Australians fearful of app failures disrupting Christmas

Australians are fearful that app failures will disrupt their Christmas and holiday plans this year, a new research study has revealed.

The recently concluded Holiday Applications Pulse Survey by Cisco AppDynamics shows a rising concern among Australians about the potential failure of digital applications, an event that many fear could dampen their Christmas celebrations. Around 39% of Australians believe that such breakdowns could undermine their holiday festivities in 2023, with nearly one in five expressing feelings of stress, anger, and anxiety over technological problems.

The research, which included responses from 1,000 Aussies, highlights how integral apps have become in their daily lives; 52% of the respondents consider them pivotal in ensuring an enjoyable Yuletide season. Notably, the reliance on applications is poised to grow, with 47% indicating their intent to use them more intensively in the upcoming holiday season than in the previous year.

As for the applications that will see the most activity, 74% of respondents plan to utilise entertainment apps to stream music or shows during the festive period, and 65% will depend on them for tasks like last-minute gift shopping or sourcing cooking ingredients and recipes, the survey showed. The same proportion, some 65% of respondents, anticipate using online banking services for unexpected transactions or transfers.

The survey categorised entertainment, banking, communication, and shopping apps as most critical for a stress-free seasonal celebration. In terms of feared app crashes, 62% of users singled out banking apps, 51% messaging ones, and 37% shopping apps, highlighting worries over potential issues with accessing or transferring money or managing year-end party logistics.

In contrast, the research found that 45% deem music and streaming apps as the most vital for keeping frustrations at bay, with considerable reliance also placed on messaging (40%) and shopping (39%) apps to ensure smooth celebrations. According to Cisco AppDynamics, these results showcase a trend where users depend on apps not only for pragmatic purposes, such as communication and coordination, but also for providing a festive soundtrack or entertaining guests over the holiday season.

The survey's results imply that the omnipresent Christmas spirit won't make consumers more lenient with app failures. Quite the contrary, the high expectations to enjoy a hassle-free holiday season make users less forgiving of companies' shortcomings. According to the survey, 44% claim they won't forgive an app that experiences glitches during this time, with one in five respondents affirming they would permanently erase such consistently problematic apps.