Researchers from Applause’s Application Resource Center (ARC) tried to understand how British consumers rated the most downloaded retail apps among the perceived leaders, by analyzing every detail of their individual feedback. ARC found the top 50 retail apps by measuring the quality of those who had with a minimum of 1,500 reviews. This unprecedented, massive marketing analysis provided several critical insights on the current trends in what can be duly considered the largest European market. In 2015, in fact, eTailers from the United Kingdom earned £29.53 billion in web sales: more than 25 percent of Europe’s total shares. According to comScore, three-quarters of the British mobile audience owned a smartphone in April 2016, with 33 percent of them using apps to make online purchases.
Top rated apps, according to shoppers reviews, share several common features. Some of these included personalized experiences, simple transaction flows, sales alerts and reward programs. Those that, instead, received poor reviews are often affected by performance issues such as slowdowns, freezes, errors and blank screens. Lack of functionality such as limited payment support, inadequacy of updates or scarcity of options are also common complaints. In general, the expectations of digital experiences keep rising, and most large UK retailers need to provide their buyers with sophisticated and refined apps to avoid diminished local mind share. Amazon, for example, is lagging behind with a 53.9 consumers score. Although the e-commerce giant recently announced that it is going to expand its U.K. presence by building a new fulfillment center in Doncaster, investing in a higher quality mobile strategy could be a more sensible long-term strategy.
