MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – SOASTA, the leader in cloud and mobile testing, today announced the results of its recent survey showing how smartphone users in major American cities use, interact with, and rely on mobile apps. SOASTA’s survey, conducted online between August 21 and 27, 2013 by Harris Interactive of 2,036 U.S. adults, ages 18 and older and living in the top 10 American markets by population (roughly 200 per market), revealed the differences in user behavior among markets, and also highlighted the frustration people feel when mobile apps don’t work as advertised or keep crashing.
The 10 markets included in the study were: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. Dallas led all markets in smartphone and tablet penetration: 76% of its residents own and use a smartphone; 48% own and use a tablet. New York City is last on the list for smartphone adoption (48%), while Atlanta has the fewest tablet users (30%). Aside from New York, more than half of those in every market own and use a smartphone—Los Angeles (66%), San Francisco (61%), Houston (62%), Atlanta (60%), Chicago (57%), Boston (55%), Washington, D.C. (64%), and Philadelphia (62%). At 43%, D.C. is second to Dallas in tablet penetration. All other markets’ tablet usage is in the 30s: Chicago (39%), New York (39%), Los Angeles (38%), Boston (38%), Philadelphia (37%), San Francisco (36%), and Houston (34%).
SOASTA’s survey showed that 91% of smartphone owners in every market are likely to delete or uninstall mobile apps they purchased if they didn’t work properly or had frequent technical issues. Again, Dallas was highest at 97%. Washington D.C. is the most forgiving of the 10 markets, but 86% of even its smartphone owners would delete a problematic app. 79% of Bostonians and 70% across the 10 markets said they would delete an app that frequently crashes. 66% of smartphone owners in major markets would delete an app with that specifically had frequent bugs or problems not quickly fixed, led by Philadelphia at 74%. Smartphone owners in the City of Brotherly Love (Philadelphia) are also most likely to delete an app for running slowly (72%) compared to all markets (61%). Atlanta smartphone owners (75%) are 10% more likely to delete apps that didn’t deliver as promised when compared to smartphone owners in all markets (65%).
“Adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices continues to grow, giving publishers of mobile apps a thriving market for their products,” said Tom Lounibos, CEO of SOASTA. “But people demand that apps perform as expected or they will discard them forever. For that reason developers must work out any technical glitches prior to release, not after.”
Apps that fail to load also are often deleted. 52% of smartphone owners in all markets would delete apps for that reason, led by New Yorkers at 71%. Others would give the app a bad review online (10%), tell friends about their bad experiences (10%), or spread the word through social media (4%). Smartphone owners in Boston are among the highest in each category, leading in bad online reviews (16%) and social media (8%) and trailing only Philadelphia in telling friends (17% Philadelphia, 16% Boston). Chicago smartphone users are the most likely (55%) to restart their phone when dealing with failing apps, and those in Washington D.C. are most likely to seek a current update to the app (49%).
