Amazon tops app satisfaction poll

Developers of smartphone apps need to take a leaf out of Amazon’s book when it comes to developing their offerings, a new study has found

The eRetailer achieved a overall satisfaction top score of 90% with an app that matches the Amazon’s established online usability, according to a new benchmark study from eDigitalResearch. The study highlights that apps that are easy to use, intuitive and simple to navigate are most well received by consumers.

The Amazon app offered the same functionality and usability of its original website, allowing smartphone shoppers to browse and buy in the exactly the same way as they can online. Derek Eccleston, research director at eDigitalResearch said its research showed consistently that users expect the same brand experience, regardless of what channel they are using.

“It is important for brands to take this into account when reaching out to an App audience, and need to make sure that they develop an App that is consistent with brand image, mirroring the sort of functionality a shopper would expect to find on a company’s website – whether that’s allowing users to shop for products, book a holiday, check accounts or reserve a table,” Eccleston said.

In terms of the usability of apps on the Apple platform, the study found that Search and Find – travel apps were the top performing sector overall, with an average satisfaction score of 83%. Users found that apps were easy to use and navigate, with most providing booking features within the app, meaning that they didn’t have to visit other sites elsewhere.

eDigitalResearch warns that successful apps mirror a company’s website across everything from appearance and branding to functionality, product range and features, have a clear purpose and are not seen by brands as a ‘nice-to-have’ feature. Apps that fail to reflect their online counterparts were often rated poorly by shoppers, who were sometimes left wondering what the overall function of the app really was.

Food and drink were the lowest performing sector, only managing to achieve an overall satisfaction score of 73%. Poorly performing Apps frustrated users with slow to load pages that were poorly designed with limited capabilities, as users expected to be able to order food or reserve a table if necessary.