40% of consumers disappointed with retail apps

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 20, 2017

Mobile retail apps can be powerful drivers of sales growth when done right, however many retailers are failing to deliver a high quality interactive shopping experience, according to a new report from Apadmi.

The leading mobile app developer asked 2,000 UK consumers who use retail apps for their thoughts on current offerings, finding that a third have downloaded more retail apps in the last 12 months than they did in the previous year but only 40% is satisfied with the current offering.

A lack of innovative features that offer more than browsing and buying, as well as infrequent updates are cited as the biggest reasons why consumers are not satisfied with retail apps, with only a third of app users noticing improvements in their shopping tools.

Worryingly for retailers, more than a quarter of those surveyed said they would think less of a retailer that developed an app but failed to update it regularly.

Additionally, of those shoppers who said they wanted to see improved innovation or incentives to use apps, more than a fifth said they would prefer apps that could help them make purchasing decisions, or recommend products based on their browsing history.

And what most consumers expect from a retail apps are incentives and loyalty schemes, with 54% of shoppers thinking they would be more likely to download apps if they were offered specific rewards for doing so.

“These results sound a clear warning message to retailers that, while retail apps are becoming more popular with consumers, many are failing to meet expectations and deliver the kind of service customers clearly expect,” commented Apadmi CEO Nick Black.

Technology is enabling the possibility to offer a “genuinely personalised mobile retail experience”, he added, and consumers would like to see artificial intelligence tools in apps if they could remember previous purchases and recommend deals based on their shopping experience.

Nearly one in five (18%) think AI in retail apps – like chatbots or digital assistants – would be able to offer this capability and think retailers should investigate introducing these tools into apps.

Nearly a third (29%) believe retailers should be putting more investment into augmented and virtual reality platforms, as they would like to visualise what products look like, whether on themselves or at home, before making a purchase.

Finally, consumers would like to see a more integrated omnichannel experience, with retail stores offering free wifi to allow apps to sync and update, a mobile app that lets them pay instore and the possibility to receive tailored instore offers while they are shopping.