Mobile apps users know what they want: survey

Thought about ways an app would help your operations, but not just whether it will resonate with your citizens? A recent survey from application performance management firm Compuware may offer some guidance.

The survey, entitled Mobile apps: what consumers really need and want, involved 3534 respondents across the US, UK, France, Germany, India and Japan. It drew out a number of interesting statistics about the ways consumers use their mobile devices.

Among the 2012 findings:

• The average number of apps owned by a smartphone user is 41, up 28% over 2011.
• Apps are used, on average, for 39 minutes per day, compared with 37 minutes in 2011.
• In sheer market share terms, Google’s Android (56%) has more than twice that of Apple’s iOS (23%) and eight times that of Blackberry (7%) – but around 30 billion iOS apps have been downloaded, compared to less than 15 billion Android apps.
• Most users (85%) prefer mobile apps over mobile Web sites. They are perceived as being more convenient (55%), faster (48%), and easier to browse (40%) – and are expected to load within 2 seconds (the median, reported by 31% of respondents).
• Quality control is important: of the more than half of users who have had a problem with an app, 62% reported a crash, freeze or error; 47% experienced slow launch times; and 40% have tried an app that simply would not launch. In such cases, 79% of users would retry a mobile app only once or twice before giving up on it completely.
• Once a user has given up on an app, they’re likely to spread unfavourable reviews in person and online: 31% said they would tell others about their poor experience, 26% would give the app a low rating, and 11% would announce it on social media.
• This can have a major impact on future users: 84% of users said app store ratings are important in their decision to download and install a mobile app. – David Braue