World-class mobile experiences create increased consumer loyalty

New consumer research demonstrates the impact of mobile shopping apps

New research conducted by Apadmi reveals the importance of a positive mobile app experience to today’s consumers and the effect on loyalty, spend and advocacy.

Conducted in the UK’s national COVID-19 lockdown in early 2021, the survey of 1,000 consumers found that 46% would leave a positive review for the brand with a world-class mobile experience, 45% would recommend the retailer, and 41% would be more loyal to the brand. Over a quarter (28%) said they would spend more money.

Mobile app shopping is in high demand for younger consumers, with 98% of those aged 16-34 having shopped with a retailer via a mobile app, compared to just 58% of respondents aged 55+.

Demand for mobile innovation in retail is only increasing, with 100% of the shoppers agreeing they are excited about mobile experiences in 2021. The most common future developments consumers are excited to see are cited as virtual reality (36%), mobile-assisted in store shopping (35%) and social commerce (26%).

The research reveals some interesting differences in the demographic responses. Virtual reality was ranked the most exciting future mobile experience for male respondents (40%) and voice-enabled shopping the least (23%) with females opting for mobile-assisted in store shopping (36%) being most exciting, and augmented reality the least exciting (25%).

Adam Warburton, Head of Digital Products, Co-op commented: “Customer behaviour continually changes, and the pandemic accelerated a shift towards hyper-convenient services with minimal effort. This was obviously felt through growth in eCommerce, but more nuanced was the shift towards shopping local which enables customers to still achieve same-day convenience but with the added benefit of supporting their local community. This is a relatively untapped space from a mobile perspective and is one to watch.”

Garry Partington, Co-founder and CEO at mobile development agency Apadmi said: “No one was expecting the world to change the way it did in 2020. Overnight purchase habits changed, the interactions between retails and their customers was thrust forward into a digital world, as people who were previously slow in digital uptake, were forced to use digital, and many finding they enjoyed it!

“As we come out of the pandemic, each retailer must acknowledge and adapt to the new customer behaviours that have developed during the last year and evolve according to their own retail demographic. Mobile is becoming the lead sales platform for retail and we’re experiencing a growing number of enquiries from brands that recognise they need to improve their mobile customer experience, increase loyalty and generate new revenue streams from digital platforms. This will only continue through 2021 and beyond.”

Key statistics:

• Rewards and benefits are much more important to younger consumers, with 35% of shoppers aged 25-34 citing this as an important value compared to just 17% of consumers aged 55+
• Social commerce is a key area of interest for younger consumers aged 25-34, with nearly 1 in 3 (31%) saying they are excited about this in 2021
• 47% of consumers aged 16-24 would be more loyal to a brand if it offered a world class mobile experience, the highest of any age category