performance negatively impacts their perception of the brand as a whole. Conversely, 79% say outstanding app performance has a positive impact on their perception of the brand as a whole.

How does app performance impact your loyalty to the company that owns the app?

Does app performance affect your decision to keep using an app over time?

What makes you most likely to remain loyal to an app despite occasional bugs or crashes?

Does repeated poor app performance negatively impact your perception of the brand on the whole?

Does outstanding app performance positively impact your perception of the brand on the whole?

AI Adoption: Balancing Enthusiasm With Privacy

Ever since the launch of ChatGPT 3, AI has undeniably captured people’s imagination, leading to its meteoric rise and proliferation across industries and use cases. The mobile app market is a prime target for AI applications, creating lucrative opportunities for mobile teams that manage to overcome the obstacles to its adoption.

Over one-third of survey respondents say AI features would make them more likely to choose an application over a similar one. This is quite impressive for a new technology, and it is expected to rise steadily as AI matures and becomes more established.

At 44%, Shopping emerged as the number one category people would like to see AI features applied to, followed by Social Media at 34% and Entertainment/Games at 32%. Interestingly, 68% of respondents are more likely to use AI for personal rather than business use.AI privacy and security is the most common concern, shared by 52% of respondents, which could explain why the majority are more likely to use it for personal use.

Accuracy is the second most common concern at 44%, followed by ethics at 39%. 20% of respondents don’t know enough about AI to have specific concerns, and only 9% don’t have any notable concerns.

AI presents a huge opportunity but requires a thoughtful and strategic approach to succeed. Mobile teams should apply AI only where it adds a clear value and take steps to address concerns with privacy and accuracy.

Do AI features make you more likely to use one type of application over another similar one?

Which categories do or would you appreciate more AI features in most? Please select all that apply.

Are you more likely to use AI-enabled apps for business or personal use?

What concerns do you have about AI? Please select all that apply.

Transparency is Key: Building User Trust

Mobile teams depend on their users sharing their data to improve app experience and performance, but users can be wary about its privacy and security. Understanding and addressing these concerns is crucial to gaining user trust.

Fortunately, users have a high baseline of trust to share their data, with 59% indicating they are very comfortable or somewhat comfortable sharing their data. Only 13% said that they are not at all comfortable giving mobile apps access to their data.

The most common reason users are prepared to share their data is to improve app performance and stability (48%), followed by receiving a more personalized experience (42%). 32% will begrudgingly agree to share their data to gain access to all app features, and 30% will share their data to gain insight into their habits and behavior.

Data security is the number one concern for 47% of respondents, followed by data being sold to third parties (28%) and lack of control over how it is used (24%). 71% of respondents are more likely to share their data with apps that are transparent about how it is used, but 74% are much more cautious if the app has had previous security incidents.

How comfortable are you with sharing your app usage data to help companies improve their apps?

What are some of the reasons you are comfortable sharing your data with applications?
Please select all that apply.

What concerns you most about sharing your app usage data?

Would you be more willing to share data with apps that provide transparency about how they use it?

Have pervious security issues with applications ever impacted your willingness to share your data with an app?