Cisco AppDynamics has released the latest report in its App Attention Index research series, revealing consumer reliance on applications and digital services has soared since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global study, which examined the digital behaviors of more than 13,000 global consumers, also identified consumers now have a zero tolerance policy for poor application experience and automatically place blame on the application and brand, no matter where a performance issue stems from.
Consumers blame the brand when the application experience fails
Since the start of 2020, consumers have experienced a sudden and total reliance on digital services, altering how they engage with brands, consume goods and services, and make purchasing decisions. In fact, the research shows that people are using 30 percent more applications today than they did before the pandemic.
Loyalty lies with brands that invest in application experience
Consumers have not only come to rely on applications and digital services to function in everyday life, but they also used them to facilitate social interactions in the absence of traditional ways of connecting in person. The research found that the majority of consumers (85%) say that digital services have become a critical part of daily life, with 84 percent stating they helped them get through the pandemic in a positive way. Additionally, consumers are now loyal to brands based on how significantly they invested in digital services during the pandemic.
Brands have one shot to get the ‘total application experience’ right
61 percent of consumers now state their expectations for digital services have changed forever and they will no longer tolerate poor performance. The research goes on to find that 72 percent of consumers believe it’s the responsibility of the brand to ensure that digital services work perfectly, and more than half (57%) state that brands have one shot to impress them with their digital experiences before they switch to another provider.
Chris Younger, SVP, Freedom Financial Network
We want them to know we’re the right people for the job, so our goal is to make sure our customers get connected with an advisor quickly, never getting disconnected or languishing in a chat queue. AppDynamics gives us the visibility and insights we need to make sure that every component of the workflow that delivers a customer directly to an agent instantly and seamlessly is working exactly as it should.
