By Derek Eccleston

The study, which measures overall customer satisfaction across a range of some of the UK’s leading Apps, found that Amazon have successfully managed to transport it’s well known usability from the website directly into a smartphone allowing users to browse and buy in a familiar environment.

Our research is showing time and time again 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.

The results highlight several key features that App developers and companies need to take into account when creating an App, including being easy to use, intuitive and simple to navigate. It is essential that all Apps have a clear purpose and should not be seen by brands as a ‘nice-to-have’ feature. They should mirror a company’s website across everything from appearance and branding to functionality, product range and features. Apps that failed 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.

The benchmark is the second study of its kind and has now been expanded to almost 70 Apps covering eight different sectors, including retail, travel, media and food and drink.

For a copy of the latest App Benchmark presentation, including the results from all eight sectors, please complete a short registration survey https://ecustomeropinions.com/survey/survey.php?sid=404519902. Alternatively, for access to all eDigitalResearch benchmarks, log in or sign up to the benchmarking area of our website: www.edigitalresearch.com/benchmarking.

Methodology

An eMysteryShopper survey was conducted to compare the customer journey of 67 UK Apps available on the Apple App platform via an Apple smart device across eight different industries, including:

• News and Media

• Food and Drink

• Retail

• Flights

• Hotels

• Search and Find – Travel

• Search and Find

• Home Services

The fieldwork was carried out using the eMysteryShopper Panel of internet users during August and September 2011. Depending on the nature of the App, the benchmark measures included:

• Introduction

• Rating features

• Product information

• Range

• Shopping basket

• Overall experience

About the author and eDigitalResearch

Derek Eccleston is Research Director at eDigitalResearch, a research specialist with expertise in online business. The company can give multichannel insights and informed directions to companies, using information from surveys, panels and communities, combined to provide holistic insight to make crucial decisions on product range, marketing, customer service, supply chain and even basic positioning.