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Slow Mobile Web disappoints consumers globally
By siliconindia
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Thursday, 21 July 2011, 21:33 IST
Bangalore: With 71 percent expecting sites to load on smart phones just as fast as they load on desktop computers, the consumer expectations for the mobile web aren't yet being met. As 43 percent of smart phone users won't return to a site if it loads too slowly on the handset, it's a challenge for companies trying to build a computer presence. Today's mobile users demand exceptional web experiences and highly satisfying, convenient, on-the-go mobile site speeds irrespective of their mode of access.
An independent survey of more than 4,000 global users worldwide was conducted by Compuware Corporation to understand consumers' mobile web and application expectations and experiences. The survey titled "What Users Want from Mobile," unfolds that global mobile users' expectations are not being met, with a majority of users experiencing slow or unreliable mobile and application performance. As the survey exemplify, the mobile users expect quick and anytime transactions that work flawlessly every time, but that's not what they're getting.
A few noted data points that key survey finding includes:
The mobile users expectation for mobile website is increasing at rapid rate. 71 percent of global mobile web users expect websites to load as quickly on their mobile phone compared to the computer they use at home.
Around 60 percent of web users say they expect a website to load on their mobile phone in 3 seconds or less. Only 50 percent are willing to wait 5 seconds or less for an application to load before exiting.
More than 80 percent of mobile web users would access websites more often from their phone if the experience was as fast and reliable.
The Mobile users do not have much patience for retrying a website or application that is not functioning initially, majority of mobile web users are only willing to retry a website (78percent) or application(80percent) two times or less if it does not work initially. A bad experience on a mobile website leaves mobile web users much less likely to return to, or recommend, a particular website.
There is some help on the way soon: dual-core chips and 4G networks are shaping up to come out this year. Most new high-end handsets today are powered by processors with two computing cores clocked at 1 GHz or better, which provides a performance boost over last year's smart phones: Web pages can load much faster with these chips. Although T-Mobile and Sprint led the 4G charge prior to this year networks are now seeing upgrades that can provide download speeds of 12 Mbps or more on a mobile device.
There is still some time before most consumers have smart phones with multiple cores and 4G radios, which means businesses have to try to establish themselves on the mobile web need to manage what they control. While consumers expect it to be obvious that web developers should optimize their code for use on handsets, the data from Compuware's survey shows a detailed level of measurement as to why it really matters. Matured smart phone and mobile broadband networks will surely help, but businesses shouldn't rely on them to solve all of their mobile web problems.
