Living Daily Life in the Internet Means Bigger and More Bugs, Making QA + Testing More Important Than Ever
Sauce Labs Inc., a leading provider of continuous testing and software quality solutions to deliver digital confidence to enterprises, released its latest Every Experience Counts report. Sauce Labs surveyed 500 people across the United States and found that bad online experiences are negatively affecting the public perception of companies, which ultimately contributes to a company’s bottom line.
“The site had it as a popup product ad whenever I searched and I somehow added it to my cart by accident and didn’t notice it … I did email the company and they said the order was already out, so I couldn’t cancel it.”
57% of respondents said that after 3-4 negative interactions with a company’s website, software, or mobile app, they’d consider switching to a competitor and 27% shared they wouldn’t tolerate more than 1-2 negative interactions.
“This report shows the magnitude of consequences when a customer’s digital experience goes awry,” said Marcus Merrell, Principal Test Strategist at Sauce Labs. “Issues like malfunctioning apps, security breaches, and an oversaturation of ads and popups, will deteriorate brand loyalty and put your financial health at risk. It’s not enough to handle these reactively from a customer service perspective; companies need to have a good offensive strategy.”
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We’re Online More Than Ever Before, Making Bad Digital Experiences Costlier for Brands
The report found that over half (55%) of respondents engage in digital experiences 20+ times per month. Of those respondents, 45% said things malfunction sometimes, often, or always – which, when you can walk away from the internet, no problem. But in this continuously growing digital age we’re living in, where finances, bills, healthcare, transportation and other day-to-day activities are managed online, that doesn’t quite cut it.
70% of respondents said poor digital experiences have a moderate, serious, or extreme impact on their purchasing. For a company doing millions or billions in sales, that’s a huge leak. And that doesn’t even account for lost brand trust.
Financial Software Has the Fewest Bugs. Yet People’s Open-Ended Responses Suggest That Those Bugs Are the Most Painful.
Software bugs impact nearly 1 in 3 (29%) people’s finances, such as banking, bills, and paying for products. Nearly 1 in 10 had real-world non-financial consequences like someone not getting rental assistance. Below are some representative samples of responses (they have been lightly edited for grammar):
- “I booked and paid over $1500 for a rental, but then I never got a confirmation. I called the rental agency who said I did not have it booked … BUT THEY DID GET MY MONEY A MONTH EARLIER. They said it was a computer problem. I will never use them again.”
- “The site had it as a popup product ad whenever I searched and I somehow added it to my cart by accident and didn’t notice it … I did email the company and they said the order was already out, so I couldn’t cancel it.”
- “Inability to access a site during COVID to assist a friend with applying for rental assistance.”
- “The site had a glitch every time I pressed to pay. Only it wasn’t a glitch. Instead of only purchasing one item, I bought 5!”
Security Is Important to Users, Especially Baby Boomers
70% of respondents said security issues have a moderate to extreme impact on their purchases. What’s worse, given that high number, 28% of respondents said they are neither aware nor unaware if the e-commerce websites, cloud software, or mobile application they are navigating has a history of security breaches.
Consumer security concerns rise with age, with 32% of Gen Z and 54% of Baby Boomers saying unsafe digital experiences had a significant or extreme impact on their purchase decisions.
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Digital Experiences Are Taking Too Long, With Gen Z Being Most Affected
54% of respondents said they are interrupted by ads or popups 3+ times per experience.
Gen Z is the most irked with digital experiences taking too long, with 82% of them thinking a site or app takes way too many steps. This is underscored by the fact that Gen Z is also the most interrupted generation, with an average of 4.2 ads or pop ups per experience.
A helpful piece of advice: 71% of respondents said getting a freebie would convince them to interact with an ad or popup and most said they’d like a free item or free shipping.
Bugs Affect the Bottom Line
When bugs, hacks, and inconsistent experiences are this common (42% of the time) and this expensive (3-4 strikes and people churn), they are a multi-million dollar revenue sucker punch.
“If you’re sitting in the C-suite, it’s crucial to recognize that even the smallest defects can have massive real-world effects on customers, and thus your bottom line,” said Dave Rhodes, CEO of Sauce Labs. “Quality assurance and testing are essential to ensure that customers have safe, efficient, and successful experiences on your organization’s digital platforms. By investing in these teams, companies can foster happy, loyal customers and have peace of mind knowing they are mitigating potential scandals and churn, and keeping their business going.”