OpinionJul 19 2021

User experience in apps is the ultimate goal

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The recent explosion of activity has posed a new challenge for businesses. While the app marketplace has been competitive for many years, the unprecedented shift to digital means those that cannot cater to evolving user demands and optimise engagement are increasingly at risk of losing out to those who can. 

Simply put, an app must be ‘sticky’. The goal is not just to get users to download it; typically, the app must then be used again and again if it is to deliver value back to the business. 

This is no mean feat. While the average smartphone user has 80 apps on their phone, they will only use nine of those daily, and well under half (30) will be opened on a monthly basis. 

So, how can businesses achieve stickiness and win the battle for long-term user retention on their app?

The non-negotiables of a compelling user experience 

A great user experience (UX) is the foundation for sustainable engagement. Indeed, the clincher for most users is an intuitive experience: if people do not feel like they understand how to use an app’s features, they will simply abandon it. 

This is especially important when it comes to complex tools that require a lot of functionality, but which are not particularly exciting to use.

Financial tools like investment apps, for instance, must not only create core product differentiation, but also offer genuine utility and an optimised onboarding process to prevent a high drop-out rate before users even make their first investment.

A user’s initial interaction with an app must inspire confidence: it should be easy to use, sign up, and seamlessly connect funds or a bank account. 

Winning people’s trust naturally begins with prioritising security, and being clear on how individuals’ data will be used is a non-negotiable. If the sign-up process requires businesses to gather lots of information, it is always better to do it in the most straightforward and transparent way possible.

One option is to build confidence gradually through soft onboarding – namely, enabling users to play around with the app and test its features before sharing personal details and committing fully. 

I would also encourage businesses to find a good balance between innovation and familiarity. 

Innovation is what will keep people returning to an app, even when disruptive new players enter the market.

This can be achieved by giving individuals a reason to check back in – whether that is by adding an element of gamification, encouraging users to work towards a personal goal (those that have a Monzo account will be no stranger to the app’s round-up feature), or providing personalised content by leveraging the power of machine learning to tailor the experience to each user.

On a more basic level, innovation can also take the form of creating interesting layouts and improving in-app interactions.

Yet this is where a fine balance must be struck, as less is often more, particularly in the case of design. It takes time to navigate a new product, so it is vital to stick to UX principles that are common across most apps to lessen the cognitive load and keep the learning process fast and efficient. 

In the same vein, the UX and user interface should remain consistent as much as possible when updates are needed. There is nothing more frustrating than learning your way around an app, only to then having to start from scratch when a new update is rolled out, functions are moved to new places, and primary flows are disrupted. 

The same goes for style and graphics, where simplicity remains the name of the game. Fintech apps, for instance, must be able to translate complex financial data into meaningful or actionable insights, which will likely need to be delivered through easily digestible visuals. 

Social media not always key to customer engagement 

Driving customer engagement today can be difficult, which is why many businesses are turning to social media channels to accomplish this goal. However, a carefully curated UX can be just as powerful when it comes to engaging your audience. 

Part of the allure of leading social media platforms is that not only do they have good content, but it is also tailored to each individual user thanks to sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms that learn what a person wants to see. Businesses can learn a lesson here and personalise their in-app experience to each user, too. 

Data is a key tool to drive meaningful engagement, with AI and predictive analytics on hand to help individuals engage more meaningfully with apps.

In the personal finance space, for example, analytics on spending habits can be included to give users better awareness of their behaviour and nudge them to actively make healthier financial decisions. From here, personalised milestones can be set to encourage user activation, supported by challenges and visual representation of progress made. 

Clunky and poorly designed apps are at a distinct disadvantage in today’s digital-first world. Thankfully, by focusing on the fundamentals, businesses can curate better defined and sleeker experiences that still address users’ evolving needs.

Ritam Gandhi is the founder and director of Studio Graphene