First-ever report from Xtreme Labs details best and worst rated retailers with top 100 scoring an average 2.9/5 stars in App Store and 2.2/5 on Google Play
You love to shop. You use your smartphone like a shopping mall. Are you disappointed? Frustrated with that store app isn’t up to par. Xtreme Labs, leaders in mobile application strategy and development, released a new report and takes a closer look at which retailers makes the grade and which brands who are not capitalizing on opportunity with their smartphone applications.
Some findings show that consumers expect apps to supplement their in-store shopping experience, but many iOS and Android applications are lacking this. Shoppers assume that applications like IKEA and Michaels would allow them to not only browse inventory, but also purchase items directly from the app. One of the biggest consumer complaints for apps across platforms is performance, specifically the frequency of application crashes.
"When it comes to retail apps, first you have to be there, then you have to work,” said Jeremy Black, director of retail at Xtreme Labs. “We were surprised that 30 percent of top retailers don’t even have an app in at least one of the major app stores. Secondly, when a quarter of all complaints involve app crashes, it should serve as a wakeup call that consumers will quickly go somewhere else, like eBay or Zappos to fill their needs.”
According to the report, many retailers are missing out on an opportunity to engage with their customers via mobile experiences. A whopping 30 percent of retailers have neither an iOS nor Android app, while 56 percent have an app on both platforms. For retailers with apps on these platforms, consumers rated the top 100 brands an average 2.9/5 stars on iOS and 2.2/5 stars on Google Play.
Those retailers who are ignoring Android are doing so at their own peril; only 61 percent of the top 100 U.S. retailers have launched an Android app. These retailers are missing, for the most part, an opportunity to reach the roughly 62 million Americans who own Android devices. The number is slightly better for iOS, as 65 percent have developed an Apple app. However, based on the number of favorable ratings (3+ stars) each app has in the App Store, only 52 percent have received positive feedback from users.
Interestingly enough, the only two retailers that received favorable ratings across both platforms are the drugstores CVS and Walgreens. These are both ‘utility’ apps that fulfill everyday customer needs, and as such are more likely to be in the coveted position of a device’s home screen. This ‘necessity’ positioning is what all retailers should strive to achieve, as it drives frequency of use and therefore sales.
The Xtreme Labs Retail Apps Report analyzed public consumer reviews from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store between January 16 and January 24, 2013 for the top 100 retailers in the U.S.
To view the whole report, please visit: http://www2.xtremelabs.com/top100retailapps2013
The Xtreme Labs Retail Apps Report was conducted and is based on the list of top 100 retailers as defined by industry trade publication STORES Magazine in its list of 2012 retail power players. The report tabulated publicly available ratings in both the Apple App Store and Google Play and listed its results as well as top complaints based on user comments.
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