Source: CA Technologies infographic.

People are pickier than ever about the apps they use, so businesses that don’t offer a good app experience could lose a significant portion of their customers. A regional study* sponsored by CA Technologies shows that mobile and desktop applications in the Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) region have become key to earning customer loyalty.

Software: the New Battleground for Brand Loyalty – A survey of 1,449 consumers and 259 business decision-makers across five APJ nations pinpointed three major factors influencing the customer experience: 

Source: CA Technologies infographic.

Speed – Of those surveyed, 75% of consumers who abandoned an app due to slow loading times said six seconds or less was acceptable, while 39% expected it to load in under three seconds.

Simplicity – Over 70% of APJ consumers prioritized ‘user-friendly features,’ and over 63% valued apps that “make tasks easy” when deciding whether to use or buy an app.

Security – More than 60% considered an app’s capacity to “thwart threats like viruses and denial of service attacks” and “perform functions securely” as essential. Furthermore, 17% of users who had subpar experiences with app security indicated they would abandon the brand entirely.

Source: CA Technologies infographic.

“Apps are swiftly becoming the main way consumers connect with businesses,” noted Kenneth Arredondo, President & GM, Asia Pacific & Japan, CA Technologies. “Companies need to embrace a customer-first approach and leverage the increasing volume of data from always-on devices. They need to create applications that are personalized, secure, responsive, and user-friendly.”

Source: CA Technologies infographic.

The study also revealed how applications have become vital points of interaction between consumers and organizations. Over half (52%) of all respondents use apps for shopping, 49% for banking, and over 46% for online purchases and consuming media like videos and TV shows.

“Organizations must shift their perspective and view applications not just as a business extension but as a core element of their business model,” Arredondo added. “Achieving this requires companies to actively consider customer desires, including attentive listening and employing predictive analytics to extract valuable insights that can steer app development.”

To download the white paper and delve deeper into the research, click here. The complete infographic can be found here.

*Zogby Analytics conducted the study, sponsored by CA Technologies, involving 1,449 consumers and 259 business decision-makers across Australia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea.