RALEIGH, N.C., July 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The majority of key influencers and decision makers across industries report that the current state of their company’s mobile experience does not meet their users’ expectations, according to The State of the Mobile Experience Report.  

On a 10 point scale, just 47 percent of finance respondents, 37 percent of retailers, 23 percent of insurance and 21 percent of supply chain companies ranked their company’s existing mobile experience as nine or above.

The State of the Mobile Experience Report, released today by PointSource, an industry-leading digital transformation firm, shows that while top-ranking companies understand that simply having a mobile presence is no longer enough and are posed to invest, they still struggle to identify how to improve their mobile user experience in tandem with evolving consumer and user demands.

The study also reveals key pain points within the mobile user experience across the retail, insurance, supply chain and financial services industries, as well as opportunities for companies within these verticals to outpace and differentiate from competitors.

State of Mobile Experience by Industry

• Retail - Retailers’ challenges go beyond the user experience itself and focus on value and the logistics of implementation. More than half (54 percent) of retail respondents say their biggest challenge is finding ways to integrate mobile strategy into an overall marketing strategy. Retailers are currently missing the opportunity to use mobile to track and improve the customer experience over time, with only a third currently tracking purchasing history via mobile.
  
• Insurance - Insurance companies must invest in employees to solve customer pain points. Despite seeing a willingness from employees to use a mobile insurance app, insurance respondents are concerned about employee rejection to mobile solutions. When asked why they haven't adopted mobile, aversion to change was the number one reason given (65 percent), followed by fear of losing customer touch (43 percent) and a general lack of comfort with mobile devices (39 percent).
  
• Finance - Finance companies need to align their decision makers’ perception of their mobile experience with the customers’ perception of the mobile experience. Eighty-four percent of finance respondents with an existing mobile presence ranked their current offering at a seven or above on a 10 point scale, yet many still cite a clear need to improve and simplify the user experience when it comes to executing basic day-to-day tasks.
  
• Supply Chain - Supply chain organizations must focus their efforts on tailored mobile offerings. Seventy percent of supply chain respondents with a mobile app tailored to their company report improved customer satisfaction, 63 report stronger connections with customers and 59 percent report improved internal processes.
  

Companies Are Ready to Invest
Regardless of industry, businesses plan to invest in mobile this year and are ready to spend to meet employee and customer demands. Across all four verticals surveyed, 88 percent or more of respondents reported their companies plan to invest in mobile in 2016 and a quarter say they plan to spend more than $500,000. The top reasons included wanting to meet customers’ expressed desires for mobile (71 percent), wanting to expand current products or services (61 percent) and wanting to prepare for a mobile-driven future (59 percent).

“A company’s ability to engage, convert and retain consumers on mobile will depend on their commitment to the user experience,” says Stephanie Trunzo, Chief Digital Officer and COO at PointSource. “The user experience is increasingly the critical differentiator as the mobile landscape becomes overpopulated with options, giving consumers the power to easily shop multiple offerings, decreasing switching costs and reducing the stickiness of previous brand loyalty."

To download the full list of findings by industry, visit http://pointsource.com/the-state-of-the-mobile-experience.

About PointSource
PointSource is your first step in digital transformation. They bring business, marketing and technology together to create transformative digital solutions. Successful digital strategies combine enterprise expertise and user engagement knowledge. PointSource blends the creative energy of an agency with the technology savvy of a development firm to build digital solutions that solve complex problems and change businesses. For more information about PointSource visit: http://www.PointSource.com