Brands that have a poor digital experience for customers – online, on mobile or tablet – are at severely high risk of losing customers, says new research from software company SAP.

SAP surveyed around 3000 people, totalling more than 7000 experiences, to find out what gets them going when it comes to a digital experiences with brands. Nearly half of those surveyed were unsatisfied with digital experiences delivered by some of Australia’s biggest brands.

“What was very clear was that there was a significant gap between the particular attributes the consumer was looking for in the digital experience and what was being delivered by brands and industries,” Jennifer Arnold, head of marketing at SAP, told B&T.

Besides just being annoying for customers, a bad digital experience can push customers away from the brand, the research found.

“If you give a bad digital experience, four out of five unsatisfied customers are prepared to go elsewhere,” explained Arnold. However, it goes the other way too.

“Customers are four times as likely to stay loyal to a brand that’s giving them a good digital experience,” she said.

“It has a significant impact on loyalty to a brand.”

The industry that was the best at digital experiences was actually the retail grocery sector, surprising given the flak Woolworths copped over its new website.

Nevertheless, even though the grocery sector may have the lead, the research still showed it had more unsatisfied customers than satisfied ones.

The banking and insurance sectors were the next best. The industries flopping in this space were telecommunications and utilities.

Delving into what’s important for customers when it comes to digital experiences, SAP pinpointed a number of areas that really mattered to customers when experiencing a brand digitally.

The most important aspect of digital experiences for customers was simplicity – having an integrated and simple experience.

The second most important was being available anytime and in any capacity.

And the third was a brand that is respectful and dedicated to a person’s needs.