Market Study: Mobile Customer Experience Issues Highlight Use Cases for iOS App Clips

Still, almost half of users say they'll likely install a required app

It’s important that we point out that, despite reports of frustration, 46.9% of users still say they’ll “definitely” or “usually” install a required app. Men (50.3%) are more likely than women (44.3%) to fall in that group.

Some users even abandon transactions that require installing an app

77.9% of mobile phone users say the mandatory app installation roadblock caused them to abandon at least one transaction in the last year with no discernible differences between men and women.

However, there’s a strong trend when broken down by age. Younger users are progressively more likely to abandon transactions if required to install an app to make a purchase, complete a sale or try a service. Over 80% of users aged 18-34 reported abandoning at least one transaction in the last year because they had to install an app compared to around 76% of users aged 35-54 and 69.6% of users aged 55+.

That’s a lot of lost business, and much of it’s likely to be new business because these lost customers haven’t installed the company’s mobile app yet.

Instead of letting new business slip away, why not try to gain new customer trust — and hopefully establish an ongoing relationship — with well-designed App Clips that make users want to download your full application?

Nearly 1-in-3 customers saved at least $100 in the last year because companies made purchasing too difficult

The plurality of respondents (30.1%) estimated saving $20-$99 over the last year, but 30.3% estimated they saved at least $100 and 7.8% estimated they saved at least $500 — all because companies made the checkout process too difficult.

App Clips are designed to eliminate transaction roadblocks and convert those lost transactions into repeat customers.

Active app store searchers are most likely to install an app to complete a purchase

A user’s likelihood of installing a required app varies by how they primarily discover new apps in the first place.

56.4% of active app store searchers say they’ll “definitely” or “usually” install an app if it’s required to complete a transaction. That’s 34.3% higher than users who primarily discover apps through digital ads and 56.7% higher than the word-of-mouth crowd.

When used as a way to promote your full application, App Clips may offer an affordable solution for converting those who are first exposed to your app via digital ads and word of mouth.

Most users delete apps from their phone at least once per month

Thus far, we’ve seen that some users don’t like the feeling of being “forced” to install a mobile app that’s totally foreign to them in order to complete a transaction. We wanted to see how this feeling translates to how often users actually delete apps from their phone.

What we found is that 78.9% say they delete apps at least once per month, with 26.2% deleting apps at least once per week.

Users who are more likely to install required apps also delete apps more frequently

We were curious whether a user’s willingness to download apps correlates with how likely they are to delete apps on a more regular, weekly basis.

33.2% of users who “definitely” or “usually” install required apps report they delete apps at least once per week. That’s 65.2% higher than all other users (20.3% and 19.7% for the unsure and unlikely crowds, respectively).

Users don't always think less of businesses whose apps they delete

Does deleting an app from your phone signal negative sentiment about a business?

For the majority of users — almost 51% of men and over 70% of women — the answer is “No.”

Users became more likely to install new apps in the second half of 2020

Daily routines have changed enormously over the last year with a substantial shift toward online and mobile business.

So it’s no surprise that 44.9% of the users we surveyed in early 2021 said they were more likely to install new apps over the last six months compared to the previous six months. Just 23.5% said they were less likely, for a net increase of +21.4 percentage points.

Once again, there’s a noticeable divide between men and women:

• 48% of men have been more likely to install new apps while 19.4% have been less likely (+28.6)
• 42.6% of women have been more likely to install new apps while 26.6% have been less likely (+16)

There’s also a strong divide by a user’s primary means of discovering new apps:

• Searching the app store: Both men (+35.7) and women (+36.2) have been much more likely to install new apps.
• Display ads: Both men (+33.3) and women (+22.5) have been much more likely to install new apps, with men having a slight edge.
• Word of mouth:Both men (-3) and women (-10) have been less likely to install new apps, with women having a slight edge.

Overall, 44.9% of users have been more likely to install new apps over the last six months, while 23.5% have been less likely for a net increase of +21.4 percentage points.

Considering the growing willingness of users to install new applications to their phones, 2021 is an ideal time for businesses to invest in App Clips that will increase the likelihood that users will find, install, and enjoy using their full apps.