App makers under pressure with consumers looking forward to flawless app usage this holiday season

Image by Navanwita Bora for The Tech Panda

App makers have some expectations from them this holiday season as consumers have plans of making their holidays smoother with the help of various apps in areas like entertainment, finance, social networking, food, and healthcare.

According to the report ‘Seasonal Shopping Pulse Survey Part II (Christmas and Holiday edition) by Cisco AppDynamics, consumers will be using more applications and digital services this holiday season than ever before with 63% believing digital services are important to have an enjoyable holiday, globally. Whether it’s streaming movies and music, connecting with friends and family, keeping up to date with news, or managing finances, consumers will be relying on a huge number of applications as they celebrate.

This increased usage also means added pressure for brands to make sure their applications run smoothly if they don’t want to end up on the naughty list. More than half of consumers (53%) globally admit that they are worried that if a digital service doesn’t work as it should, it will have negative implications for their family holiday.

Entertainment will rule the holiday season with 88% anticipating use of entertainment apps for streaming movies, TV shows, sports, and music, while 72% plan to engage with connected devices (Alexa, smart home). 60% say they’ll opt for gaming apps, while 84% will use tools to connect with friends and family (e.g., social media, video calls).

56% say they find it harder to enjoy the holiday in potential holiday application failure scenarios. Worse still, 30% delete the faulty app and never use it again

75% turn to retail apps for last-minute gifts and holiday recipe ingredients, and 75% utilize banking and insurance apps for last-minute payments and transfers. Also, 78% use news and information-based apps, while 88% will utilize food delivery services for a well-deserved takeaway.

Moreover, 73% use collaboration and productivity tools to wrap up work or studies before the holidays. 79% express interest in health and wellbeing apps for fitness and relaxation. And, 75% explore hospitality, leisure, and travel apps for last-minute bookings. 81% find utility apps (broadband, water, gas, electric) crucial, even as 79% consider healthcare apps vital for consultations, prescriptions, and more.

Any potential application failure can impact the holiday mood, whether it’s banking app fails for important payments or transfers, messaging app fails hindering communication with friends and family, or an online retailer’s app malfunctions, affecting last-minute holiday shopping. Apart from these, entertainment streaming services, digital health services, food delivery services, travel apps, and sports streaming services must take care.

56% say they find it harder to enjoy the holiday in potential holiday application failure scenarios. Worse still, 30% delete the faulty app and never use it again.

In fact, 88% agree that applications and digital services are crucial for an enjoyable holiday, 75% worry about the impact of app failures on family holidays, and 85% expect to use more apps this holiday season than in previous years.

The stakes have indeed been raised for application owners over the holiday season. On one hand, they have a huge opportunity to accommodate an unprecedented demand for digital services – those that can deliver innovative, intuitive, secure and seamless digital experiences, perfectly positioned to attract new customers. Alternatively, applications that fail people this time of the year risk losing customers, revenue, and reputation.

Navanwita Bora Sachdev

Navanwita is the editor of The Tech Panda who also frequently publishes stories in news outlets such as The Indian Express, Entrepreneur India, and The Business Standard