Digital experience paramount to Australian business performance: SAP study

The business impact of the digital experience has intensified, with consumers nearly five times more likely to remain loyal to a brand than those who are unsatisfied, according to a new report.

Consumers that are delighted with the digital experience are also more willing to provide private data to brands, such as buying preferences, health records, and web browsing history, SAP Australia’s second annual Australian Digital Experience Report found.

The report – which captures results from 3,500 Australians who rated almost 9,000 digital interactions against 14 digital experience attributes – revealed a strong correlation between the digital experience and Australians’ data-privacy and personalisation preferences (with 39 per cent of delighted consumers saying they would disclose their buying preferences).

It found the proportion of consumers unsatisfied with their digital experiences dropped from 47 per cent in 2015 to 40 per cent in 2016. Delighted consumers increased from 22 per cent to 26 per cent over the same period.

But while some of Australia’s biggest brands have improved their digital performance, a “sizeable gap” remains between the experiences brands deliver and what consumers expect, and much work is needed to deliver “digital experiences that truly delight customers,” the report said.

“Many brands are still delivering lacklustre experiences, which are closely correlated to loss of loyalty and advocacy – and this correlation has strengthened in 2016.” Assessment of nearly 9,000 digital interactions shows 40 per cent of Aussie consumers are unsatisfied with their digital experiences.

The report also found that only three brands from an index of 40 managed a positive digital experience score, while no industry cut into positive territory. Safe and secure was by far the most important digital experience attribute to consumers (68 per cent), followed by services that are cohesive, integrated, and simply (38 per cent), and available anytime on my terms (36 per cent).

Meanwhile, the top performing brands included Coles in the grocery retail sector and Target in consumer-goods retail. iiNet topped the list of telecommunications and ISP providers, while Synergy performed best among utilities.

St George Bank scored highest in the banking sector, and Suncorp Insurance repeated as the top performing brand in the insurance industry. Netflix scored highest in the media and entertainment sector.