Most Mobile Sites and Apps Lagging in Performance

The findings of a new survey show that consumers' expectations for mobile and application performance are not being met.

Today's mobile users demand exceptional Web experiences and highly satisfying, convenient, on-the-go mobile site speeds regardless of their mode of access, according to a study from technology performance company Compuware Corporation. The independent survey of more than 4,000 mobile users worldwide was conducted to understand consumers' mobile Web and application expectations and experiences.

Key findings include the following:

-      Mobile users' expectations for mobile website speed continue to increase. Seventy-one percent of global mobile Web users expect websites to load as quickly, almost as quickly or faster on their mobile phones compared to the computers they use at home - up from 58 percent in 2009. However, almost half (46 percent) said websites load more slowly on their phones.

-      Nearly 60 percent of Web users say they expect a website to load on their mobile phone in three seconds or less, and 74 percent are only willing to wait five seconds or less for a single Web page to load before leaving the site. Fifty percent are only willing to wait five seconds or less for an application to load before exiting.

-      Fifty-seven percent of global mobile Web users had a problem accessing a website in the past year, and 47 percent had a problem accessing an app on their phone. More than 80 percent of mobile Web users would access websites more often from their phones if the experiences were faster and more reliable.

-      Mobile users do not have much patience for retrying a website or application that is not functioning initially - a third will go to a competitor's site instead. Eight out of ten mobile Web users are only willing to retry a website or application 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. Nearly half of mobile Web users are unlikely to return to a website that they had trouble accessing from their phone, and 57 percent are unlikely to recommend the site.

"We conducted this study as a follow on to our 2009 study that showed mobile users had high expectations, but the majority experienced poor mobile performance," says Steve Tack, CTO of Compuware APM. "Almost two years later, user expectations for mobile continue to increase, but companies are still not meeting mobile users' needs for fast and reliable experiences.

"Today, 77 percent of top companies across multiple verticals have mobile page load times of five seconds or more, while mobile users are only willing to wait five seconds or less for a Web page to load before leaving the site. Poor performance is preventing many companies from taking advantage of the opportunities being provided by increased mobile access."