As the application market becomes highly crowded, users are extremely intolerant of poor online experiences. According to a new report, 71% of UAE consumers have expressed their expectations of apps are far higher now than two years ago, while 74% expect the digital experience as a standard. 

The latest report by Cisco, part of its App Attention Index 2023 series, reveals consumers’ expectations towards brand owners in optimizing application performance. The study surveyed more than 15,000 global consumers, with 1,005 in the UAE, and found that nearly all, 97%, said they have been experiencing performance issues when using applications over the past 12 months. 

Moreover, frustrations are high, as 65% of users report that performance issues with digital services and applications leave them feeling like a brand has no respect for their time. Moreover, UAE users express zero tolerance toward brands. Nearly 71% are less forgiving of brands when issues occur, and 80% have noted that they have either stopped or completely deleted applications due to poor performance in the last 12 months. 

The report found that the UAE’s consumers are among the most selective regarding apps and conscious about the time spent on digital services. Compared to the global average of 62%, the study shows that 80% of UAE users want to control or limit the number of applications they use or have on their devices.

“It’s a critical time for brands — invest in your application experience, or risk losing customers,” said Ronak Desai, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco Full-Stack Observability and AppDynamics. 

“Good performance is no longer enough; consumers expect only the best from their applications, and any single issue could be a reputation and revenue killer,” he adds.