The report is the industry’s most comprehensive survey, on the quality of digital applications.
Of the 300,000 errors found, 68 percent prevented users from continuing to use a system.
Troubleshooting must be a priority, because 36 percent of users leave an app after using it once if it does not function properly.
Applause, the global leader in testing and digital quality assurance, today announced the results of its European “State of Digital Quality” report for the EU region. The report highlights that digital quality drives positive brand perceptions and impacts revenue. Every error, crash and poor user experience diminishes customer satisfaction.
The results show that companies consider the detection of crashes (75 percent) and functional errors (61 percent) to be particularly important. For end users, localization and accessibility problems are the most important. Poor and missing translations account for 67 percent of localization problems. In the area of access and accessibility, screen readers (66 percent) are particularly challenging. In comparison, far ahead of the following sources of error are keyboard navigation problems and insufficient color contrast, which together account for just about 20 percent of all accessibility problems.
The State of Digital Quality Report examines the impact of digital quality roadblocks on business and customer satisfaction and identifies ways to improve. It is the industry’s most comprehensive examination of real-world test data to identify defects in digital applications. To produce this report, Applause analyzed a representative sample of test data. This dataset covered the period from January 1 to December 31, 2021, 159 countries, more than 70 industries, multiple test categories, more than 340,000 defects, 13,000 mobile devices, 1,000 individual desktops, and 500 operating system versions. Digital assets tested included websites, apps, IoT devices, mobile web and mobile apps in real-world scenarios. Applause supplemented this data with information from its digital and testing experts gained through collaboration with customers.
Companies want and need to test
Companies place a high value on testing because it eliminates bugs and makes applications more successful after release. Overall, companies ranked the discovery of crashes (75 percent), functional errors (61 percent), and lag and latency issues (53 percent) as most valuable. In addition, nearly half of organizations (47 percent) saw currency and number formatting issues as the most important errors to identify.
Applause’s testers reported more than 300,000 errors during the reporting period, 68 percent of which affected system functions. For example, users were unable to click certain buttons or the desired function (“add to shopping cart”) did not work. This can be dangerous for companies. This is because 36 percent of all users are prepared to stop using an app after using it once if it does not function properly. 63 percent would even turn away from a brand altogether due to a bad customer experience.
Localization is a priority in the EU and Germany
After the functionality tests, localization tests make up another large part of the report. Here, high expectations must be met on the European market and even more so on the German market. An external survey of more than 8,000 consumers in 29 countries found that 76 percent of online shoppers prefer to buy products with information in their native language, while 40 percent said they would never buy from sites in other languages. This feeling is particularly strong in Germany, where more than half (57 percent) of consumers would only buy from sites in their native language. Conversely, this means that errors in translation or a lack of information in the local language make consumers uncomfortable. This is also confirmed by the figures in the Applause report. Of the more than 8,000 errors and bugs identified worldwide, almost half (46.7 percent) were found in Europe.
“Done right, good localization offers companies tremendous potential to enter new markets and grow. However, a poorly localized application can cost a company its reputation. As brands expand into new markets, it’s critical for product credibility that they reflect local language and social norms. Digital experiences that show cultural sensitivity and attention to local preferences enable brands to build trust and accelerate customer adoption. Especially in Europe, companies therefore need to pay attention to good localization,” says Jan Wolter, General Manager EU at Applause.
Detailed results and further information can be found in the published report: https://www.applause.com/state-of-digital-quality-2022
In the coming weeks, Applause plans to release additional State of Digital Quality reports for various industry segments, including retail, media and telecommunications, finance, travel and hospitality, health and fitness, and B2B software.
